It’s been a tough year economically for the Lakeland, but some news has come in today that will bring hope to many.
Imperial Oil has filed a request with the Alberta Energy Regulator for a 2 billion dollar expansion of its operations in Cold Lake. The company plans to tap into the Grand Rapids formation, which it says contains roughly 550 million barrels of oil. The company also plans to introduce new technologies at expansion site that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water use per barrel by about 25 per cent compared to conventional methods.
If approved in a reasonable time frame, construction could begin as early as 2019.