The McMurray Formation in North-Eastern Alberta is the source of 3/4 of Canadian oil production. About 3.5 million barrels of oil are produced daily from the region. The prolific Cretaceous reservoir is saturated with ultra-heavy oil, and is developed with surface mines (in the shallowest depocenters) and with Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) methods in the remaining areas of the Athabasca Oil Sands region.
Several Operators are active in the oil sands, with production ranging from a few thousand barrels to almost one million barrels. Fifteen operators are involved in developing assets in the Athabasca oil sands region.
In-situ projects vary in size, from a quarter million barrels per day to a few thousand barrels.
Cenovus Foster Creek
- Operator: Cenovus Energy
- Start: 2001
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 180,000 bbl/day
- Production: 198,000 bpd
- Development Wells: 900
- Vertical Depth: 475-510m
- Location: 70-03+04+05+06W4 (Fisher)
CNRL Kirby (South and North)
- Operator: Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL)
- Start: 2013
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 140,000 bbl/day
- Production: 60,000 bbl/d
- Development wells: 300
- Vertical Depth: 525-550m
- Location: 73-07+08W4
CNRL Jackfish
- Operator: Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL)
- Start: 2007 (Devon Energy)
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 105,000 bbl/day (original), 120,000 bbl/day (revised)
- Production: 125,000 bpd
- Development wells: 500
- Vertical Depth: 425-500m
- Location: 75-06+07W4 (Leismer, Devenish)
- Remarks: Acquired from Devon Energy in 2019
Cenovus Christina Lake
- Operator: Cenovus Energy
- Start: 2002
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 260,000 bbl/day (original), 310,000 bbl/day (revised)
- Production: 250,000 bpd
- Development wells: 800
- Vertical Depth: 375-425m
- Location: 75+76-06W4 (Hardy, Leismer)
Harvest BlackGold
- Operator: Harvest Operations
- Start: 2011
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 20,000 bbl/day, regulatory approval up to 40,000 bbl/day
- Production: 9,000 bpd
- Development wells: 36
- Vertical Depth: 400-425m
- Location: 76-07W4 (Leismer)
IPC Blackrod
- Operator: International Petroleum Corporation (IPC)
- Start: 2024
- Target: Grand Rapids Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 30,000 bbl/day
- Production: 1,000 bpd (new)
- Development wells: 32
- Vertical Depth: 300-325m
- Location: 76-17W4 (Portage)
MEG Christina Lake
- Operator: MEG Energy
- Start: 2008
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 260,000 bbl/day
- Production: 100,000 bpd
- Development wells: 756
- Vertical Depth: 375-400m
- Location: 77-04+05+06W4 (Hardy)
Athabasca Leismer
- Operator: Athabasca Oil
- Start: 2010 (StatoilHydro)
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 20,000 bbl/day, regulatory approval up to 40,000 bbl/day
- Production: 28,000 bpd
- Development wells: 130
- Vertical Depth: 425-500m
- Location: 78+79-10W4
- Remarks: Acquired from Statoil/Equinor
Connacher Great Divide
- Operator: Connacher Oil and Gas
- Start: 2008
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 15,000 bbl/day (original), 44,000 bbl/day (expansion)
- Production: 13,000 bpd (2017)
- Development wells: 160
- Vertical Depth: 475-525m
- Location: 82-12W4 (Algar)
Conoco Surmont
- Operator: ConocoPhillips Canada
- Start: 2007
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 145,000 bbl/day (original), 283,000 bbl/day (expansion)
- Production: 140,000 bpd
- Development wells: 420
- Vertical Depth: 325-425m
- Location: 83-06+07W4
Greenfire Hangingstone
- Operator: Greenfire Resources
- Start: 1999 (JACOS)
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 50,000 bbl/day
- Production: 21,000 bpd
- Development wells: 110
- Vertical Depth: 275-375m
- Location: 84-11W4
- Remarks: Acquired from JACOS, comrised of Demo project and Hangingstone expansion project
Grizzly Algar
- Operator: Grizzly Oilsands
- Start: 2014
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 11,300 bbl/day
- Production: Suspended
- Development wells: 20
- Vertical Depth: 250m
- Location: 85-12W4
- Remarks: suspended in 2013, restarted in 2025
CNOOC Long Lake
- Operator: CNOOC Petroleum North America
- Start: 2007 (Nexen)
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 72,000 bbl/day (original), 98,000 bbl/day (with expansion)
- Production: 77,000 bpd
- Development wells: 450
- Vertical Depth: 225-300m
- Location: 85+86-06+07W4
- Remarks: Acquired from Nexen
Athabasca Hangingstone
- Operator: Athabasca Oil
- Start: 2015
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 12,000 bbl/day
- Production: 9,000 bpd
- Development wells: 50
- Vertical Depth: 175-200m
- Location: 86-09W4
PetroChina MacKay River
- Operator: PetroChina Canada
- Start: 2013 (Mackay Operating Corp)
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 35,000 bbl/day
- Production: 9,800 bpd (2020)
- Development wells: 90
- Vertical Depth: 175-200m
- Location: 90-14W4 (Dover)
- Remarks: acquired from Brion/Mackay
Greenfire MacKay River
- Operator: Greenfire Resources
- Start: 2012 (Southern Pacific)
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 12,000 bbl/day
- Production: Suspended
- Development wells: 24
- Vertical Depth: 175-200m
- Location: 91-14W4
- Remarks: Acquired from Everest/Southern Pacific
Suncor MacKay River
- Operator: Suncor Energy
- Start: 2002
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 73,000 bbl/day
- Production: 35,000 bpd (2025)
- Development wells: 300
- Vertical Depth: 125-175m
- Location: 93-12W4 (Dover)
Imperial Oil Aspen
- Operator: Imperial Oil
- Start: 2025
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 75,000 bbl/day
- Production: new
- Development wells: 6
- Vertical Depth: 225-235m
- Location: 94-07W4 (Steepbank)
Sunshine West Ells
- Operator: Sunshine Oilsands
- Start: 2012
- Target: Wabiskaw
- Nameplate capacity: 10,000 bbl/day
- Production: Suspended
- Development wells: 16
- Vertical Depth: 250-260m
- Location: 94-17W4 (Liege)
Suncor Firebag
- Operator: Suncor Energy
- Start: 2004
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 180,000 bbl/day (original) 215,000 bbl/day (revised in 2020)
- Production: 250,000 bpd (2025)
- Development wells: 750
- Vertical Depth: 275-325m
- Location: 94+95-05+06W4
CNRL Joslyn Creek
- Operator: Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL)
- Start: 2006 (Deer Creek)
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 160,000 bbl/day (combined mine and in-situ)
- Production: Suspended
- Development wells: 36
- Vertical Depth: 75-100m
- Location: 95-12W4 (Daphne)
- Remarks: Acquired from Total Energy, Suspended
Cenovus Sunrise
- Operator: Cenovus Energy
- Start: 2015 (Husky)
- Target: McMurray Formation
- Nameplate capacity: 60,000 bbl/day, regulatory approval up to 200,000 bbl/day
- Production: 50,000 bbl/d
- Development wells: 200
- Vertical Depth: 175-250m
- Location: 95-07W4
- Remarks: Acquired from Husky in 2020
Steam to oil ratio (SOR) is generally in the 2 and 3.5 range. Higher SOR were observed in projects that were unsuccessful.
While most of the capacity was booked in the early 2000s, some operations are active for more than 30 years, while other projects commenced operations over this past year, in 2025.
Four projects out of the 22 existing SAGD developments were suspended (Grizzly Algar, Southern Pacific MacKay River, Total Joslyn Creek and Sunshine West Ells), with Grizzly resuming their Algar project in 2025. New projects commissioned recently include Imperial Oil’s Aspen project and IPC Blackrod.
There are eight mines between Fort McMurray and Fort McKay, where the McMurray Formation is shallow enough for pit mining. The mines are:
- Syncrude Mildred Lake
- Syncrude Aurora North
- Suncor Base Plant
- Suncor Fort Hills
- Imperial Oil Kearl
- CNRL Horizon
- CNRL Muskeg River
- CNRL Jackpine (Albian)
Cumulative production from the eight mines is 1.7 MMbbl/day, whereas all in-situ projects in the Athabasca Oil Sands area produce 1.4 MMbbl/day, with another 300,000 bbl produced from the Cold Lake Oil Sands area.
SAGD development has a much smaller surface footprint when compared to mining, or even development with vertical wells.
About 3.5 million barrels per day are produced from oil sands, with mining and thermal methods, representing 70% of Canada’s total oil production of 5 million barrels.
Chinook Consulting is fortunate to provide services to more than half of the ongoing thermal projects in Alberta. We provide geological services (wellsite geology, remote geosteering, core logging, delineation supervision) for 16 thermal oilsands projects in Alberta. Our activity extends in all Alberta heavy oil basins (Athabasca, Cold Lake, Peace River), as well as in thermal projects in Saskatchewan.