Cumulative Constraints Planning for Oil Sands Projects using GIS

This project applied a cumulative constraints approach to project planning, using discipline-specific environmental constraints that are scored, ranked, and mapped across the landscape to identify areas suitable for development and areas to avoid. The initiative included the creation of a training toolkit to guide operators in using the tool, with the goal of optimizing the placement of in situ oil sands facilities and associated pipelines. The project framework integrates multi-criteria decision analysis and a GIS-based decision support system to generate defensible, traceable, and repeatable decisions regarding footprint placement, while allowing configurable inputs, scoring, and weighting to reflect varying data quality and project-specific considerations.

The cumulative constraints tool proved adaptable to a range of project areas and data scenarios, providing operators with actionable and defensible outcomes. Users can configure inputs, weighting, and component interactions, enabling flexibility while maintaining sensitivity to environmental values. The tool supports risk management decision-making, allowing for comparative analysis and traceable, repeatable choices that are transparent to stakeholders. Its maintainable and extendable design ensures it can evolve with advances in science and regulatory requirements, while remaining accessible to individual operators without extensive training.