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OIL SANDS
FIGURE 1
SIZE AND DISTRIBUTION OF U.S. TAR SAND RESOURCES
c
E
3
m
o
CO
m
CD
20
10
SOURCE: ST0SUR AND KARLA
cost for mined tar sand is the cost of bitumen
upgrading~on average, $9.50 per barrel. This
cost is included in the analysis of the
price/supply relationship for surface mining
recoverable bitumen for liquid fuel, but is ex
cluded in the economic recovery
bitumen for the domestic asphalt market.
analysis of
The total technically recoverable bitumen from
the application of steam soak technology is es
timated to be on the order of 1 .0 billion barrels.
Although this process results in lower oil
recovery efficiency
of about 20 percent of
bitumen in place, it shows greater economic
promise for bitumen recovery at lower prices.
Economic analysis of steam soak prospects
shows that 0.4 billion barrels of bitumen could be
3-11
(1.3)
recovered at $20 per barrel and that one-half of
the technically recoverable target can be
produced at prices of about $25 per barrel.
Table 2 summarizes the result of the assessment
of technical and economic potential of bitumen
recovery from surface mining and steam soak
processes in the United States. The results of
this study indicate that with conventional extrac
tion technologies, bitumen from U.S. tar sands
can make a significant contribution to the domes
tic need for hydrocarbons, but at higher oil
prices. More efficient technologies for advanced
extraction, upgrading, and in situ recovery are
necessary before bitumen extraction can be a
commercially viable future source of hydrocar
bons in the U.S.
THE SYNTHETIC FUELS REPORT, JANUARY 1995