Husky taps Axens technology for Lloydminster upgrader

Husky Energy Corp., Calgary, has selected Axens NA of Princeton, NJ, to supply three technologies for a possible future expansion of Husky's 82,000 b/sd heavy oil upgrader at Lloydminster.

Oct. 6, 2006

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Oct. 6 -- Husky Energy Corp., Calgary, has selected Axens NA of Princeton, NJ, to supply three technologies for a possible future expansion of Husky's 82,000 b/sd heavy oil upgrader at Lloydminster.

Axens has studied process configuration optimization to establish a firm technical basis for developing the basic engineering for the upgrader expansion. Such an expansion would increase production to 150,000 b/sd, enabling the unit to process additional heavy oil from operations in the Lloydminster area and the Tucker Oil Sands project at Cold Lake, Alta., 250 km away.

Axens will license a high conversion hydrocracker to convert vacuum gas oil into ultralow-sulfur diesel and additional high-quality distillates for synthetic crude production. A Prime-D unit also has been licensed to upgrade distillates to ULSD.

In addition, Axens will revamp the existing H-Oil hydrocracker to process 100% deasphalted oil. This modification will achieve high conversion to quality distillates for direct blending into the synthetic crude oil pool.