A comprehensive guide to the alberta oil sands may 2011. On march 9, 2017, shell announced it would sell all of its insitu and undeveloped oil sands interests in canada and reduce its share in the athabasca oil sands project aosp from 60% to 10%. Athabasca oil sands, canada cons 452 global perspectives. Because it takes energy to mine and separate oil from the sands, oil sands extraction releases more greenhouse gases than other forms of oil production. The acquisitions do not include any interest in the 100% shell owned scotford refinery or chemical. A picnic table overlooks syncrudes mildred lake oil sands upgrader north of fort mcmurray, alberta on tuesday, may 27. A hydrologic assessment of a salinespring fen in the. Oil sands are geologic formations that contain a mixture of thick, heavy oil, water and sand. Snowmelt samples from around the oil sands mining and refining areas were found to be toxic to larval minnows at concentrations as low as 25%, in a recent study. Land and water impacts of oil sands production in alberta. Under the anticipated expansion in oil sands production, not only could the oil sands project severely compromise canadas natural gas supplies, but canadian natural gas may. Bloomberg record low prices for heavy canadian crude have prompted one of the biggest operators in the oil sands to take the rare step of.
Abasand oils limited fonds, provincial archives of alberta. Earlier projections had oil sands production increasing from the presentday level of 1. The focus is on the effects of oil sands development on the regions air, water, land, climate change and biodiversitywildlife. Oil sands pollutants contaminate traditional first nations. What are the benefits to the athabasca oil sands answers. Oil sands maintenance delay adds crude to flooded oil. Oil sands is a form of heavy oil found in sand and rock primarily in the athabasca region of northern alberta, canada. Athabasca 2015 field history 29 leismer continues to be a toptier oil sands asset o 6 producing pads 35 sagd well pairs 34 pairs on production and infill wells on production o l3p3 fcd installed in may 2018 o 4 infill wells started on pad 5 in june 2018 o once through steam generator otsg commissioned in september 2018 to improve. Oil sands pollutants contaminate traditional first nations foods. If the keystone xl pipeline is dead, what is the future of the alberta tar sands. The sands are naturally occurring mixtures of sand or clay, water and an extremely dense and viscous form of. Deterministic modeling is commonly used to solve the heterogeneity problems in the reservoir, but rarely used to evaluate. Oil sands deposits account for a third of globally proven oil reserves, underlie large natural forested areas, and have extraction methods requiring large volumes of freshwater. As described in the student material this has become a major issue and could have significant impact on the plans for oil sands development.
Blackrod sagd pilot project athabasca oil sands area scheme approval no. Oil sands facilities currently account for about 9. The athabasca oil sands, also known as the athabasca tar sands, are large deposits of bitumen or extremely heavy crude oil, located in northeastern alberta, canada roughly centred on the boomtown of fort mcmurray. While eight billion barrels of oil sands crude oil have been produced to date, this represents. In situ recovery methods will be required to tap the 90 percent of reserves that are too deeply buried to be surface mined. The oil sands industry update, which is published quarterly, provides an overview of the current status of the oil sands industry expansion in alberta. Canadian natural and shell have also agreed with marathon oil corporation marathon oil to jointly acquire its 20% share in aosp and related oil sands investments.
Athabasca oil corporation hangingstone hs1 sagd 12,000 2015 7 blackpearl resources inc. The area is the site of the recovery and extraction of oil sands using mining. Oil sands are the most important of the oil and gas resources in canada. Oil sands, crude bitumen, or more technically bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. This series of images shows the growth of surface mines around the athabasca river from 1984 to the present. The athabasca oil sands first came to the attention of european fur traders in 1719 when wapasu, a cree trader, brought a sample of bituminous sands to the hudsons bay company post at york factory on hudson bay where henry kelsey was the manager. There has been a lot of talk in recent years surrounding the fight against climate change, but little in the way of a comprehensive strategy. Underground developments oil sands albertas energy heritage. The oil sands extraction process utilizes enough natural gas to heat approximately 3. Oil sands, tar sands, crude bitumen, or more technically bituminous sands, are a type of. Oil sands, also known as tar sands, or extra heavy oil, is a type of bitumen deposit. Canada oil sands worker tests negative for coronavirusciveo.
In rare step, oilsands giant shuts output to weather rout. It should be noted that cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel from yellow grease both have negligible land disturbance in comparison to oil sands. November 22, 2016 canadas oil sands have long been criticized for their large carbon footprint. The mines shown in the image emitted more than 20 million tons of greenhouse gases in 2008 a product of both oil production and electricity production for the mining operation. The heavy oil is called bitumen, which is defined as oil that is too heavy or thick to flow or be pumped without being diluted or heated. The existence of a thin aqueous film, separating bitumen a form of heavy oil from inorganic solids in athabasca oil sands, is analysed based on first principles. A typical oil sands deposit in alberta contains on average about 10% bitumen, 5% water and 85% solids, mostly in the form of coarse silica sand. View alberta oil sands research papers on academia. Process animation athabasca oil sands project youtube. Environmental consequences of oil production from oil sands. Sidney kidder, sidney blair, george hume, and elmer adkins l to r at the edmonton portion of the athabasca oil sands conference at the university of alberta, 1951 source. The athabasca oil sands are at once a source of oil, of economic growth, and of environmental concern.
Water management all major energy production requires water water requirements for oil sands production vary depending on the technology used for extraction. Canada is the leading source of oil imports for the u. An existing belief is that air quality in the northeastern alberta in the athabasca oil sands region aosr is poor and it is adversely affected by oil sands development weinhold, 2011. Two different methods are used to produce oil from the oil sands surface. The athabasca oil sands represent a form of oil deposit significantly more expensive to collect and refine than traditional oil deposits, with operators of extraction facilities being much more vulnerable to fluctuations in the oil price than those at traditional oil fields with lower costs for startup and continued operation. It takes about two tons of tar sands to get a barrel of oil. Definition oil sands or tar sands are a mixture of sand, clay, and water that contain an extra heavy crude oil variant known as bitumen. Introduction fort mcmurray is an interesting case studies for those interested in the oil sands, boreal forest loss, oil production using different technologies, and water toxicity. Pdf understanding waterbased bitumen extraction from.
Oil sands in situ the oil sands deposits of northern alberta represent one of the few reliable, longterm sources of oil supply. Media in category athabasca oil sands the following 112 files are in this category, out of 112 total. Athabasca oil corporation halts 2020 capital program. Cold heavy oil production with sand in the canadian heavy oil industry report. Record low prices for heavy canadian crude have prompted one of the biggest operators in the oil sands to take the rare step of shutting production. Athabasca oil sands conference establishes an alberta oil sands policy and stimulates commercial interest in the resource. Crude oil from oil sands will constitute a substantial share of future global oil demand. After advancements in technology significantly improved the economics of oil sands production, government and industry implemented an ambitious strategy in 1995. An introduction to development in albertas oil sands. Jun 24, 2010 find out the real story about the alberta oil sands, including the challenges we are facing and how the government of alberta is addressing them as a responsible energy producer.
Water is used in oil sands extraction to help separate extraheavy crude oil, also known as bitumen, from the sand, clay and water that make up the oil sands. The athabasca oil sands are large deposits of bitumen, or extremely heavy crude oil, located in northeastern alberta, canada roughly centered around the boomtown of fort mcmurray. Fort mcmurray is located in northeast alberta, and home to the athabasca oil sands. Due to the scale of the reserves, and the expected production life of many projects, there is the potential for production from the oil sands to have an impact on the refining industry in canada, the us, and elsewhere. A worker who became ill while staying at a canada oil sands work camp has tested negative for the new coronavirus, the camps operator. Ghg emissions per barrel of oil sands in 2014 were 31 percent below 1990 levels. Oil sands brochure fact sheet ressources naturelles canada. Presentation slides in pdf format will be available for download on our website home page approximately 30 minutes prior to the call. Alberta lies a promise of addiction tar sands that can be refined into. Understanding the oil sands oil sands september 2011. Though they appear to be visibly similar, tar and oil sands are different.
The oil sands are a huge benefit to the canadian economy but. Athabasca suspends canada oilsands operation on low. Oil sands sustainability we work closely with business and industry. So the distribution and evaluation of oil sands form a critical basis for risk investment in canada. Athabasca oil corporation is a differentiated canadian energy company focused on sustainable resource development of thermal and light oil assets. Report to the board of trustees on the oil sands project. In the last 15 years this has changed dramatically. The oil sands have been in the ground for millions of years, but for decades, prospectors lost millions of dollars trying to squeeze the oil out of the sand. Distribution of oil sands resources is severely controlled by the reservoir heterogeneity. The oil sands represent the worlds third largest proven reserves of oil. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and water, soaked with a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum technically referred to as bitumen. Oil sands brochure a strategic resource for canada, north. Understanding waterbased bitumen extraction from athabasca oil sands article pdf available in the canadian journal of chemical engineering 824. Oil sands are actually found all over the world, and are sometimes referred to as tar sands or bituminous sands.
Canadas postmined oil sands will have a higher concentration of salts compared with freshwater. We offer investors excellent exposure to oil prices and are focused on maximizing profitability through prudent capital activity across a diversified asset base. Oil sands contain a mixture of sand, water, clay and bitumen, and extraheavy oil that is too thick to be pumped without first being diluted or heated. The oil sands industry has made significant progress in reducing its emissions per barrel of oil produced. Alberta oil sands industry quarterly update open government.