Kearl Oil Sands Project

Fort McMurray, Alberta

The Kearl mine is one of Canada’s largest oil sands deposits with a gross production rate capacity of 220,000 barrels per day. The mining area contains approximately 4.6 billion barrels of bitumen resources which are expected to be recovered over a 40-year span. The production facility uses froth treatment technology to produce a blended bitumen that is transported to the Edmonton area via pipeline. Located over 40 miles from Fort McMurray, Alberta, the Kearl site contains a fly-in camp that houses rotational personnel and reduces commute time.

Kiewit began working at Kearl in 2006, undertaking site development and earthworks for the initial development phase. Over the next 13 years, Kiewit was contracted to execute various projects including the Initial Development Froth Treatment Unit; Expansion Earthworks and Froth Treatment Unit; River Water Intake Facility; Deoxygenation Facility; Fine Tailings Facility; Fine Tailings Thickener Facility; Tailings Treatment Mix Box; Supplemental Crusher and Hydrotransport Interconnect.

To optimize facility operations, reduce costs and minimize schedule, Kiewit participated in multiple front-end execution planning efforts with the owner and engineer prior to construction. Deliverables included risk-mitigation analysis, modularization studies, constructability reviews, preliminary scheduling, manpower curves and estimating.

Kiewit fabricated 645 modules at our yard in Edmonton, Alberta including piperacks, valve skids, buildings, HVAC platforms and stair cases. The team also dismantled, split and transported over 125 modules, fabricated in South Korea and shipped to U.S. ports, to meet load permit requirements and clearances along the route. Turnouts, pull-offs, overnight parking, traffic structures and overhead utilities along Highway 12, through Idaho and Montana, were modified to facilitate the transportation of modules to the Kearl site.