NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Tar sands

Tar sands is a common term for what are more accurately called bituminous sands, but also commonly referred to as oil sands or (in Venezuela) extra heavy oil. The material is a naturally occurring mixture of sand or clay, water, and extra heavy crude oil or bitumen which is found in significant amounts in various countries throughout the world, but occurs in vast quantities in Canada and Venezuela. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x1753, 610 KB) This map shows the extent of the oils sands in Alberta, Canada. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x1753, 610 KB) This map shows the extent of the oils sands in Alberta, Canada. ... The Athabasca Oil Sands in Alberta, Canada. ... For other uses, see Sand (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Clay (disambiguation). ... Ewer from Iran, dated 1180-1210CE. Composed of brass worked in repoussÃ© and inlaid with silver and bitumen. ...

The word tar to describe these deposits is a misnomer, since, chemically speaking, tar is a man-made substance produced by the destructive distillation of organic material whereas these formations contain an extremely heavy and viscous grade of crude oil. The distinction is significant since, compared to tar, bitumen and extra heavy crude oil are relatively easy to upgrade to lightweight crude oil, and conventional oil refineries can be modified to process them directly to fuels and other products, albeit at a higher cost than conventional crude oil. Tar can be produced from corn stalks by heating in a microwave. ... Look up Misnomer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Destructive Distillation means driving off (and collecting) gas from some matter by heating it in the absence of air, where pyrolysis occurs during heating. ... Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a fluid to deformation under shear stress. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Petroleum (from Greek petra â€“ rock and elaion â€“ oil or Latin oleum â€“ oil ) or crude oil is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Petroleum (from Greek petra â€“ rock and elaion â€“ oil or Latin oleum â€“ oil ) or crude oil is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ...

Conventional crude oil is normally extracted from the ground by drilling wells into the formations, into which light or medium density oil often initially flows under natural reservoir pressures, although artificial lift and enhanced recovery techniques are usually required to maintain production later in their lives. Because recovery rates are very low using conventional oil production techniques, tar sand deposits are usually strip mined or made to flow into producing wells by in situ techniques which reduce the bitumen's viscosity using steam and/or solvents, or sometimes hot air. These processes generally use more water and require larger amounts of energy than conventional oil extraction. Strip mining is the practice of mining a seam of mineral ore by first removing all of the soil and rock that lies on top of it. ... In situ is a Latin phrase meaning in the place. ... For other uses, see Viscosity (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Steam (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Solvent (disambiguation). ...

The heavy crude oil or crude bitumen extracted from these deposits is a viscous, solid or semisolid form that does not easily flow at normal environmental temperatures and pressures, making it difficult and expensive to process into gasoline, diesel fuel, and other products. Despite the difficulty and cost, tar sands are now being mined on a vast scale to extract the bitumen, which is then converted into synthetic oil by bitumen upgraders, or refined directly into petroleum products by specialized refineries. Heavy crude oil is the type of crude oil which is characterised by the presence of high amount of wax in it, as compared to light crude oil which contains a lesser amount of wax. ... Ewer from Iran, dated 1180-1210CE. Composed of brass worked in repoussÃ© and inlaid with silver and bitumen. ... Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a fluid to deformation under shear stress. ... An environment is a complex of external factors that acts on a system and determines its course and form of existence. ... Synthetic crude is a type of crude oil developed by upgrading bitumen (a tar like substance found in tar sands). ... A petrochemical refinery in Grangemouth, Scotland. ... View of Shell Oil Refinery in Martinez, California. ...

Many countries in the world have large deposits of tar sands, including the United States, Russia, and various countries in the Middle East. However, the world's largest deposits occur in two countries: Canada and Venezuela, both of which have tar sands reserves approximately equal to the world's total reserves of conventional crude oil. As a result of the development of these reserves, most Canadian oil production in the 21st century is from tar sands or heavy oil deposits, and Canada has become the largest supplier of oil and refined products to the United States. Venezuelan production is also very large, but due to its political problems, estimates of its production data are not reliable, and its oil production is believed to have been declining. A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Petroleum (from Greek petra â€“ rock and elaion â€“ oil or Latin oleum â€“ oil ) or crude oil is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ...

As oil source, by location

Oil sands were used by the ancient Mesopotamians and Canadian First Nations, among others. In the modern era, they were extensively mined near the city of Pechelbronn, where the vapor separation process was in use in 1742^[1]. This is an article about the ancient middle eastern region. ... First Nations is a term of ethnicity that refers to the indigenous peoples in what is now Canada who are neither Inuit nor MÃ©tis people. ... Merkwiller-Pechelbronn is a community in Alsace, noted as the original home of oil sands mining. ...

They have only recently been considered to be part of the world's oil reserves, as higher oil prices and new technology enable them to be profitably extracted and upgraded to usable products. Oil sand is often referred to as non-conventional oil or crude bitumen, in order to distinguish the bitumen and synthetic oil extracted from tar sands from the free-flowing hydrocarbon mixtures known as crude oil traditionally produced from oil wells. See Bituminous rocks. Non-conventional oil is oil extracted using techniques other than the traditional oil well method. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Petroleum (from Greek petra â€“ rock and elaion â€“ oil or Latin oleum â€“ oil ) or crude oil is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ... 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. ... Bituminous rocks are sedimentary rocks, usually shale, sandstone, limestone or dolostone, that contain traces of tar, bitumen, asphalt or petroleum. ...

Oil sands may represent as much as 2/3 of the world's total petroleum resource, with at least 1.7 trillion barrels (270 km³) in the Canadian Athabasca Oil Sands and perhaps 235 billion barrels (37,400,000,000 m³) of extra heavy crude in the Venezuelan Orinoco tar sands ^[2], compared to 1.75 trillion barrels (278 km³) of conventional oil worldwide, most of it in Saudi Arabia and other Middle-Eastern countries. Between them, the Canadian and Venezuelan deposits contain about 3.6 trillion barrels (422 km³) of oil in place. This is only the remnant of vast petroleum deposits which once totaled as much as 18 trillion barrels (2,100 km³), most of which has escaped or been destroyed by bacteria over the eons. See also below notes about limits to production capacity. The Athabasca Oil Sands in Alberta, Canada. ... The Orinoco Oil Sands, also known as the Orinoco Tar Sands, are deposits of oil sands located near the Orinoco River in Venezuela. ... The traditional Middle East and the G8s Greater Middle East Political & transportation map of the traditional Middle East today The Middle East is a historical and political region of Africa-Eurasia with no clear definition. ...

Canada

Canada is the largest supplier of crude oil and refined products to the U.S.^[3], with over a million barrels per day coming from tar sands. The Athabasca Oil Sands in Alberta, Canada. ... Canadas oil sands and heavy oil resources are among the worlds great petroleum deposits. ...

Most of the sands of Canada are located in three major deposits in northern Alberta. These are the Athabasca-Wabiskaw oil sands of north northeastern Alberta, the Cold Lake deposits of east northeastern Alberta, and the Peace River deposits of northwestern Alberta. Between them they cover over 140,000 square kilometres (54,000 sq mi) - an area larger than England - and hold proven reserves of 1,750,000,000,000 barrels (280 gigatonnes) of bitumen in place. About ten percent of this is presently recoverable, which amounts to three-quarters of North American petroleum reserves. In addition to the Alberta deposits, there are major oil sands deposits on Melville Island in the Canadian Arctic islands which are unlikely to see commercial production in the foreseeable future. For other uses, see Alberta (disambiguation). ... The Athabasca Oil Sands in Alberta, Canada. ... Location of Cold Lake in Alberta Coordinates: , Country Canada Province Alberta Region Central Alberta Census division 12 Incorporated Town: 1996 City: 2000 Government - Mayor Allan Buck - Manager Ron McCullough - Governing body Cold Lake City Council - MP Brian Storseth - MLA Denis Ducharme Area - City 30. ... For other uses, see Peace River. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Ewer from Iran, dated 1180-1210CE. Composed of brass worked in repoussÃ© and inlaid with silver and bitumen. ... Categories: Canada geography stubs | Islands of Canada | Nunavut geography | Northwest Territories geography ... Reference map of Canadian arctic islands. ...

The Alberta deposits contain at least 85% of the world's total reserves of natural bitumen but are concentrated enough to be the only deposits that are economically recoverable for conversion to oil at current prices. The largest bitumen deposit, containing about 80% of the total, and the only one suitable for surface mining is the Athabasca Oil Sands along the Athabasca River. The mineable area (as defined by the Alberta government) includes 37 townships covering about 3,400 square kilometres (1,300 sq mi) near Fort McMurray. The smaller Cold Lake deposits are important because some of the oil is fluid enough to be extracted by conventional methods. All three Alberta areas are suitable for production using in-situ methods such as cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) and steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). Ewer from Iran, dated 1180-1210CE. Composed of brass worked in repoussÃ© and inlaid with silver and bitumen. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Athabasca Oil Sands in Alberta, Canada. ... Athabasca River watershed in western Canada The Athabasca River (French: riviÃ¨re Athabasca) originates from the Columbia Glacier of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada. ... The term township generally means the district or area associated with a town. ... Fort McMurray is a town in the northeastern part of Canadas western province of Alberta, in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Alberta. ... Location of Cold Lake in Alberta Coordinates: , Country Canada Province Alberta Region Central Alberta Census division 12 Incorporated Town: 1996 City: 2000 Government - Mayor Allan Buck - Manager Ron McCullough - Governing body Cold Lake City Council - MP Brian Storseth - MLA Denis Ducharme Area - City 30. ... A fluid is defined as a substance that continually deforms (flows) under an applied shear stress regardless of the magnitude of the applied stress. ... In situ is a Latin phrase meaning in the place. ... Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is an enhanced oil recovery technology for heavy crude oil and bitumen. ...

The Alberta oil sands have been in commercial production since the original Great Canadian Oil Sands (now Suncor) mine began operation in 1967. A second mine, operated by the Syncrude consortium, began operation in 1978 and is the biggest mine of any type in the world. The third mine in the Athabasca Oil Sands, the Albian Sands consortium of Shell Canada, Chevron Corporation and Western Oil Sands Inc. began operation in 2003. Petro Canada is also developing its $33 billion Fort Hills Project, in partnership with UTS Energy Corporation and Teck Cominco. If approved in 2008, Fort Hills Oilsands upgraders are slated to begin output in 2012. Suncor Energy Inc. ... This article is about Syncrude Canada Ltd. ... The Athabasca Oil Sands in Alberta, Canada. ... Shell Canada Limited (TSX: SHC) is one of Canadas largest integrated oil companies. ... Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) is one of the worlds largest global energy companies. ... Petro-Canada (TSX: PCA, NYSE: PCZ) is a Canadian oil and gas firm. ... Teck-Cominco TSX: TEK is a Canadian mining company. ...

With the development of new in-situ production techniques such as steam assisted gravity drainage, and with the Oil price increases since 2003, there were several dozen companies planning nearly 100 oil sands mines and in-situ projects in Canada, totaling nearly $100 billion in capital investment. With 2007 crude oil prices significantly in excess of the current average cost of production for tar sands of $28 per barrel ^[4] all of these projects appear likely to be profitable. However, tar sands production costs are rising rapidly, with production cost increases of 55% since 2005, due to shortages of labor and materials. ^[5] In situ is a Latin phrase meaning in the place. ... Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is an enhanced oil recovery technology for heavy crude oil and bitumen. ...

The minority Conservative government of Canada, pressured to do more on the environment, announced in its 2007 budget that it will phase out some oil sands tax incentives over coming years. The provision allowing accelerated write-off of oil sands investments will be phased out gradually so projects that had relied on them can proceed. For new projects the provision will be phased out between 2011 and 2015. ^[6]

With oil prices setting new highs in 2007, tax incentives were no longer necessary to encourage oil sands projects in Canada. In July Royal Dutch Shell released its 2006 annual report and announced that its Canadian oil sands unit made an after tax profit of $21.75 per barrel, nearly double its worldwide profit of $12.41 per barrel on conventional crude oil.^[7] A few days later Shell announced it filed for regulatory approval to build a $27 billion oil sands refinery in Alberta, one of $38 billion in new oil sands projects announced that week.^[8] Royal Dutch Shell plc is a multinational oil company of British and Dutch origins. ...

Venezuela

Located in eastern Venezuela, north of the Orinoco River, the Orinoco oil belt vies with the Canadian tar sand for largest known accumulation of bitumen in the world. Venezuela prefers to call its tar sands "extra heavy oil", and although the distinction is somewhat academic, the extra heavy crude oil deposit of the Orinoco Belt represent nearly 90% of the known global reserves of extra heavy crude oil. The Orinoco Oil Sands, also known as the Orinoco Tar Sands, are deposits of oil sands located near the Orinoco River in Venezuela. ... This page is about the Orinoco River, for the Aphra Behn novel see Oroonoko With a length of 2140 km, the Orinoco is one of the largest rivers of South America. ... Formally named in spanish Faja PetrolÃfera del Orinoco (Orinoco Petroleum Belt), is a territory which occupies the southern strip of Eastern river basin of Venezuela, specifically at the south of GuÃ¡rico, AzoÃ¡tegui, Monagas, and Delta Amacuro states, and it is close to the river line. ... Plato is credited with the inception of academia: the body of knowledge, its development and transmission across generations. ...

Bitumen and extra-heavy oil are closely related types of petroleum, differing only in the degree by which they have been degraded from the original crude oil by bacteria and erosion. The Venezuelan deposits are less degraded than the Canadian deposits and are at a higher temperature (over 50 degrees Celsius versus freezing for northern Canada), making them easier to extract by conventional techniques. For other uses, see Celsius (disambiguation). ...

Although it is easier to produce, it is still too heavy to transport by pipeline or process in normal refineries. Lacking access to first-world capital and technological prowess, Venezuela has not been able to design and build the kind of bitumen upgraders and heavy oil refineries that Canada has. In the early 1980’s the state oil company, PDVSA, developed a method of using the extra-heavy oil resources by emulsifying it with water (70% extra-heavy oil, 30% water) to allow it to flow in pipelines. The resulting product, called Orimulsion, can be burned in boilers as a replacement for coal and heavy fuel oil with only minor modifications. Unfortunately, the fuel’s high sulphur content and emission of particulates make it difficult to meet increasingly strict international environmental regulations.

Further development of the Venezuelan resources has been curtailed by political unrest. Venezuela is much less politically stable than a country such as Canada, and a strike by employees of the state oil company was followed by the dismissal of most of its staff. As tensions resolved, strike leaders pointed to the reduction in Venezuela's domestic crude output as an argument that Venezuela's oil production had fallen. However, Venezuela's tar sands crude production, which sometimes wasn't counted in its total, has increased from 125,000 bbl/d (19,900 m³/d) to 500,000 bbl/d (79,000 m³/d) between 2001 and 2006 (Venezuela's figures; IAEA says 300,000 bpd). ^[9]^[10]

USA

Utah's Tar Sand Resource consists of eight major deposits with a combined shallow oil resource of 32.0 billion barrels (5,090,000,000 m³) of oil. The largest of these deposits, the Tar Sand Triangle as it is known, covers an area of 148,000 acres (599 km²) and is located in Wayne and Garfield Counties, between the Dirty Devil and Colorado Rivers. This article is about the U.S. state. ... Wayne County is a county located in the state of Utah. ... Garfield County is a county located in the state of Utah. ... The Dirty Devil River near Twin Corral Box Canyon The Dirty Devil River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 80 mi (129 km) long, in south central Utah in the United States. ... The Colorado River from the bottom of Marble Canyon, in the Upper Grand Canyon Colorado River in the Grand Canyon from Desert View The Colorado River from Laughlin Horseshoe Bend is a horseshoe-shaped meander of the Colorado River located near the town of Page, Arizona The Colorado River is...

The Utah Tar Sands have been quarried since the early 1900s primarily for road paving material. Several pilot extraction tests have been operated by oil companies at various times since 1972. The most recent pilot tests at Asphalt Ridge were conducted by the Laramie Energy Technology Center of the U.S. Department of Energy. In 1975 through 1978 they completed experimental testing of a combined reverse-forward combustion and steam injection scheme. It was concluded that additional testing was necessary.

Extraction process

Download high resolution version (1050x696, 651 KB)Extraction separation cell. ... Download high resolution version (1050x696, 651 KB)Extraction separation cell. ...

Surface mining

Since Great Canadian Oil Sands (now Suncor) started operation of its mine in 1967, bitumen has been extracted on a commercial scale from the Athabasca Oil Sands by surface mining. In the Athabasca sands there are very large amounts of bitumen covered by little overburden, making mining the most efficient method of extracting it. The overburden consists of water-laden muskeg (peat bog) over top of clay and barren sand. The tar sands themselves are typically 40 to 60 metres deep, sitting on top of flat limestone rock. Originally, the sands were mined with draglines and bucket-wheel excavators and moved to the processing plants by conveyor belts. In recent years companies such as Syncrude and Suncor have switched to much cheaper shovel-and-truck operations using the biggest power shovels (100 or more tons) ^[11] and dump trucks (400 tons) in the world. This has reduced production costs to around $15 per barrel of synthetic crude oil. Suncor Energy Inc. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Muskeg is a soil type (also a peatland or wetland type called a bog) common in arctic and boreal areas. ... For other uses, see Limestone (disambiguation). ... Huge Manitowok 4600 Heavy lift Dragline at the SNS Project, 2005. ... Bucket wheel excavator in Ferropolis, Germany Bucket-wheel excavators are heavy equipment used in surface mining and civil engineering. ... Point of contact between a power transmission belt and its pulley. ... This article is about Syncrude Canada Ltd. ... Suncor Energy Inc. ... A dump truck or production truck is a truck used for transporting loose material (such as sand, gravel, or dirt) for construction. ... In microeconomics, production is the act of making things, in particular the act of making products that will be traded or sold commercially. ... Synthetic crude is a type of crude oil developed by upgrading bitumen (a tar like substance found in tar sands). ...

After excavation, hot water and caustic soda (NaOH) is added to the sand, and the resulting slurry is piped to the extraction plant where it is agitated and the oil skimmed from the top. ^[12] Provided that the water chemistry is appropriate to allow bitumen to separate from sand and clay, the combination of hot water and agitation releases bitumen from the tar sand, and allows small air bubbles to attach to the bitumen droplets. The bitumen froth floats to the top of separation vessels, and is further treated to remove residual water and fine solids. Bitumen is much thicker than traditional crude oil, so it must be either mixed with lighter petroleum (either liquid or gas) or chemically split before it can be transported by pipeline for upgrading into synthetic crude oil. Ewer from Iran, dated 1180-1210CE. Composed of brass worked in repoussÃ© and inlaid with silver and bitumen. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Petroleum (from Greek petra â€“ rock and elaion â€“ oil or Latin oleum â€“ oil ) or crude oil is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ...

The bitumen is then transported and eventually upgraded into synthetic crude oil. About two tons of tar sands are required to produce one barrel (roughly 1/8 of a ton) of oil. Roughly 75% of the bitumen can be recovered from sand. After oil extraction, the spent sand and other materials are then returned to the mine, which is eventually reclaimed.

Recent enhancements to this method include Tailings Oil Recovery (TOR) units which recover oil from the tailings, Diluent Recovery Units to recover naptha from the froth, Inclined Plate Settlers (IPS) and disc centrifuges. These allow the extraction plants to recover over 90% of the bitumen in the sand. Tailings (also known as slickens[1]) are the waste left over[2] after removing the gangue from ore. ... Tailings (also known as slickens[1]) are the waste left over[2] after removing the gangue from ore. ... Categories: Move to Wiktionary | Stub ... Naphtha is a group of various volatile flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixtures used chiefly as solvents. ...

Three tar sands mines are currently in operation and a fourth is in the initial stages of development. The original Suncor mine opened in 1967, while the Syncrude mine started in 1978 and Shell Canada opened its Muskeg River mine (Albian Sands) in 2003. New mines under construction or undergoing approval include Canadian Natural Resources Ltd Horizon Project (in the initial stages of development), Shell Canada's Jackpine mine, Imperial Oil's Kearl Oil Sands Project, Synenco Energy's Northern Lights mine, and Petro-Canada's Fort Hills mine. Suncor Energy Inc. ... This article is about Syncrude Canada Ltd. ... Shell Canada Limited (TSX: SHC) is one of Canadas largest integrated oil companies. ... Shell Canada Limited (TSX: SHC) is one of Canadas largest integrated oil companies. ... Imperial Oil Limited TSX: IMO AMEX: IMO is Canadas largest petroleum company. ... The Kearl Oil Sands Project is a proposed oil sands mine and bitumen upgrader in the Athabasca Oil Sands region. ... Petro-Canada is a Canadian oil and gas firm headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. ...

It is estimated that approximately 80% of the Alberta tar sands and nearly all of Venezuelan sands are too far below the surface to use open-pit mining. Several in-situ techniques have been developed to extract this oil. ^[13] El Chino, located near Silver City, New Mexico, is an open-pit copper mine Open-pit mining, or opencast mining, refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow. ... In situ is a Latin phrase meaning in the place. ...

Cold flow

In this technique, the oil is simply pumped out of the sands, often using progressive cavity pumps. This only works well in areas where the oil is fluid enough. It is commonly used in Venezuela (where the extra-heavy oil is at 50 degrees Celsius), and also in the Wabasca, Alberta Oil Sands, the southern part of the Cold Lake, Alberta Oil Sands and the Peace River Oil Sands. It has the advantage of being cheap and the disadvantage that it recovers only 5-6% of the oil in place. A progressive cavity pump, also known as a progressing cavity pump, eccentric screw pump or even just cavity pump (also as is common in engineering generally, named after a major manufacturer; Nemo pump or ROBBINS & MYERS MOYNO PUMP), is a kind of pump that transfers fluid by means of the... A fluid is defined as a substance that continually deforms (flows) under an applied shear stress regardless of the magnitude of the applied stress. ... For other uses, see Celsius (disambiguation). ... Location of Cold Lake in Alberta Coordinates: , Country Canada Province Alberta Region Central Alberta Census division 12 Incorporated Town: 1996 City: 2000 Government - Mayor Allan Buck - Manager Ron McCullough - Governing body Cold Lake City Council - MP Brian Storseth - MLA Denis Ducharme Area - City 30. ... Oil in place is a term referring to the total hydrocarbon content of an oil reservoir and is often abbreviated STOOIP, which stands for In this case, stock tank refers to the storage vessel containing the oil after production. ...

Some years ago Canadian oil companies discovered that if they removed the sand filters from the wells and produced as much sand as possible with the oil, production rates improved remarkably. This technique became known as Cold Heavy Oil Production with Sand (CHOPS). Further research disclosed that pumping out sand opened "wormholes" in the sand formation which allowed more oil to reach the wellbore. The advantage of this method is better production rates and recovery (around 10%) and the disadvantage that disposing of the produced sand is a problem. A novel way to do this was spreading it on rural roads, which rural governments liked because the oily sand reduced dust and the oil companies did their road maintenance for them. However, governments have become concerned about how thick the roads were becoming, so in recent years disposing of sand in underground salt caverns has become common. For other uses, see Sand (disambiguation). ... For the company, see Waste Management, Inc. ... A gravel road is a road which is paved with small pieces of broken rock, called gravel. ... A close-up view of some freshly-laid tarmac. ... For other uses, see Road (disambiguation). ... A salt mine is an operation involved in the extraction of salt. ...

Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS)

The use of steam injection to recover heavy oil has been in use in the oil fields of California since the 1950s. The Cyclic Steam Stimulation or "huff-and-puff" method has been in use by Imperial Oil at Cold Lake since 1985 and is also used by Canadian Natural Resources at Primrose and Wolf Lake and by Shell Canada at Peace River. In this method, the well is put through cycles of steam injection, soak, and oil production. First, steam is injected into a well at a temperature of 300 to 340 degrees Celsius for a period of weeks to months; then, the well is allowed to sit for days to weeks to allow heat to soak into the formation; and, later, the hot oil is pumped out of the well for a period of weeks or months. Once the production rate falls off, the well is put through another cycle of injection, soak and production. This process is repeated until the cost of injecting steam becomes higher than the money made from producing oil. The CSS method has the advantage that recovery factors are around 20 to 25% and the disadvantage that the cost to inject steam is high. Steam injection is an increasingly common method of extracting heavy oil. ... For other uses, see Steam (disambiguation). ... Imperial Oil Limited TSX: IMO AMEX: IMO is Canadas largest petroleum company. ... Location of Cold Lake in Alberta Coordinates: , Country Canada Province Alberta Region Central Alberta Census division 12 Incorporated Town: 1996 City: 2000 Government - Mayor Allan Buck - Manager Ron McCullough - Governing body Cold Lake City Council - MP Brian Storseth - MLA Denis Ducharme Area - City 30. ... Canadian Natural Resources Limited TSX: CNQ NYSE: CNQ is an oil and natural gas exploration, development and production company based in Calgary, Alberta. ... For other uses, see Celsius (disambiguation). ...

Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD)

Steam assisted gravity drainage was developed in the 1980s by an Alberta government research center and fortuitously coincided with improvements in directional drilling technology that made it quick and inexpensive to do by the mid 1990s. In SAGD, two horizontal wells are drilled in the tar sands, one at the bottom of the formation and another about 5 metres above it. These wells are typically drilled in groups off central pads and can extend for miles in all directions. In each well pair, steam is injected into the upper well, the heat melts the bitumen, which allows it to flow into the lower well, where it is pumped to the surface. SAGD has proved to be a major breakthrough in production technology since it is cheaper than CSS, allows very high oil production rates, and recovers up to 60% of the oil in place. Because of its very favorable economics and applicability to a vast area of tar sands, this method alone quadrupled North American oil reserves and allowed Canada to move to second place in world oil reserves after Saudi Arabia. Most major Canadian oil companies now have SAGD projects in production or under construction in Alberta's tar sands areas and in Wyoming. Examples include Japan Canada Oil Sands Ltd's (JACOS) project, Suncor’s Firebag project, Nexen's Long Lake project, Petro-Canada's MacKay River project, Husky Energy's Tucker Lake and Sunrise projects, Shell Canada's Peace River project, Encana's Foster Creek development, ConocoPhillips Surmont project, and Devon Canada's Jackfish project, and Derek Oil & Gas's LAK Ranch project. Alberta's OSUM Corp has combined proven underground mining technology with SAGD to enable higher recovery rates by running wells from underground within the tar sands deposit, thus also reducing energy requirements compared to traditional SAGD. This particular technology application is in its testing phase and has stranded oil and other carbonate applications as well. Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is an enhanced oil recovery technology for heavy crude oil and bitumen. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Drilling Rig, Reverse circulation in Western Australia A drilling rig is a machine which creates holes (usually called boreholes) and/or shafts in the ground. ... A disruptive technology or disruptive innovation is a technological innovation, product, or service that eventually overturns the existing dominant technology or product in the market. ... In microeconomics, production is the act of making things, in particular the act of making products that will be traded or sold commercially. ... Suncor Energy Inc. ... Nexen is an energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. ... Petro-Canada is a Canadian oil and gas firm headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. ... External links Husky Energy Categories: Corporation stubs | Companies of Canada ... Shell Canada Limited (TSX: SHC) is one of Canadas largest integrated oil companies. ... EnCana Corporation is one of the worlds largest independently owned oil and gas companies. ... ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is an international energy company with its headquarters located in Houston, Texas. ... Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN), headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, is a Fortune 500 company. ...

Vapor Extraction Process (VAPEX)

VAPEX is similar to SAGD but instead of steam, hydrocarbon solvents are injected into the upper well to dilute the bitumen and allow it to flow into the lower well. It has the advantage of much better energy efficiency than steam injection and it does some partial upgrading of bitumen to oil right in the formation. It is very new but has attracted much attention from oil companies, who are beginning to experiment with it.

The above three methods are not mutually exclusive. It is becoming common for wells to be put through one CSS injection-soak-production cycle to condition the formation prior to going to SAGD production, and companies are experimenting with combining VAPEX with SAGD to improve recovery rates and lower energy costs.

Toe to Heel Air Injection (THAI)

This is a very new and experimental method that combines a vertical air injection well with a horizontal production well. The process ignites oil in the reservoir and creates a vertical wall of fire moving from the "toe" of the horizontal well toward the "heel", which burns the heavier oil components and drives the lighter components into the production well, where it is pumped out. In addition, the heat from the fire upgrades some of the heavy bitumen into lighter oil right in the formation. Historically fireflood projects have not worked out well because of difficulty in controlling the flame front and a propensity to set the producing wells on fire. However, some oil companies feel the THAI method will be more controllable and practical, and have the advantage of not requiring energy to create steam.

Environment

Like all mining and non-renewable resource development projects, oil sands operations have an effect on the environment. Oil sands projects affect land when the bitumen is mined, the water during the separation process and the air due to the release of carbon dioxide emissions. Additional indirect effects are common to any fossil fuel producer, in that the products sold are mostly burned and the combustion products released into the atmosphere.

Air

The Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA) monitors the air in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This is done through a variety of air, land and human monitoring programs. The information collected is openly shared with stakeholders and the public.

Since 1995, monitoring in the oil sands region shows improved or no change in long term air quality for the five key air quality pollutants--carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and sulphur dioxide—used to calculate the Air Quality Index ^[14]. However, air monitoring has shown significant increases in exceedances of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in the Fort McMurray area and near oil sands upgraders.

Hydrogen sulfide (or hydrogen sulphide) is the chemical compound with the formula H₂S. This colorless, toxic and flammable gas is responsible for the foul odour of rotten eggs. Hydrogen sulfide gas occurs naturally in crude petroleum, natural gas, volcanic gases and hot springs. It also can result from bacterial breakdown of organic matter and be produced by human and animal wastes. Look up chemical compound in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A chemical formula is an easy way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound. ... This article is about the chemistry of hydrogen. ... This article is about the chemical element. ... Toxic redirects here, but this is also the name of a song by Britney Spears; see Toxic (song) Look up toxic and toxicity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Gas (disambiguation). ... In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ...

In 2007, the Alberta government issued an Environmental Protection Order to Suncor Energy Inc. The order comes in response to numerous occasions when ground level concentration (GLC) for H2S exceeded acceptable standards ^[15]. Environmental Protection Orders are issued under the authority of Alberta’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. Alberta Environment can issue Environmental Protection Orders to remedy environmental problems where there has been a release of a substance that has caused or may cause an adverse effect to the environment.

Land

A large part of oil sands mining operations involves clearing trees and brush from a site and removing the overburden - the topsoil, muskeg, sand, clay and gravel - that sits atop the oil sands deposit ^[16]. As a condition of licensing, projects are required to implement a reclamation plan ^[17]. The mining industry asserts that the boreal forest will eventually colonize the reclaimed lands, but that their operations are massive and work on long-term timeframes. As of 2006/2007 (the most recent data available), about 420 km² of land in the oil sands region have been disturbed, and 65 km² of that land is under reclamation.^[18] In March 2008, Alberta issued the first-ever oil sands land reclamation certificate to Syncrude Canada Ltd. for the 104-hectare parcel of land known as Gateway Hill approximately 35 kilometres north of Fort McMurray. ^[19] Several reclamation certificate applications for oil sands projects are expected within the next 10 years.^[20] Mine reclamation is the process of creating useful landscapes that meet a variety of goals, typically creating productive ecosystems (or sometimes industrial or municipal land) from mined land. ...

Syncrude say that at their Base Mine site, land reclamation now exceeds disturbance as that mine reaches the end of its production life. In 2006, Syncrude spent more than $30 million on reclamation activities. To date, they have reclaimed over 46 km² and planted around 4.5 million tree seedlings. ^[21]

Water

Between 2 to 4.5 volume units of water are used to produce each volume unit of synthetic crude oil (SCO) in an ex-situ mining operation. Despite recycling, almost all of it ends up in tailings ponds. In SAGD operations, 90 to 95 percent of the water is recycled and only about 0.2 volume units of water is used per volume unit of bitumen produced. ^[22] The Pembina Institute reported "Approved oil sands mining operations are currently licensed to divert 359 million m³ from the Athabasca River, or more than twice the volume of water required to meet the annual municipal needs of the City of Calgary."^[23]

The Athabasca River in the 9th longest river in Canada running 1,231 kilometres from the Athabasca Glacier in west-central Alberta to Lake Athabasca in northeastern Alberta ^[24]. The average annual flow just downstream of Fort McMurray is 633 cubic metres per second ^[25] with its highest daily average measuring 1200 cubic metres per second ^[26].

Current water license allocations totals about 1.8 per cent of the Athabasca river flow. Actual use in 2006 was about 0.4 per cent^[27]. In addition, the Alberta government sets strict limits on how much water oil sands companies can remove from the Athabasca River. According to the Water Management Framework for the Lower Athabasca River, during periods of low river flow water consumption from the Athabasca River is limited to 1.3 per cent of annual average flow. ^[28] The province of Alberta is also looking into cooperative withdrawal agreements between oil sands operators.^[29]

Future environmental effects could include pipeline developments, and increased oil tanker traffic in northern coastal waters of British Columbia.

Climate Change

The production of bitumen and synthetic crude oil emits higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than the production of conventional crude oil and has been identified as the largest contributor to GHG emissions growth in Canada.

While the emissions intensity of producing oil sands has decreased substantially, i.e., 26% over the past decade, total emissions are expected to increase due to higher production levels.^[30]

Currently, to produce one barrel of oil from the oil sands releases almost 75 kg of GHG with total emissions estimated to be 67 megatonnes (Mt) per year by 2015.^[31]

Carbon dioxide sequestration

Future plants are expected to sequester the combustion products, but for now most ex-situ carbon dioxide (CO₂) is released to the atmosphere. ^[32] It would have no effect in the United States, where most of the products would be consumed, and which has not signed the Kyoto Protocol. Opened for signature December 11, 1997 in Kyoto, Japan Entered into force February 16, 2005. ...

A major Canadian initiative called the Integrated CO₂ Network (ICO2N) is a proposed system for the capture, transport and storage of CO₂. The members represent a group of industry participants providing a framework for carbon capture and storage development in Canada.^[33] On March 10, 2008 the Canadian Environment Ministry announced new controls requiring carbon sequestration from 2010, including criminal sanctions for violators.^[34] is the 69th day of the year (70th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ...

Oil sands projects in Canada could face tougher regulatory scrutiny after a federal court ruling on March 6, 2008, which found the approval of Imperial Oil Ltd.'s $8-billion oil sands mine insufficient on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. Numerous large proposals are in the regulatory system right now, including major mines by Total SA of France, by Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell and by Petro-Canada, as well as steam-injection projects by EnCana of Calgary.^[35] is the 65th day of the year (66th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... Imperial Oil Limited TSX: IMO AMEX: IMO is Canadas largest petroleum company. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 450,000 years For current global climate change, see Global warming. ... Top: Increasing atmospheric CO2 levels as measured in the atmosphere and ice cores. ... Total SA is a French oil company. ... Royal Dutch Shell plc is a multinational oil company of British and Dutch origins. ... Petro-Canada is a Canadian oil and gas firm headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. ... EnCana Corporation is one of the worlds largest independently owned oil and gas companies. ...

Environmental Advocacy

Any large resource project such as these attracts a large advocacy effort on environmental issues from global organizations such as the Greenpeace Campaign to Stop the Tar Sands.

Input energy

Large amounts of energy are needed to extract and upgrade the bitumen to synthetic crude. At this point in time, most of this is produced by burning natural gas which is widely available in the tar sands area. Approximately 1.0 to 1.25 gigajoules of natural gas are needed per barrel of bitumen extracted.^[36] Since a barrel of oil equivalent is about 6.117 gigajoules, this produces about 5 or 6 times as much energy as is consumed. Energy efficiency is expected to improve to 0.7 gigajoules of energy per barrel by 2015,^[37] giving an energy multiplier of about 9:1. However, since natural gas production in Alberta peaked in 2001 and has been static ever since, it is likely tar sands requirements will be met by cutting back natural gas exports to the U.S.^[38] The barrel of oil equivalent (bboe, sometimes BOE) is a unit of energy based on the approximate energy released by burning one barrel of crude oil. ...

Alternatives to natural gas exist and are available in the tar sands area. Bitumen can itself be used as the fuel, consuming about 30-35% of the raw bitumen per produced unit of synthetic crude. Coal is widely available in Alberta and is inexpensive, but produces large amounts of greenhouse gases. Nuclear power is another option which has been proposed, but did not appear to be economic as of 2005. ^[39] In early 2007 the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources considered that the use of nuclear power to process oil sands could reduce CO₂ emissions and help Canada meet its Kyoto commitments, as it would require nearly 12 GW to meet production growth to 2015, but the implications of building reactors in northern Alberta were not yet well understood.^[40]^[41]^[42] Energy Alberta Corporation announced in 2007 that they had filed application for a license to build a new nuclear plant at Lac Cardinal, 30 km west of the town of Peace River. The application would see an initial twin AECL Advanced CANDU Reactor ACR-1000 plant go online in 2017, producing 2.2 GW (electric).^[43]^[44] At 6.117 GJ/barrel, this is equivalent to conserving 31,074 barrels per day (4,940.4 m³/d). On November 30, 2007 Bruce Power, which owns eight CANDU reactors in Ontario, signed a letter of intent to acquire Energy Alberta and take over the project.^[45] Type Lower House Speaker Peter Milliken, Liberal since January 29, 2001 Leader of the Government in the House of Commons Peter Van Loan, Conservative since January 4, 2007 Opposition House Leader Ralph Goodale, Liberal since January 23, 2006 Members 308 Political groups Conservative Party Liberal Party Bloc QuÃ©bÃ©cois... Energy Alberta Corporation was created in 2005 to provide nuclear power to the energy-intensive development of the oil sands resources in northern Alberta. ... The Peace River is a river in Canada which originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows through northern Alberta. ... Atomic Energy of Canada Limited or AECL is a Canadian federal Crown corporation with the responsibility of managing Canadas national nuclear energy research and development program, including the advancement and support of CANDU reactor technology which was developed at AECL starting in the 1950s. ... The CANDU reactor is a pressurized-heavy water, natural-uranium power reactor designed in the 1960s by a partnership between Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario as well as several private industry participants. ... The gigawatt (symbol: GW) is a unit for measuring power corresponding to one billion (109) watts. ... is the 334th day of the year (335th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Bruce Power Inc. ...

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