Oil Sands Modeling: An Introduction to the Current Capabilities in GHGenius Presented by: Jesse Fleming Natural Resources Canada Life Cycle Assessment of Oil Sands Technologies Kickoff Meeting Calgary, Alberta November 3, 2006

GHG ENIUS A Model for Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Fuels Relevance  GHGenius is a Canadian life cycle modeling tool for transportation fuels which has some oil sands capabilities  Outline  Introduction to GHGenius  Existing oil sands capabilities

GHG ENIUS A Model for Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Fuels Life Cycle Assessment: Limitations  Can be time- and resource-intensive  Results depend on the availability and quality of data  Does not provide the answer  One component of good decision- making Reference: Svoboda, 1995

GHG ENIUS A Model for Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Fuels GHGenius: Background  Initially adapted for NRCan in 1999  Has been added to and improved in numerous ways since that time  Focuses on life cycle energy use and emissions for conventional and alternative fuels and propulsion systems Reference: (S&T) 2, 2005

GHG ENIUS A Model for Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Fuels GHGenius: Scope Vehicle Cycle Fuel Cycle Well-to-Tank Tank-to-Wheel Reference: Wang, 2004

GHG ENIUS A Model for Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Fuels GHGenius: Scope  Current version of the model  45 worksheets  >150,000 cells containing data or results  Around 8 MB large  Contains a multitude of pathways  Over 140 vehicle, fuel, and feedstock combinations available Reference: GHGenius, 2006

GHG ENIUS A Model for Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Fuels GHGenius: Capabilities  Detailed breakdown of:  Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions  Criteria air contaminant (CAC) emissions  Energy balance  Cost effectiveness  Various years, countries/regions, and vehicle categories can be considered

GHG ENIUS A Model for Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Fuels Continuous Improvements  GHGenius (version 3.5) is now an Excel © - based model that uses metric units  Incorporates updated data  New “Users Manual” and reports  Is more accessible and user-friendly  Available free at

GHG ENIUS A Model for Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Fuels

Existing Oil Sands Capabilities  5 crude oil production classifications in GHGenius  Conventional light  Conventional offshore  Conventional Heavy  Bitumen (in situ)  Synthetic crude oil (mined + upgrading)  Refinery characteristics different by region  BUT not different by crude slate due to LIMITED DATA AVAILABILITY

GHG ENIUS A Model for Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Fuels Main Oil Sands Data Sources  Bitumen: Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers Calculating Greenhouse Gas Emissions.  Synthetic: Canadian Industrial End-Use Data and Analysis Centre A review of Energy Consumption in Canadian Oil Sands Operations, Heavy Oil Upgrading.  Complete crude oil references available in GHGenius supporting documentation  Very open to more recent and/or higher quality data

GHG ENIUS A Model for Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Fuels Relevant Additional Capabilities  Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)  Power production  Fuel production  Refineries  Bitumen / Synthetic production  Requires input on amount captured and corresponding energy requirements  GHGenius provides a framework  knowledgeable users can use specific data to analyze scenarios

GHG ENIUS A Model for Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Fuels Sample Results – Upstream Energy Use (GJ/GJ)

GHG ENIUS A Model for Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Fuels Sample Results – Upstream GHG Emissions (g CO 2 E/GJ)

GHG ENIUS A Model for Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Fuels Take-home Messages  #1 GHGenius is an established Canadian life cycle model for transportation  #2 Some oil sands data and modeling capabilities currently exist in the model  #3 This project and GHGenius have the potential to mutually benefit each other

Thank you for your attention. Questions? Comments?

GHG ENIUS A Model for Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Fuels For More Information  Contact Jesse Fleming  Office of Energy Efficiency   Tel.:  Visit

GHG ENIUS A Model for Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Fuels References (S&T) 2 Consultants Inc Expansion of GHGenius to Include Sequestration of Carbon from Energy Production Pathways. Prepared for Natural Resources Canada. March 31. (S&T) 2 Consultants Inc Documentation for Natural Resources Canada’s GHGenius Model 3.0. Prepared for Natural Resources Canada. September 15. Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers Calculating Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Prepared by CAPP and Tom Michelussi of Atlas Environmental Engineering Ltd. Canadian Industry Energy End-Use Data Analysis Centre A Review if Energy Consumption in Canadian Oil Sands Operations, Heavy Oil Upgrading 1990, March. GHGenius version Model maintained by Natural Resources Canada, Transportation Energy Use Division. Svoboda, S Note on life cycle analysis. National Pollution Prevention Center for Higher Education. University of Michigan. LCA Note. Ann Arbor, Michigan. Wang, M.Q Well-to-wheels energy and emission effects of hybrid electric vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles in the U.S. Center for Transportation Research, Argonne National Laboratory (U.S.). Presented at MIT/Industry Consortium on Advanced Automotive Electric/Electronic Components and Systems Workshop, October 5 and 6. Barcelona, Spain.

GHG ENIUS A Model for Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Fuels Important input areas in GHGenius for oil sands modeling  Country weight factor  “Input” sheet, row 5  Selection of Canadian crude slate  “Input” sheet, rows 62 to 66  Energy use / type for Canadian crude production  “S” sheet, cells N7:S16  Fraction of crude from Canada  “S” sheet, cell O18