RE:RE:No wonder CVE Sask Thermals freshwater use suck From CVE's recently published 2022 Sustainability report
Thermal projects in Saskatchewan
Fresh water intensity at our thermal operations increased
to 4.00 bbls water/BOE in 2022, up from 3.71 the year
before. Significant work remains to reach our target of 2.90
by year end 2030. The increase in fresh water intensity in
2022 was not unexpected and resulted from a strategy to
increase steam volumes injected, with fresh water intensity
improving in coming years as SOR reduction strategies such as
non condensable gas co-injection are implemented.
Our Lloydminster thermal projects include 12 smaller
facilities (most with nameplate production capacity of 10,000
bbls/d), which rely on an available supply of water from the
North Saskatchewan River. Cenovus water licences for the
Lloydminster thermal projects represent approximately 0.3%
of the North Saskatchewan River’s annual average flow. Water
withdrawals were higher in 2022 at 23 million cubic metres
due to the startup of the Spruce Lake North thermal project,
and increased steam injection at all our thermal operations
due to process improvements that increase the amount of
steam we are able to generate with our boilers.