Oil - producing projects
Our teams are always looking for ways to either improve existing technology or pursue new technology in an effort to improve the way we operate. We have four industry-leading producing oil projects where we use specialized methods to drill and pump the oil: Foster Creek, Christina Lake and Pelican Lake in northeast Alberta, and the Weyburn field in southeast Saskatchewan.
Foster Creek and Christina Lake projects are located in Alberta's oil sands
The oil at Foster Creek and Christina Lake is located about 350 to 450 metres below the surface and requires specialized methods to drill and pump the oil to the surface. The primary technology we use for these two projects is steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), a process which injects steam into the reservoir to soften the oil so it can be pumped to the surface. These are two of the oil sands projects in our 50/50 business venture with ConocoPhillips.
Pelican Lake located in northern Alberta
We produce heavy oil from the mobile Wabiskaw formation at our 100 percent owned Pelican Lake operation in the Greater Pelican Region, about 300 kilometres north of Edmonton. We use recovery techniques that include water and polymer flooding to push the oil to producing wells.
Weyburn oilfield located in southeast Saskatchewan
CO2 injection is the oil recovery method we use to increase oil production at the Weyburn oilfield, which is expected to extend its life by about 30 years. Weyburn is the site of the world's largest geological carbon storage project.
Related links
Learn about our proposed project at Narrows Lake
Watch our SAGD video (2:00 min)
Technology
Did you know?
There are two techniques used to access oil sands, depending on how deep it is: mining or drilling. All of Cenovus's projects are drilled. Drilling projects create minimal land disturbance and don't require tailings ponds.
