Oilpatch is a term used in reference to the petroleum industry, particularily in Alberta, Canada. It describes much of the industries involved in the extraction, transportation, refining and other related industries to the process. There are hundreds of small companies in Alberta dedicated to providing all sorts of services to this industry - from drilling to well maintenance, pipeline maintenance to seismic exploration. Motto: Fortis et Liber (Strong and free) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Edmonton Largest city Calgary Lieutenant Governor Norman Kwong Premier Ralph Klein (PC) Area 661,848 km² (6th)  - Land 642,317 km²  - Water 19,531 km² (2. ... An oil well is a laymans term for any perforation through the Earths surface designed to find and release both petroleum oil and gas hydrocarbons. ... View of the Shell/Valero Martinez oil refinery An oil refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into useful petroleum products. ... Reflection seismology is a branch of seismology that uses reflected seismic waves to produce images of the Earths subsurface. ...

Industry Background

Alberta is the largest producer of conventional crude oil, synthetic crude, natural gas and gas products in the country. Two of the largest producers of petrochemicals in North America are located in central and north central Alberta. In both Red Deer and Edmonton, world class polyethylene and vinyl manufacturers produce products shipped all over the world, and Edmonton's oil refineries provide the raw materials for a large petrochemical industry to the east of Edmonton. Motto: Fortis et Liber (Strong and free) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Edmonton Largest city Calgary Lieutenant Governor Norman Kwong Premier Ralph Klein (PC) Area 661,848 km² (6th)  - Land 642,317 km²  - Water 19,531 km² (2. ... Nodding donkey pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario, 2001 Petroleum (from Latin petrus – rock and oleum – oil), mineral oil, or crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish flammable liquid, which exists in the upper strata of some areas of the Earths... Synthetic crude is a type of crude oil developed by upgrading bitumen (a tar like substance found in tar sands). ... Natural gas rig Natural gas (commonly refered to as gas in many countries) is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane. ... Main articles: History of Canada, Timeline of Canadian history Aboriginal tradition holds that the First Peoples have inhabited parts of what is now called Canada since the dawn of time. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and fourth in population after Asia and Africa in area and population and Europe in population. ... Red Deer (52°16′ N 113°48′ W) is a small city in central Alberta, Canada, located almost exactly midway between Calgary and Edmonton within the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor. ... {{Canadian City/Disable Field={{{Disable Motto Link}}}}} Motto: Industry Integrity Progress City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Location. ... Polyethylene or polyethene is an engineering thermoplastic heavily used in consumer products. ... A vinyl is an organic molecule containing a vinyl group: H R / C = C / H H where R represents a functional group such as a hydrocarbon or halogen. ... View of the Shell/Valero Martinez oil refinery An oil refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into useful petroleum products. ... A petrochemical is any chemical derived from fossil fuel. ...

The Athabasca Oil Sands (previously known as the Athabasca Tar Sands) have estimated oil reserves in excess of that of the rest of the world, estimated to be 1.6 trillion barrels (254 km³). With the advancement of extraction methods, bitumen and economical synthetic crude are produced at costs nearing that of conventional crude. This technology is Alberta grown and developed. Many companies employ both conventional strip mining and non-conventional methods to extract the bitumen from the Athabasca deposit. With current technology, only 315 billion barrels (50 km³) are recoverable. Fort McMurray, one of Canada's youngest and liveliest cities, has grown up entirely because of the large multinational corporations which have taken on the task of oil production. Tar sands in Alberta The Athabasca Oil Sands (or Tar Sands) is a large deposit of tar sands in north-western Canada located mainly in the province of Alberta and, to a much lesser degree Saskatchewan. ... Fort McMurray is a town in the northeastern part of Canadas western province of Alberta, in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Alberta. ...

While Edmonton is considered the pipeline junction, manufacturing, chemical processing, research and refining centre of the province, Calgary is known for its senior and junior oil company head offices. {{Canadian City/Disable Field={{{Disable Motto Link}}}}} Motto: Heart of the new west City of Calgary, Alberta, Canada Location. ...