Hot water generation for oil sands processing from enhanced geothermal systems: Process simulation for different hydraulic fracturing scenarios

The oil sands in northern Alberta, Canada are home to one of the largest hydrocarbon deposits on earth. Huge amounts of hot water—around 50–60°C—are needed for the current extraction procedure and processing technology. The current practice of obtaining water from the Athabasca River and heating it by the burning of natural gas creates severe economic and environmental costs. In fact, 6% of Canada’s gas consumption is used for this purpose. As seen, the generation of huge amounts of fossil energy through oil sands extraction requires a substantial amount of fossil energy consumption (natural gas). Geothermal energy has the potential to significantly reduce natural gas consumption and greenhouse gas emissions at competitive costs.