OIL SANDS: Imperial to build new research centre

CALGARY – Imperial Oil will soon break ground for a research facility in southeast Calgary. This will be the new home of the company's quest to develop the next generation of bitumen recovery technologies for safely and efficiency developing oil sands resources.

Currently, Imperial's research centre is located within the University of Calgary's Research Park. The company developed two key technologies – cyclic steam stimulation and steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) – in that lab.

Imperial continues to seek better ways to develop oil sands efficiently, responsibly and sustainably. With partner ExxonMobil, Imperial has created the first oil sands mining operation (Kearl) that does not require an upgrader to process bitumen into a saleable crude oil. With the addition of co-generation, a barrel of Kearl bitumen will have about the same greenhouse gas footprint as other oils refined in North America.

Imperial's new research facility, like the company's new headquarters campus nearby, is expected to meet LEED Gold building standards of energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. Full occupancy of the new centre is planned for 2017.

More information about the Kearl project and Imperial's oil sands innovation is available at ImperialoOil.ca/Canada-English/operations_sands.aspx.