Emerging projects

The future of Cenovus lies in developing the vast land position we hold in the Athabasca region in northeast Alberta. Currently, we have two emerging projects in this area: Narrows Lake and Borealis.

Narrows Lake

Narrows Lake project

Follow the animated character of Harry, one of our drilling engineers, as he takes you through our plans for Narrows Lake.

Narrows Lake is located near Christina Lake and is expected to have a production capacity of 130,000 barrels per day, up to three phases and a project life of up to 40 years.

The project application is unique because it will allow us to use SAGD technology or proceed with the first ever commercial-scale solvent aided process (SAP). The resource we plan on developing is well below the surface, much deeper than sources of fresh water. Our future plans may include drilling deep below Christina Lake to access a small part of the reservoir - about 15 percent. It's an area that can be developed safely and responsibly.

Formal consultation on the project has begun with our stakeholders. Numerous meetings and open houses are planned with surrounding communities over the coming months to answer questions about Narrows Lake and an animation has been developed to educate stakeholders and staff about our project plans.

Borealis

Borealis is one of our emerging enhanced oil projects located in the northeastern section of the Athabasca region. A joint application for development has been submitted to the Energy Resources Conservation Board and Alberta Environment to construct a SAGD facility with production capacity of 35,000 barrels of bitumen per day.

Preliminary development plans for Borealis will incorporate multi-well production pads and horizontal wells, with centralized steam generation, oil treating and produced water recycling facilities.

The EIA was filed by Cenovus's predecessor in interest, Encana Corporation, as part of the provincial regulatory process.