Member Companies
North West Upgrading Inc.
Location
Sturgeon County, immediately west of Agrium’s Redwater fertilizer facility
Employees and full time contractors (excluding construction workforce)
Unknown—project still in approvals process
Products
Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel, Diluent, Vacuum Gas Oil, Naptha
Contact
Phone: 403-451-4165
Contact: Doug Bertsch (dbertsch@northwestupgrading.com)
Overview
North West Upgrading Inc., an Alberta-based company, is building an independent heavy oil upgrader with a total capacity of 231,000 bpd of blended feedstock (150,000 bpd of crude bitumen) over three phases. This facility will produce high quality Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel fuel and diluent, through the process of hydrocracking and hydrogen addition. The process will utilize gasification to make hydrogen from the heaviest liquid components, thereby maximizing the production of high value components, minimizing waste products, and enabling the capture and sequestration of pure carbon dioxide, which will be used by others for enhanced oil recovery in Alberta.
All regulatory approvals and permits have been granted, and topsoil stripping was completed in early 2008. North West is working on commercial and marketing arrangements prior to advancing site construction further. Major material acquisition continues, and engineering is well advanced. It is expected that the first phase of operations will commence in 2013.