Glossary

The following is a list of terms commonly used in the in situ oil sands industry.

Barrel: the common unit for measuring petroleum. One barrel contains approximately 159 litres.

Bitumen: a naturally occurring mixture, mainly consisting of viscous hydrocarbons heavier than pentane, that may contain sulphur compounds and that, in its naturally occurring viscous state, does not usually flow to a well; bitumen general has an API gravity of less than 10°.

Bitumen blend: bitumen blend includes upgraded heavy sour crude oil, and bitumen to which light oil fractions (ie diluent or upgraded crude oil) have been added in order to reduce its viscosity and density to meet pipeline specifications.

Butane: a component of natural gas consisting of four carbon atoms and 10 hydrogen atoms; condenses into a liquid at relatively low temperature and pressure

Carbonate: rock formed from the hard parts of marine organisms, mainly consisting of calcite, aragonite and dolomite.

Clastic: made up of pieces (clasts) of older rock; rock derived from mechanical process; generally sandstone, siltstone or shale.

Condensate: a mixture of pentanes and heavier hydrocarbons which are in the gaseous state under reservoir conditions and which become liquid when temperature or pressure is reduced; often blended into bitumen to reduce viscosity and increase density.

Contingent resource: those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from known accumulations using established technology or technology under development, but which are not currently considered to be commercially recoverable due to one or more contingencies. Contingencies may include factors such as economic, legal, environmental, political, and regulatory matters, or a lack of markets.

Crude oil: a naturally occurring liquid petroleum.

Cumulative steam oil ratio (CSOR): the total volume of steam required to produce a given volume of oil.

Cyclic steam stimulation (CSS): a method of producing heavy oil which involves injecting steam, allowing time for the steam to heat and soften the heavy oil and producing the oil from the same wellbore used to inject the steam.

Darcy: a measure of rock permeability (i.e., the degree to which natural gas and crude oil can move through the rocks).

Density: the mass of matter per unit volume.

Diluent: lighter viscosity petroleum products that are used to dilute bitumen for transportation in pipelines

Dolomite: a sedimentary rock rich in calcium carbonate and magnesium in which oil or gas reservoirs are often found; originating as limestone but transformed into domomite through exposure to water of high salinity. See also limestone.

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR): any method that increases oil production by using techniques or materials that are not part of normal pressure maintenance or water flooding operations. For example, natural gas can be injected into a reservoir to "enhance" or increase oil production.

Exploration: the act of searching for potential subsurface reservoirs of gas or oil. Methods include the use of magnetometers, gravity meters, seismic exploration, surface mapping, and exploratory drilling.

Formation: a designated subsurface layer that is composed throughout of substantially the same kind of rock or rock types.

Groundwater: water accumulations below the earth’s surface that supply wells and springs.

Heavy crude oil: crude oil with a density of 900 kilograms or more per cubic metre

Horizontal drilling: drilling horizontally through a reservoir to increase the exposure of the formation to the well.

Hydrocarbons: a large class of liquid, solid or gaseous organic compounds, containing only carbon and hydrogen, which are the basis of almost all petroleum products.

Injection well: a well used in in situ processes of bitumen recovery through which steam is injected to create heat and pressure necessary to force the oil to produce bitumen

In situ: a process for recovering bitumen from oil sands through wellbores

Karsting : a type of topography formed when slightly acidic rainwater dissolves or leaches the carbonate rock. Sink holes, caves and pockmarked surfaces are typical features of a karst topography.

Limestone: calcium carbonate:rich sedimentary rocks in which oil or gas reservoirs are often found.

Oil sands: naturally:occurring mixtures of bitumen, water, sand and clay that are found mainly in the Athabasca, Peace River and Cold Lake areas of Alberta.

Permeability: the capacity of a reservoir rock to transmit fluids; how easily fluids can pass through a rock.

Porosity: the capacity of a reservoir to store fluids, the volume of the pore space within a reservoir

Propane: A component of natural gas consisting of three carbon atoms and eight hydrogen atoms, condenses into a liquid at relatively low temperature and pressure

Prospective resource: those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from undiscovered accumulations by application of future development projects. Prospective resources have both an associated chance of discovery and a chance of development.

Reserves: the recoverable portion of resources available for use based on current knowledge, technology and economics.

Recoverable resource: the sum of contingent resource and prospective resource

SAGD: steam:assisted gravity drainage, an in situ process used to recover bitumen from oil sands

Sandstone: a compacted sedimentary rock composed mainly of quartz or feldspar; a common rock in which oil, natural gas and/or water accumulate.

Sedimentary basin: a geographical area, such as the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, in which much of the rock is sedimentary (as opposed to igneous or metamorphic) and is therefore likely to contain hydrocarbons.

Seismic: involves collecting data on induced shock wave reflections from underground layers of rock which are used to create detailed models of the underlying geological structure. This data in turn is used to help determine the most optimal location for drilling wells.

Solvent: refers to lighter hydrocarbons such as propane, butane and condensate or mixtures thereof

Solvent-Cyclic SAGD (SC:SAGD): a proprietary process developed by Laricina whereby solvents are applied to the steam in base SAGD over certain time intervals. This process is expected to result in improved product value, lower steam to oil ratio and carbon emissions for the same volume of bitumen produced by thermal processes.

Steam Oil Ratio (SOR): An operating parameter used to monitor the efficiency of oil production based on steam injection. It measures the volume of steam required to produce one unit volume of oil

Stakeholders: those people with an interest in industry activities located in surrounding areas. They may include nearby landowners, municipalities, Aboriginal communities, recreational land users, other industries, environmental groups, governments and regulators.

Steam injection: A technique in which steam is injected into a reservoir to reduce the viscosity of the crude oil.

Thermal recovery: The application of heat to a petroleum reservoir in order to alter the physical properties of the crude oil such as viscosity, specific gravity and interfacial tension so it can be brought to surface.

Viscosity: the resistance to flow or “stickiness” of a fluid.

Laricina Live

Learn more about Laricina’s oil sands innovations, including initiatives in the carbonate formation, use of core imaging tools, and solvent-assisted process development.

Photo Gallery

See what's going on at Laricina's SAGD operations and who's making it happen. Click to view our Photo Gallery.

Operations

Laricina's land base encompasses the Grosmont, Grand Rapids, Winterburn and McMurray formations and include five development areas – Germain, Saleski, Burnt Lakes, Poplar Creek and Conn Creek.
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Technology & Innovation

Laricina is able to advance new and innovative in situ recovery technologies through a combination of lab-based research, advanced simulation modelling and in-field testing.
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