Project Updates - April 2026
Patents Issued and Patent Applications of Note – April 2026
Source: United States Patent and Trademark Office
[1] Search criteria: ("sagd" OR "CSS" OR "steam assisted gravity drainage" OR "cyclic steam stimulation" OR "bitumen" OR "thermal recovery" or "heavy oil" or “steam”).AB. AND @PD>=20260401<=20260430
D54 Project Reviews – April 2026
Cenovus: Christina Lake
Submitted: June 30, 2025
Reporting Period: January 1 to December 31, 2024
Facility Updates & Performance
· Average steam flowrate: 77,614 t/d (92% of capacity)
· Average oil flowrate of 234,607 bbl/d (83% of capacity)
· Steam Generation & Utilities Area:
· Achieved a new steam record and high steam reliability in 2024
· Increased operating steam quality on Phase FG OTSGs
Plans
· Submit applications for well pad trajectory amendments for future B, F and N well pads.
· Initiate first steam for Narrows Lake tie-back
Cenovus: Foster Creek
Submitted: June 30, 2025
Reporting Period: January 1 to December 31, 2024
Facility Updates & Performance
· Average steam flowrate: 71,637 t/d (94% of capacity)
· Average oil flowrate of 196,321 bbl/d (84% of capacity)
Plans
· Submit applications for Clearwater development and North area well pad amendment
· Initiate Full Phase H expansion
Cenovus: Sunrise
Submitted: June 30, 2025
Reporting Period: January 1 to December 31, 2024
Facility Updates & Performance
· Average steam flowrate: 25,786 t/d (73% of capacity)
· Average oil flowrate of 7,895 m3/d (70% of capacity)
· Pad B13‑09 (E) NCG pilot continued through 2024
· 2024 OSCA/EPEA approvals include redevelopment wells, temporary MOP exceedances in S01/U01, East Casing Gas Cooling & Separation, centrifuge system, and drainage modifications.
Plans
· Expand NCG injection to Pads B13‑08 (B) and B13‑16 (M) in Q3 2025
Source: Alberta Energy Regulator
Please note that the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) transitioned to a new protocol in 2021 under which all D54 project reviews submitted by or before June 30th of a given year will be posted during the first quarter of the following year. Summaries for 2-3 project reviews per April will be featured in this publication over the course of a given year once they become available. All available presentations can be viewed online by clicking the source link.
DOB Energy Articles of Note – April 2026
Acceleware
· “Acceleware Secures Second Farm-In Agreement In Saskatchewan Mannville Stack” – The agreement represents another step in the company's stated strategy to build a portfolio of heavy oil production rights and a runway of field opportunities for RF XL 2.0 deployment. (April 29, 2026)
Hemisphere
· “Hemisphere Posts Record Production In 2025” – The company said average production for 2025 rose six percent year-over-year to 3,645 boe/d, with heavy oil representing 99 percent of the output. (April 15, 2026)
Lycos
· “Lycos Capital To Focus On Mannville Heavy Oil Development” – The company’s $35-40 million of approved 2026 capital expenditures is expected to support the drilling of approximately 15 to 20 gross wells, primarily targeting the Moonshine area. (April 23, 2026)
Obsidian
· “‘Strong Start’ To Obsidian’s Development Program at Peace River, Willesden Green” – The company reported strong production results at both the West Dawson 09-21 and Nampa 06-28 Clearwater pads where it achieved some of the best oil quality to-date in the area. (April 13, 2026)
Pembina
·“Pembina Prepared for Five Years of Steady Growth In WCSB Production” – The company has a series of sanctioned and unsanctioned projects at the ready to meet future demand noting that export capabilities are expanding rapidly. (April 8, 2026)
Suncor
· “Suncor Sitting On 30 Billion Barrels of Developable Resources” – Suncor identified 400,000 bbls/d of undeveloped production capacity primarily in Its Firebag and Lewis SAGD assets, following a comprehensive assessment of its resource base, validated by GLJ Ltd. (April 1, 2026)
· “Suncor Now a Different Company, Says Kruger” – President and CEO Richard Kruger explained the company’s comprehensive transformation over the past three years. (April 6, 2026)
Other
· “Operators Taking Advantage of Saskatchewan Multilateral Well Program” – Since the launch of the province’s incentive program in 2024, close to 660 licenses have been drilled with the busiest operator targeting heavy oil in the Mannville Stack. (April 20, 2026)
· “Canadian Heavy Could Replace Mexican Crude in Gulf, Forum Told” – According to an energy and commodity market intelligence company, Mexican crude in the Gulf has fallen below 400,000 bbls/d from over 1 million bbls/d – volumes that could be fulfilled by Canadian crude. (April 23, 2026)
Technical Publications of Note – April 2026
Geoscience
· SPE-231887-MS: Challenging the Traditional Sand Control Criteria - A Rock Mechanics Perspective
Production
· SPE-0426-0018-JPT: Steam-Sensitive Flow-Control Device Implemented in Surmont SAGD Project
· SPE-0426-0019-JPT: SAGD Performance at Blowdown Phase Optimized With Autonomous Inflow Control Valves
· SPE-0426-0020-JPT: Dynamic Gas Separation Integrated Into SAGD for Improved ESP Performance
· SPE-230259-PA: Field Implementation of a New Inflow Control Device Design in the Surmont I Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage Operation
Research
· SPE-231459-MS: Investigation of Vapor Phase Combustion in Porous Media During In Situ Combustion for Heavy Oil Recovery Using a Novel Laboratory Modeling
· SPE-231479-MS: In-Situ Electro-Thermal Heating Assisted CO2 Huff-N-Puff for Enhanced Oil Recovery and Emission Reduction in Deep Heavy Oil Reservoirs
· SPE-231484-MS: In-Situ Hydrogen Generation from Kerogen-Bearing Reservoirs Using Microwave-Assisted In-Situ Combustion
· SPE-231485-MS: From Laboratory Diagnostics to Seismic Monitoring: Acoustic Signatures of In-Situ Combustion Dynamics
· SPE-231519-MS: Chichimene In-Situ Combustion Pilot Updates and Optimization of Oilfield Chemical Program
· SPE-231521-MS: Experimental Investigation of Hot Polymer Flooding for Viscous Oil Recovery
· SPE-231558-MS: Pore-Structure Evolution During Wet In-Situ Combustion: Experimental Insights from Middle Bakken Combustion-Tube Tests
· SPE-231563-MS: Enhancing Thermal Recovery: Design and Validation of a Versatile Thermal Recovery Coreflood System
· SPE-231568-MS: Impact of Gravity Override and Geometric Scale on In-Situ Combustion Performance: Insights from One- And Three-Dimensional Combustion Tube Experiments
· SPE-231597-MS: Experimental Evaluation of Solvent-Assisted Cyclic Steam Injection for Enhanced Heavy Oil Recovery
· SPE-231606-MS: Experimental Evaluation of Oxygen-Enriched In-Situ Combustion in the Middle Bakken: The Role of Rock Mineralogy
· SPE-232826-PA: Effect of Operating Parameters on Solution-Gas Drive and Foamy Oil Flow during Cyclic Solvent Injection: An Experimental and Modeling Study
Reservoir Engineering and Development
· OTC-36841-MS: Atlanta: Boosting the World´s Deepest Subsea Heavy Oil field
· SPE-0426-0017-JPT: Technology Focus: Heavy Oil (April 2026)
· SPE-231481-MS: Best Practices for Accelerated Screening and Deployment of Polymer Flooding: Engineering Workflows and Field Learnings
· SPE-231458-MS: Role of Vapor Phase Combustion in the Modelling of In Situ Combustion Process
· SPE-231477-MS: Hot Water Polymer Flooding: Feasibility, Efficiency, and Design Optimization
· SPE-231467-MS: Field-Scale Breakthroughs in China's Microbial EOR: Synergizing Air-Assisted Flooding, Viscosity Reduction, and Closed-Loop Systems for Cost-Effective Reservoir Revitalization
· SPE-231503-MS: A Practical and Simple Model for Estimating Liquid Phase Hydrocarbon Mixture Viscosities Across Seven Orders of Magnitude
· SPE-231520-MS: Development of Coupled Thermal-Polymer Simulation Feature in Intersect™
· SPE-231531-MS: Immiscible CO2 Flooding, Post Steam Injection in a Shallow, Heavy Oil Reservoir, Forest Reserve field, Trinidad
· SPE-231554-MS: Fifteen Years of Polymer Flooding in Marmul Field: Performance, Recovery, and Operational Insights
· SPE-231580-MS: Applying Viscous Fingering Simulation Methodology to the Milne Point Polymer Flood: From Conceptual Pair to J-Pad Geomodel
· SPE-231583-MS: Interpreting Polymer Flooding in Horizontal Wells Using Simplified Modeling Approaches: Application to the Milne Point Project
· SPE-231585-MS: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Spontaneous Ignition for the Air Injection Process in an Extra-Heavy Oil Reservoir with High Solution Gas Content
· SPE-231594-MS: Improved Polymer Flooding: A Novel Approach for Quick Commercial Adaptation in the Milne Point Field
· SPE-231601-MS: Water After Polymer in Heavy Oil Polymer Flood in Western Canada
· SPE-231611-MS: Milne Point Polymer Flood: Seven-Year Field Performance and Lessons
SPE-231863-PA: Decision-Making Under Uncertainty: Pressure Management and Optimal Well Pattern for Steamflooding
Regulatory Applications of Note – April 2026
Greenfire
· 1961128: Greenfire requested approval to add two new pads with a total of 13 new SAGD well pairs at the Hangingstone Expansion project.
Headwater
· 1961145: Headwater requested approval to add three horizontal water injection wells to the Clearwater Deposit of the Peace River Oil Sands Area.
Spur
· 1961078: Spur requested approval to add five horizontal water injection wells to the Spirit River Deposit of the Peace River Oil Sands Area.
· 1961118: Spur requested approval to add three horizontal water injection wells to the Clearwater Deposit of the Peace River Oil Sands Area.
· 1961175: Spur requested approval to add three horizontal water injection wells to the Clearwater Deposit of the Athabasca Oil Sands Area.
Strathcona
· 1961174: Strathcona requested lifecycle approval to inject NCG into Clearwater, Upper Grand Rapids, and Lower Grand Rapids Deposit well pads as well as blowdown operations at the Tucker Thermal Project.
Suncor
· 1961200: Suncor requesting that the Meadow Creek East In Situ Project integrated approval be separated into individual approvals under each applicable act.
· 1961214: Suncor submitted an Expanding Solvent Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (ES-SAGD) application for Firebag pads 113 and 120 and is proposing to inject hydrocarbon diluent with steam at concentrations up to 30 percent by volume of the injected fluids on a cold-water equivalent basis.
Source: Alberta Energy Regulator