Veolia installing evaporator in Alberta oil sands

Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies is currently installing an evaporator/crystallizer system at Southern Pacific Resource Corp’s STP-McKay project currently under way in northern Alberta, Canada.

The modular system consists of deoiling equipment and an evaporator that will treat water produced by a steam-assisted gravity drainage system used to extract 12,000 barrels/d of oil from the Alberta oil sands.

The Veolia evaporator and crystallizer vessels were shipped prefabricated and were placed on site in the fourth quarter of 2011. Pumps, heat exchangers and other ancillary equipment are also modularized as “plug and play” components that comprise nearly the entire system.

The produced water system is a critical-path item for the overall plant construction due its size, complexity and importance to the facility operations. The modularized design provided a simple method of installation and construction to meet an aggressive 12-month schedule.

It is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2012.