Our Thermal Oil Division consists of two operating oil sands SAGD projects and a large resource base of exploration areas in the Athabasca region of northeastern Alberta. These projects provide Athabasca with a material low decline production base that generates significant free cash flow for the business.

The thermal assets use steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) which is an enhanced oil recovery technology for producing bitumen. In the SAGD process, two parallel wells are drilled into the reservoir. The wells are typically placed approximately 5 m apart and the upper well injects steam into the formation to warm up the bitumen and the lower well produces the warmed bitumen and condensed steam. The mixture is produced back to the surface facility where the oil and water are separated, and the water is recycled back into the process. The SAGD process recycles the majority of the water that is used for steam generation (~80-90%). The resource is developed through pad drilling to reduce land disturbance. There are no mines, tailings ponds, or large-scale excavation of the land for the SAGD process.