Quadrise Fuels International. 2006 Thread for All.

SHELL and SAGD

SHELL uses steam-generated heat and pressure to warm the bitumen, allowing it to flow to surface. After steam is injected down the hole and the bitumen is sufficiently heated, a well is produced, which must be re-heated once the reservoir cools.

The company announced in November that it planned to raise spending to $4 billion in 2007, including $2.45 billion on oil sands projects.

That followed a similar forecast by Western Oil Sands — Shell's partner in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project — to spend $715 million next year, earmarking over 90 per cent of that for the northern Alberta oil sands.