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November 20, 2012

KBR to execute oil-sands tailings-management project in Canada

Gerald Ondrey

KBR (Houston; www.kbr.com) was awarded two contracts for Syncrude Canada Ltd. (Syncrude) to execute module fabrication and field construction for its Fluid Fine Tailings – Centrifuging Full Scale Plant (FFT-CFSP) in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. Syncrude, which operates a surface mining oil sands plant in northeastern Alberta, is currently implementing a multi-pronged approach to manage tailings — the byproduct of the bitumen extraction process.

KBR Canada subsidiary, KBR Industrial Canada, Co., as the General Contractor, will provide constructability, module fabrication and construction services for FFT-CFSP, a project using Syncrude’s newest tailings-reduction technology. Module fabrication is scheduled to begin late this year and run through the end of 2013. Construction will follow with mechanical completion scheduled to allow plant start-up in 2015. The process is designed to pump fluid fine tailings through a series of centrifuges to separate the maximum amount of water from the solids. Released water will be recycled for plant operations and the soil product of the centrifuge process will have sufficient density and strength to be placed in deposits, then capped and reclaimed.