DBO Fort McMurray Facility

Project Overview

This project involved the full Design-Build-Operate delivery of an emulsion treatment and processing facility to handle the complex, high-hydrocarbon, high-solids streams characteristic of Fort McMurray oil sands operations. The GWTS team was engaged as the primary project delivery contractor and self-performed the majority of the scope — from initial process design through to steady-state operations.

Oil sands produced streams present significant treatment challenges, including free and emulsified hydrocarbons at high concentrations, elevated TDS, suspended solids from formation materials, and thermal EOR chemistry. The facility was designed to accommodate variability in feedwater composition while maintaining consistent treated water quality suitable for downstream reuse or discharge.

Technical Scope

• Process design and engineering for emulsion treatment and oil-water separation
• Mechanical design including equipment sizing, pressure vessel design, and piping layout
• Electrical, instrumentation, and controls (E,I&C) design and integration
• Equipment procurement, including specialized separation equipment for complex emulsions
• Skid fabrication, assembly, and pre-commissioning at fabrication facility
• Site construction, installation, and mechanical completion
• Commissioning, performance testing, and performance guarantee demonstration
• Ongoing operations and maintenance management

Treatment Challenge

Fort McMurray oil sands operations produce some of the most challenging water streams encountered in industrial water treatment. Key treatment challenges addressed in this project included:

• Complex emulsions: Stable oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions requiring specialized coalescing and separation equipment
• High solids loading: Fine clay particles and formation material from bitumen extraction processes
• Variable feedwater: Significant fluctuations in feed composition, temperature, and flow rate requiring robust process control
• High TDS: Elevated dissolved solids from saline aquifer water and process chemistry accumulation
• Hydrocarbon contamination: Free, dispersed, and dissolved hydrocarbons across multiple fractions