Shell upgrader doesn't come cheap
Company says building costs will be spread over two decades
The Edmonton Journal
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
EDMONTON - Shell Canada predicted Monday its bitumen mega-upgrader project east of Edmonton will eventually cost $22 billion to $27 billion, but said the spending will be spread over 15 to 20 years.
Construction applications to the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board and Alberta Environment call for the 400,000-barrels-daily complex to be built as four plants beside Shell's current Scotford upgrader near Fort Saskatchewan.
The cost prediction is "an early assessment" required for regulatory review of the previously announced project's likely economic effects, said Shell oilsands communications manager Janet Annesley.
Estimates that will guide construction decisions on each 100,000-barrels-daily stage in the development will come later, Annesley said.
Building each plant will require 3,000 to 4,000 trades personnel at construction activity peaks. Each plant will employ about 300 permanent operating staff.
Shell's plan calls for regulatory approval of the entire mega-upgrader complex and possibly a start on building the first plant in 2009, with production beginning in 2012. "The timeline for the remaining three phases will depend on various regulatory, project and market factors," the construction application says.
Advance approval for all four plants will "enable the pace of project development to be well planned and executed. This will help to reduce and level impacts of intense construction of these large facilities in the Scotford area," the application says.
More applications will be made by the end of this year for matching additions to Shell's Athabasca oilsands mine north of Fort McMurray, Annesley said.
© The Edmonton Journal 2007
