Hydrogeology of the Post-Devonian Sedimentary Succession at the AOSTRA Underground Test Facility

This report presents the geology and hydrogeology of the post-Devonian sedimentary strata at the Underground Test Facility (UTF) near Fort McMurray in northeastern Alberta where bitumen is extracted from the McMurray oil sands using the Steam Assisted Gravity drainage (SAGD) process. The report is a result of a collaborative agreement between Environment Canada and the Alberta Research Council to study the possibility of shallow groundwater contamination at the UTF site by fluids escaping the production zone and migrating upwards. The Oil Sands and Research Division of the Alberta Department of Energy (formerly the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority) supported the study by providing access to relevant data.