Canada's Oil Sands - Centre for Energy
Canada's Oil Sands - Centre for Energy
Canada's Oil Sands - Centre for Energy
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Canada’s <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong><br />
Third Edition<br />
November 2011
Canada’s <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong><br />
Third Edition - November 2011<br />
Writer: Robert D. Bott<br />
Editor: David M. Carson<br />
First Edition Copyright © April 2000, Petroleum Communication Foundation<br />
Second Edition Copyright © September 2007, Canadian <strong>Centre</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Energy</strong> In<strong>for</strong>mation<br />
Third Edition Copyright © September 2009, Canadian <strong>Centre</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Energy</strong> In<strong>for</strong>mation<br />
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any <strong>for</strong>m without the express written permission<br />
of the Canadian <strong>Centre</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Energy</strong> In<strong>for</strong>mation. Professional elementary, secondary and post-secondary school educators<br />
may, however, use and copy portions of this publication <strong>for</strong> the limited purpose of instruction and study provided that such<br />
copies include this copyright notice. Copyright to all photographs and illustrations, except where noted, belongs to the<br />
Canadian <strong>Centre</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Energy</strong> In<strong>for</strong>mation and unauthorized copying of this publication is prohibited.<br />
Reviewers – Third Edition<br />
Bob McManus<br />
Alberta <strong>Energy</strong><br />
Lori Adamache, Randy Dobko, Nicole Spears<br />
Alberta Environment<br />
Stephen Rodrigues<br />
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers<br />
Reviewers – Second Edition<br />
Janet Annesley<br />
Shell Canada Limited<br />
Randall Barrett<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Environmental Management Division,<br />
Alberta Environment<br />
Brad Bellows<br />
Suncor <strong>Energy</strong> Inc.<br />
Chris Dawson<br />
Petro-Canada<br />
Randy Dobko<br />
Environmental Policy Branch, Alberta Environment<br />
Bob Dunbar<br />
Strategy West Inc.<br />
Dianne Farkouh<br />
Athabasca Regional Issues Working Group<br />
Kara Flynn<br />
Syncrude Canada Ltd.<br />
Mike Burt<br />
In Situ <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Alliance<br />
Don Thompson<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Developers Group<br />
Peter Kinnear<br />
Canadian Natural Resources Limited<br />
Steve McIsaac<br />
Inside Education<br />
Alberta Department of <strong>Energy</strong><br />
Bill Rennie<br />
Japan Canada <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Limited<br />
Stephen Rodrigues<br />
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers<br />
Pius Rolheiser<br />
Imperial <strong>Oil</strong> Limited<br />
Bee Schadeck<br />
Devon Canada Corporation<br />
Although the Canadian <strong>Centre</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Energy</strong> In<strong>for</strong>mation has endeavoured to provide accurate and current in<strong>for</strong>mation within this publication, the <strong>Centre</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Energy</strong><br />
and the volunteer reviewers do not:<br />
• make any warranty or representation, expressed or implied with respect to accuracy, completeness or usefulness of the in<strong>for</strong>mation contained within this booklet;<br />
• assume any responsibility or liability to any party <strong>for</strong> any damages resulting from the negligence of the <strong>Centre</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Energy</strong> in preparation of any in<strong>for</strong>mation,<br />
method or process described in this publication; or<br />
• endorse any product, service or process which may be described or implied within this publication.
Contents<br />
Section 1: RESOURCES BEYOND BELIEF<br />
5 The continental and global context<br />
6 The nature of the resource<br />
7 Challenges<br />
8 Opportunities<br />
Section 2: A MASSIVE TASK<br />
11 Mining<br />
12 Extraction<br />
13 In-situ bitumen<br />
13 Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD)<br />
13 Generating steam<br />
14 Cyclic steam stimulation<br />
14 Vapour extraction<br />
15 Firefloods<br />
15 “Cold” production<br />
15 Processing<br />
16 Upgrading<br />
17 Transportation<br />
18 Economics<br />
20 <strong>Energy</strong> balance<br />
20 Products and uses<br />
Section 3: TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT<br />
23 Land and biodiversity<br />
24 Water resources<br />
26 Local and regional air quality<br />
27 Greenhouse gases<br />
28 Quality of life<br />
29 Regulation and consultation<br />
30 Research<br />
31 The path ahead<br />
<strong>for</strong> Further In<strong>for</strong>mation<br />
32 Publications<br />
34 Websites<br />
35 Key definitions<br />
CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011 1
Section 1<br />
Resources Beyond Belief<br />
As new sources of conventional crude oil become<br />
more difficult and expensive to find and produce,<br />
substantial investments are being made to develop<br />
the oil sands bitumen resources of Western Canada.<br />
Thick and sticky, like blackstrap molasses, oil sands<br />
bitumen is more difficult to recover, process and<br />
transport.<br />
Yet the oil sands in northern Alberta have become a<br />
major part of North American energy production and<br />
are expected to become much more important in the<br />
decades ahead.<br />
2 CANADA'S OIL SANDS THIRD edition november 2011
As of July 2011, there were 92 active mining, in-situ, primary and experimental oil sands<br />
projects in Alberta. The Alberta <strong>Energy</strong> Resources Conservation Board reports that<br />
production in 2010 averaged more than 1.6 million barrels per day, which represents about<br />
1.9 per cent of world oil supply – and more projects are proposed or under construction.<br />
ERCB estimates that production could average almost 3.5 million barrels per day by 2020<br />
if all the current and proposed projects go ahead. This would be equivalent to about<br />
14.1 per cent of the North American daily oil consumption in 2010 (2.2 million barrels in<br />
Canada, 19.2 million barrels in the United States, 2.1 million barrels in Mexico and 1.2 million<br />
barrels elsewhere in North America.)<br />
Canada also produced 424,576 barrels of conventional heavy oil per day in 2010. Upgraded<br />
and non-upgraded bitumen and conventional heavy oil thus accounted <strong>for</strong> more than<br />
half of Canada’s crude oil production. Without this production, Canada would have been a<br />
net importer of crude oil. With it, Canada had a substantial positive energy trade balance<br />
of $50.2 billion (including natural gas and coal as well as oil) and was the largest single<br />
supplier of crude oil to the United States.<br />
Although Canada is a net oil exporter, it imported approximately 778,016 million barrels of<br />
crude oil per day in 2010.<br />
Many factors have converged to make the Alberta oil sands such an important resource in<br />
the 21st century:<br />
• Experience gained through more than a century of research and four decades of<br />
commercial production<br />
• Continuing development of technologies to reduce costs and environmental impacts<br />
• High demand, and there<strong>for</strong>e high prices, <strong>for</strong> crude oil and refined petroleum products<br />
• Taxes and royalties that are adapted to the high capital costs and long lead times of oil<br />
sands development<br />
• An infrastructure of roads, pipelines and electrical power lines<br />
• Managerial talent, technical expertise and skilled labour<br />
• Scientific research to address the many issues arising from development and improve<br />
development processes<br />
• Regulatory and consultative processes to facilitate sustainable development of both<br />
renewable and non-renewable resources<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> sands development has created many opportunities:<br />
• A large new source of petroleum to meet North American and global demand<br />
• Employment <strong>for</strong> Albertans and other Canadians<br />
• Revenues <strong>for</strong> energy companies and governments<br />
• Economic benefits <strong>for</strong> Aboriginal people and other residents of northeastern Alberta<br />
• Investments in education, training, scientific research and technological development<br />
But there are also challenges arising from development:<br />
• Greenhouse gases and other air emissions, water use and land disturbance<br />
• Consumption of natural gas to extract and upgrade bitumen<br />
• Strain on infrastructure and labour markets due to rapid growth<br />
• Inflation and delays due to high demand <strong>for</strong> crucial goods and services<br />
• Effects on Aboriginal communities and traditional land uses<br />
CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011 3
<strong>Oil</strong> sands deposits underlie 142,000 square kilometres of Alberta, an area larger than the<br />
island of Newfoundland or the state of North Carolina. The Athabasca oil sands area, by<br />
far the largest, is the site of all surface mining projects and most in-situ extraction projects.<br />
There are also large in-situ projects in the Cold Lake oil sands area. Development has been<br />
slower in the Peace River, Wabasca and Buffalo Head Hills deposits. The Carbonate Triangle<br />
is an area where bitumen is trapped in limestone rocks as well as sands or sandstones.<br />
Production from the Carbonate Triangle has not been considered technologically or<br />
economically feasible to date, but companies have acquired large leases there and<br />
presumably see prospects <strong>for</strong> future development. Approximately 8,000 square kilometres<br />
of bitumen resources are being evaluated in northwest and east-central Saskatchewan,<br />
and there are significant bitumen deposits on Melville Island in the Canadian Arctic.<br />
Alberta<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong><br />
Projects<br />
Alberta's<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Projects<br />
Click below to view<br />
OIL SANDS<br />
PRODUCING PROJECT<br />
OIL SANDS AREA<br />
Alberta<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> EXISTING <strong>Sands</strong><br />
PIPELINES<br />
Projects<br />
SURFACE MINEABLE AREA<br />
PIPELINES UNDER<br />
Click CONSTRUCTION<br />
below to view<br />
UPGRADERS<br />
OIL SANDS<br />
PRODUCING PROJECT<br />
OIL SANDS AREA<br />
Conventional heavy oil deposits in Canada are concentrated around Lloydminster on<br />
the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, but heavy oil has also been found in British Columbia,<br />
offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, and in the Arctic Islands.<br />
Peace River<br />
Deposit<br />
Buffalo Head<br />
Hills Deposit<br />
Peace River<br />
Carbonate<br />
Triangle<br />
Athabasca<br />
Deposit<br />
Wabasca<br />
Deposit<br />
CNRL<br />
Upgrader<br />
Syncrude<br />
Suncor<br />
Upgrader<br />
Upgrader<br />
Fort McMurray<br />
Nexen<br />
Upgrader<br />
Cold Lake<br />
Deposit<br />
CANADA<br />
SURFACE MINEABLE AREA<br />
EXISTING PIPELINES<br />
PIPELINES UNDER<br />
CONSTRUCTION<br />
UPGRADERS<br />
Scot<strong>for</strong>d<br />
Upgrader<br />
Suncor<br />
Upgrader<br />
Edmonton<br />
Cold Lake<br />
To West Coast and<br />
U.S. markets<br />
Hardisty<br />
Lloydminster<br />
Husky <strong>Oil</strong><br />
Upgrader<br />
CANADA<br />
Calgary<br />
To Eastern Canada, U.S.<br />
markets and NewGrade<br />
Upgrader at Regina<br />
To U.S. markets<br />
4 CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011
The continental and global context<br />
The Canadian oil sands resource – the total amount of bitumen in the ground – is estimated at<br />
1.7 trillion barrels, of which 169.3 billion barrels are considered recoverable reserves, based on current<br />
economics and technology. Eighty per cent of these reserves, approximately 135 billion barrels, can<br />
only be recovered through in-situ processes. Reserves currently under development, through both<br />
mining and in-situ methods, total 25.9 billion barrels. The recoverable oil sands reserves in northern<br />
Alberta represent a potential supply larger than the conventional crude oil reserves of Iran, Iraq or<br />
Kuwait, and are third only to those of Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.<br />
Bitumen and heavy oil resources are found in many other parts of the world, including off Canada’s East<br />
Coast and in the Arctic Islands, but none of the known deposits come close to the scale of Alberta’s oil<br />
sands and the Orinoco heavy oil region of Venezuela. In addition, there are numerous deposits of oil<br />
shales around the world, but extracting hydrocarbons economically from oil shales has proved very<br />
difficult. However, new technologies and processes are improving the economical viability of these<br />
resources. Relatively abundant coal resources also can be gasified or converted into liquid fuels, but<br />
this poses major economic and environmental challenges.<br />
Crude oil plays a central role in the North American and world economies. Nearly all motorized<br />
transportation (except electric rail) currently depends on gasoline, diesel, jet and marine fuels refined<br />
from crude oil. Transportation fuels account <strong>for</strong> about three-quarters of current crude oil consumption.<br />
Many other products, from asphalt paving and roofing to synthetic rubber, are manufactured<br />
economically from by-products of crude oil. While alternatives such as ethanol and biodiesel can<br />
fill some of the mobile fuel demand, it would take much of the world’s cropland to supply all the<br />
transportation energy now obtained from crude oil. Conservation, efficiency gains and economic<br />
recessions can also reduce consumption, but demand <strong>for</strong> crude oil is likely to remain high well into<br />
the 21st century.<br />
Western Canada Sedimentary Basin Cross-section<br />
CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011 5
The nature of the resource<br />
Like all crude oil, Canada’s bitumen resources started as living material. Hundreds of<br />
millions of years ago, the remains of tiny plants and animals, mainly algae, were buried in<br />
sea beds. As the organic materials became more deeply buried, they slowly “cooked” at<br />
temperatures between 50 and 150 degrees Celsius. Eventually, this process converted the<br />
materials into liquid hydrocarbons, as well as sulphur compounds, carbon dioxide and<br />
water. The liquid hydrocarbons included both “light” compounds – those with only a few<br />
atoms of carbon surrounded by hydrogen atoms – and large “heavy” molecules composed<br />
of many more carbon atoms and relatively fewer hydrogen atoms. Light hydrocarbons are<br />
similar to those found in gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Heavy hydrocarbons are like those<br />
found in grease and tar.<br />
The hydrocarbons then migrated through rocks until they reached the surface or<br />
something blocked their progress. Conventional light crude oil is usually trapped in porous<br />
rocks under a layer of impermeable (non-porous) rock. In such reservoirs, the oil is not in an<br />
underground lake but rather held in the pores and fractures of rock, like water in a sponge.<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> sands are different. Geologists believe that about 50 million years ago, huge volumes<br />
of oil migrated eastward and upward through more than 100 kilometres of rock until they<br />
reached and saturated large areas of sand and sandstones at or near the surface. Bacteria<br />
then feasted on the hydrocarbons, degrading the simplest hydrocarbons first, converting<br />
them into carbon dioxide and water, and leaving behind the big hydrocarbon molecules<br />
and other substances, such as trace metals, that cannot be digested. The bacteria may also<br />
modify some of the simpler sulphur molecules, leaving complex sulphur compounds. As<br />
a result, there are more heavy hydrocarbons, complex sulphur compounds and metals in<br />
bitumen than in conventional crude oil. This makes extraction and processing more difficult<br />
and expensive.<br />
While the Athabasca oil sands are one of world’s largest known hydrocarbon resources, the<br />
volume of original crude oil digested by the micro-organisms is believed to have been at<br />
least two or three times greater than what now remains as bitumen.<br />
While bacteria were the major agent in <strong>for</strong>ming Canada’s oil sands bitumen, crude oil can<br />
also be degraded or altered by other factors such as oxidation, evaporation, underground<br />
water flows and loss of light hydrocarbons<br />
that migrate more easily through<br />
pores and fractures<br />
Each grain of<br />
in<br />
sand<br />
rocks. Various<br />
Water layer<br />
combinations is of surrounded such factors by<br />
Sand create particle the<br />
a layer of water and<br />
many kinds of a film of bitumen and heavy Bitumen oil film<br />
deposits found around the world.<br />
In the Alberta oil sands, each grain of sand<br />
is surrounded by a layer of water and a<br />
film of bitumen. The water layer prevents<br />
the bitumen from being absorbed directly<br />
onto the sand surface, which allows <strong>for</strong><br />
relatively simple extraction. In contrast,<br />
in oil shales the hydrocarbon is in direct<br />
contact with the mineral making extraction<br />
more difficult.<br />
Each grain of sand<br />
is surrounded by<br />
a layer of water and<br />
a film of bitumen<br />
Water layer<br />
Sand particle<br />
Bitumen film film<br />
6 CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011
Challenges<br />
The economic, environmental and social challenges of oil sands arise from the nature of<br />
the resource, its location, its vast scale and rapid acceleration of development since the<br />
late 1990s. The resource is different from light crude oil and requires different methods and<br />
facilities to produce transportation fuels and other commodities previously obtained from<br />
conventional crude oil. Until recently, the main producing region had a small population<br />
and modest infrastructure. The resource is so large that almost everything about its<br />
development has occurred on a huge and often unprecedented scale, although smaller<br />
in-situ projects are now becoming more common. Among some stakeholders, the recent<br />
pace of development has raised questions about sustainability.<br />
Economic challenges include inflation, shortages and delays caused by the high demand<br />
<strong>for</strong> labour, equipment and other key goods and services as multiple projects are under<br />
construction. Once production begins, labour requirements and the energy requirements<br />
in the production process have been major concerns. Projects need continual maintenance<br />
to avoid unscheduled production interruptions. As in other high-growth areas, rapid<br />
growth has put heavy burdens on infrastructure such as roads and water treatment, and<br />
new construction has had trouble keeping pace.<br />
Environmental challenges involve both the impacts of individual projects and the<br />
cumulative effects of development. Greenhouse gas emissions from production and<br />
upgrading are about 10 per cent higher than from conventional crude; however, if<br />
cogeneration is taken into consideration, oil sands crudes would have a carbon footprint<br />
similar to conventional crudes. There are also emissions of gases that can cause acid<br />
deposition and ground-level ozone or smog. Use and disposal of water are significant<br />
issues. Impacts on soils, vegetation and wildlife of the boreal <strong>for</strong>est – not just from mining<br />
but also from wells, plants, roads, pipelines, electric power lines and seismic cutlines – raise<br />
questions about how ecosystems can be protected during operations and reclaimed after<br />
production ceases.<br />
The soaring demand <strong>for</strong> labour and services to support the projects and the effects on<br />
the existing Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities are among the social challenges.<br />
The population of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, which includes Fort<br />
McMurray and most of the Athabasca oil sands region, increased by 144 per cent between<br />
1999 and 2010 to almost 104,400. Traffic multiplied on the main highway and through<br />
the airport. Local government officials, Aboriginal communities and non-government<br />
organizations sought greater input into decisions affecting them.<br />
Photo courtesy of<br />
Shell Canada Inc.<br />
Extraction and upgrading<br />
facilities, like the mines<br />
themselves, are on a very<br />
large scale.<br />
Photo courtesy of<br />
JuneWarren Publishing Ltd.<br />
The impact on ecosystems is<br />
of primary concern.<br />
CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011 7
Opportunities<br />
The challenges represent opportunities <strong>for</strong> those who can find more effective and<br />
sustainable ways to do things.<br />
Lessons from four decades of commercial oil sands operations have already been<br />
incorporated into the existing projects and those under development, and new approaches<br />
are continually being introduced. As a result, Canadians have become world leaders in<br />
unconventional crude oil production, and Canadian expertise is now being applied to other<br />
bitumen resources in places such as Cali<strong>for</strong>nia and Egypt.<br />
Photo courtesy of<br />
Suncor <strong>Energy</strong> Inc.<br />
Companies are also working<br />
with scientists, government<br />
authorities and <strong>for</strong>estry<br />
companies to reduce<br />
cumulative impacts on soils,<br />
vegetation and wildlife.<br />
Photo courtesy of<br />
Devon Canada Corporation<br />
In 2006, the Alberta<br />
government launched a<br />
public consultation process<br />
to consider economic, social,<br />
environmental and First<br />
Nations and Métis issues<br />
associated with oil sands<br />
development.<br />
The economic opportunities – employment, regional development, government revenues<br />
and export earnings – are numerous. Only about 10 per cent of the Alberta bitumen resource<br />
is considered economically recoverable with current technologies, yet those reserves would<br />
be sufficient to sustain production of three million barrels per day <strong>for</strong> more than 150 years.<br />
New methods could unlock the resources currently beyond reach, including the deposits<br />
in the Carbonate Triangle. Innovation could also make existing projects much more costeffective,<br />
productive and environmentally sustainable, <strong>for</strong> both existing and new projects.<br />
Creative solutions are being found to the labour shortages and supply bottlenecks that<br />
slowed projects as oil sands development accelerated. Companies have built camps to<br />
house construction workers, and some workers fly in from other provinces and fly home<br />
<strong>for</strong> rest days. With support from industry and government, community colleges and<br />
technical schools have expanded programs to train workers, and companies have stepped<br />
up in-house training. Companies have also collaborated in ef<strong>for</strong>ts to maximize employment<br />
opportunities, minimize competition <strong>for</strong> labour and ensure an adequate supply of skilled<br />
trades throughout construction. Construction schedules have been altered and some work<br />
postponed to avoid conflicts with other projects.<br />
Wherever possible, assembly and fabrication work is done in the Edmonton area or<br />
elsewhere outside the oil sands region. Some new upgrading facilities are located in the<br />
industrial area near Edmonton, and upgrading capacity has been built at the project sites.<br />
New pipelines are planned to carry diluted bitumen from producing areas to upgraders,<br />
and upgraded crude oil to refineries. Meanwhile, work has begun on twinning the main<br />
highway between Edmonton and the oil sands project area north of Fort McMurray, and a<br />
second highway to the Fort McMurray area was paved in 2006. The provincial government<br />
has also stepped up support <strong>for</strong> other infrastructure, water and wastewater treatment,<br />
housing, schools and health facilities in Fort McMurray.<br />
While existing projects use natural gas to provide most of the energy <strong>for</strong> operations<br />
as well as the hydrogen <strong>for</strong> upgrading, companies are developing and implementing<br />
technologies that reduce or eliminate the need <strong>for</strong> natural gas. Upgraders already capture<br />
much of the energy used <strong>for</strong> extraction as waste heat and obtain considerable energy from<br />
bitumen residues during processing, and this is expected to increase. One project obtains<br />
substantially all its heat energy from coke and bitumen combustion and gasification.<br />
Technologies are also being tested to extract bitumen underground without the need<br />
<strong>for</strong> steam heat. Other possible energy sources include Alberta’s large coal resources and<br />
nuclear reactors. One project has been proposed to gasify coal in central Alberta as a<br />
source of fuel and hydrogen, and there have been preliminary discussions about nuclear<br />
power options.<br />
8 CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011
To this end, the Alberta government established the Nuclear Power Expert Panel to<br />
provide a factual report on the issues pertinent to using nuclear power to supply<br />
electricity in Alberta. That report is available online at www.energy.gov.ab.ca/Electricity/<br />
pdfs/NuclearPowerReport.pdf. As well, the government conducted public consultation,<br />
in<strong>for</strong>mation on which is provided at www.energy.gov.ab.ca/Electricity/pdfs/AB_Nuclear_<br />
workbook.pdf<br />
Each project undergoes environmental assessment be<strong>for</strong>e approval, and regulatory<br />
authorities also consider the cumulative effects of multiple projects on regional ecosystems.<br />
Many research and development projects are underway to reduce environmental impacts.<br />
Several methods have been suggested to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One possibility<br />
would be to inject emissions underground, known as carbon capture and storage or carbon<br />
sequestration; some of the carbon dioxide might be used to enhance production from<br />
conventional oil fields. On a per-barrel basis, greenhouse gases have been reduced 38 per<br />
cent and other emissions have been reduced substantially since the 1990s, but the recent<br />
rapid expansion of production has made further emissions reductions a high priority <strong>for</strong><br />
companies and government authorities.<br />
Photo courtesy of<br />
Suncor <strong>Energy</strong> Inc.<br />
Many project components are<br />
fabricated elsewhere and then<br />
transported by rail or truck to<br />
the oil sands area. The above<br />
photo is a coker unit <strong>for</strong> an<br />
upgrading plant.<br />
Water recycling and use of non-potable groundwater already reduce impacts on<br />
freshwater resources, and new technologies may reduce the large water requirements<br />
<strong>for</strong> current oil sands production methods. Companies are also working with scientists,<br />
government authorities and <strong>for</strong>estry companies to reduce cumulative impacts on soils,<br />
vegetation and wildlife. On a per-barrel basis, most in-situ oil sands operations disturb<br />
less land than conventional oil operations.<br />
There are opportunities <strong>for</strong> people across Canada – and internationally – in responsible<br />
development of oil sands bitumen resources. Production reduces North America’s<br />
dependence on imports of crude oil from other parts of the world, and it makes more oil<br />
available to meet global demand. A favourable trade balance benefits Canadians. According<br />
to a study by the Canadian <strong>Energy</strong> Research Institute, over the next 25 years 9.4 per cent of<br />
total GDP impacts and 22.8 per cent of total employment from oil sands investment and<br />
operations in Alberta occurs in provinces outside Alberta. The study also indicates the federal<br />
tax impact on Alberta will be $166 billion compared to $22.4 billion <strong>for</strong> the other provinces.<br />
CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011 9
Section 2<br />
A Massive Task<br />
Conventional crude oil flows naturally or is pumped from<br />
the ground, but oil sands bitumen does not flow at room<br />
temperature and must be mined or recovered in-situ.<br />
Deposits close to the surface are mined; those more than<br />
about 75 metres below the surface require in-situ recovery.<br />
Current in-situ bitumen production generally comes from<br />
deposits more than 400 metres below the surface. Many of the<br />
technologies used in oil sands extraction are similar to those in<br />
other surface mining and conventional oil and gas operations,<br />
but they are deployed on a massive scale and sometimes<br />
in unique ways. Industry and government research and<br />
development has also led to many entirely new technologies<br />
<strong>for</strong> recovering and upgrading bitumen.<br />
10 CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition november 2011
Mining shovels dig into sand<br />
and load it into huge trucks.<br />
Trucks take oil sands to crushers,<br />
where it is prepared <strong>for</strong> extraction.<br />
In some operations, a mobile<br />
crusher near the shovel may<br />
eliminate the need <strong>for</strong> trucks.<br />
Hot water is added to the oil sands<br />
and then fed via hydrotransport to<br />
the extraction plant.<br />
Bitumen is extracted<br />
from the oil sands during<br />
hydrotransport and in<br />
the separation vessels.<br />
The tailings are pumped<br />
to the settling basin,<br />
where most of the water<br />
is recycled.<br />
Mining<br />
About 20 per cent of Alberta’s economically recoverable oil sands bitumen reserves<br />
are close enough to the surface to make mining feasible. These are all located in the<br />
Athabasca oil sands area north of Fort McMurray. An advantage of mining is that nearly<br />
all of the bitumen is extracted from the ore, while in-situ methods leave a substantial<br />
amount of the resource underground. A disadvantage is that a great deal of earth and ore<br />
must be moved, disturbing significant areas of landscape. To achieve economies of scale,<br />
the projects are very large. Each of the operating mining projects also has an upgrader on<br />
site or is connected to an upgrader by pipeline.<br />
The ore in the current projects’ lease areas averages about 10 to 12 per cent bitumen by<br />
weight. Thus nearly two tonnes of oil sands are dug up, moved and processed to make<br />
one 159-litre barrel of upgraded crude oil. The processed sand is then returned to the pit,<br />
and the site reclaimed.<br />
A big part of the mining operation involves clearing trees and brush from the site and<br />
removing the overburden – the topsoil, muskeg, sand, clay and gravel – that sits atop the<br />
oil sands deposit. This can amount to more than two tonnes of additional material that<br />
needs to be moved in the course of producing one barrel of upgraded crude oil. The topsoil<br />
and muskeg are stockpiled so they can be replaced as sections of the mined-out area are<br />
reclaimed. The rest of the overburden is used to reconstruct the landscape.<br />
The oil sands are highly abrasive and very hard on machinery. Literally tonnes of steel are<br />
worn away from the equipment each year. Regular maintenance is expensive but vital to a<br />
profitable operation.<br />
When the Suncor and Syncrude projects were built in the 1960s and 1970s, they used giant<br />
excavators called bucketwheels and draglines to dig up the oil sands ore and kilometreslong<br />
conveyor belts to move it to bitumen extraction facilities. They used this system<br />
because, at that time, the largest mining trucks carried less than 60 tonnes in a load.<br />
However, the excavators and conveyors were expensive to operate and suffered frequent<br />
breakdowns, especially in cold weather.<br />
In the mid-1980s, Syncrude started using trucks and power shovels <strong>for</strong> a portion of its<br />
oil sands mining. In 1993, Suncor switched its entire operation to a system that used the<br />
world’s largest trucks and power shovels. Each truck by then could carry up to 240 tonnes in<br />
a single load. Syncrude began phasing out its draglines and bucketwheels a few years later<br />
and retired the last of its draglines in 2006.<br />
CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011 11
By the late 1990s, the trucks in use were carrying as much as 360 tonnes, and the largest<br />
trucks today carry about 400 tonnes. The truck-and-shovel system has proven much more<br />
flexible and energy-efficient than the draglines and bucketwheels of yesteryear.<br />
The other big innovation in the 1990s was a system called hydrotransport, which uses<br />
pipelines instead of conveyors to carry oil sands to the processing plant. The trucks dump<br />
the sand into a machine that breaks up lumps and removes rocks, then mixes the sand with<br />
warm water. The resulting slurry of oil sands and hot water is transported by pipeline to the<br />
extraction plant. As an added benefit, bitumen begins to separate from sand, water and<br />
minerals as it travels from the mine to the plant.<br />
In the mid-1990s, Syncrude began lowering extraction process temperatures from the<br />
80°C that was then the customary temperature. The move to hydrotransport facilitated<br />
a reduction in process temperature to 40°C, which is currently the norm. As a result, the<br />
energy requirement <strong>for</strong> bitumen extraction has been essentially halved.<br />
A new system, still in the trial stage, was introduced in 2006 and is expected to make ore<br />
transportation even more efficient. A mobile crusher, connected to a slurry pipeline, is<br />
located next to the power shovel so that the ore can be dumped in directly. Trucks would<br />
still be needed to carry overburden and to reach less accessible parts of the mines, but this<br />
system could considerably reduce the trucking requirement and related air emissions.<br />
Extraction<br />
Froth<br />
Water<br />
Sand<br />
Frothing<br />
If you shake hot water and<br />
oil sands in a test tube, the<br />
bitumen <strong>for</strong>ms a froth at<br />
the top, water collects in the<br />
middle, and sand settles to<br />
the bottom. The process is<br />
similar to that used in an<br />
old-fashioned butter churn.<br />
At the processing plant, the mixture of oil, sand and water goes first to a large separation<br />
vessel. Tiny air bubbles, which are trapped in the bitumen as it separates from the sand<br />
granules, float the bitumen to the surface where it <strong>for</strong>ms a thick froth at the top of the<br />
vessel. This froth is skimmed off, mixed with a solvent and spun in a centrifuge to remove<br />
remaining solids, water and dissolved salts from the bitumen. The solvent is recycled. The<br />
sand and water, known as tailings, fall to the bottom of the separation vessel.<br />
The sand is eventually sent back to the mine site to fill in mined-out areas. Water from the<br />
extraction process, containing sand, fine clay particles and traces of bitumen, goes into<br />
settling ponds. Some bitumen may be skimmed off the ponds if it floats to the surface.<br />
The sand sinks to the bottom and bacteria digest the remaining bitumen, but the fine<br />
clay particles stay suspended <strong>for</strong> some time be<strong>for</strong>e slowly settling. Adding gypsum helps<br />
to speed the settling process and produces a slurry called consolidated tailings (CT) <strong>for</strong><br />
disposal in mined-out areas. Water is recycled back to the extraction plant <strong>for</strong> use in the<br />
separation process.<br />
As mining operations move further away from the main upgrading plants, some companies<br />
have started building satellite extraction facilities. The bitumen froth is then sent to the<br />
upgrader by pipeline. This reduces the round-trip distance <strong>for</strong> moving sand between the<br />
mine pit and the extraction equipment.<br />
Recovery Rates <strong>for</strong> Various Types of Production<br />
Production type<br />
Recovery rate<br />
Conventional light oil<br />
Averages about 30 per cent<br />
Conventional heavy oil<br />
Up to 20 per cent<br />
In-situ oil sands<br />
25 to 50 per cent<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> sands mining<br />
82+ per cent<br />
12 CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011
In-situ bitumen<br />
More than 80 per cent of the economically recoverable oil sands bitumen is buried too<br />
deeply <strong>for</strong> surface mining. Most of this cannot be produced from a well unless it is heated<br />
or diluted. Today’s major commercial in-situ projects use steam to heat and dilute the<br />
bitumen, although several other methods are being tested or deployed.<br />
Current in-situ production technologies recover between 25 and 50 per cent of the bitumen<br />
in the reservoir. This is higher recovery than most conventional light crude oil wells.<br />
Research to improve the in-situ recovery rates continues. Excluding the use of diesel as fuel<br />
<strong>for</strong> the mining equipment and trucks, mining operations may use less energy and water<br />
than in-situ operations on a per barrel basis. In-situ does use substantially less surface area,<br />
is reclaimed faster and requires far less reclamation after operations cease. Research and<br />
pilot operations are currently underway which will dramatically reduce the energy and<br />
water consumption <strong>for</strong> in-situ oil sands development.<br />
There are two principal in-situ steam injection methods used in Canada today. The choice<br />
between them depends on the characteristics of the reservoir.<br />
Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD)<br />
Most of the other current in-situ projects, particularly in the<br />
Athabasca oil sands area, use steam-assisted gravity drainage<br />
(SAGD). In this method, pairs of horizontal wells, one above<br />
the other, are drilled into an oil sands <strong>for</strong>mation, and steam is<br />
injected continuously into the upper well. As the steam heats<br />
the oil sands <strong>for</strong>mation, the bitumen softens and drains into<br />
the lower well. Pumps then bring the bitumen to the surface.<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> production<br />
Steam injection<br />
Generating steam<br />
Existing in-situ projects use natural gas-fired boilers to generate<br />
steam, consuming between 1,000 and 1,200 cubic feet of natural<br />
gas to produce each barrel of bitumen or about twice as much<br />
as the mining-upgrading projects use to produce a barrel of<br />
synthetic crude oil. In 2010, natural gas consumed by oil sands<br />
producers was 713.3 billion cubic feet, up 4.5 per cent from 2009.<br />
This represents 13.4 per cent of total Canadian marketed natural<br />
gas production. This gas use includes natural gas required <strong>for</strong><br />
electricity generation. However, in-situ developments do not<br />
require the use of diesel fuel to run equipment in their operations,<br />
like typical mining development and there<strong>for</strong>e do not have that energy<br />
requirement or the associated emissions.<br />
Reservoir<br />
Steam Chamber<br />
Technologies have been developed to use crude bitumen as a fuel if needed <strong>for</strong> steam<br />
generation. Additionally, some projects are using by-products of bitumen upgrading,<br />
such as asphaltenes and carbon residue or coke. Most of these methods would increase<br />
emissions of air contaminants, such as particulates, oxides of sulphur and nitrogen, and<br />
greenhouse gases compared to natural gas; however, new technologies are being<br />
developed to capture and store carbon dioxide and manage the other air contaminants.<br />
CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011 13
Cyclic Steam Stimulation<br />
Steam saturates the oil sands<br />
<strong>for</strong>mation, softening and<br />
diluting the bitumen so it can<br />
flow to the well during the<br />
production phase.<br />
Cyclic steam stimulation<br />
Cyclic steam stimulation is used at Imperial <strong>Oil</strong>’s<br />
Cold Lake project, Canada’s largest in-situ bitumen<br />
producer, and at Canadian Natural Resources<br />
Limited’s Wolf Lake Primrose project.<br />
In this method, high-pressure steam is injected into<br />
the oil sands <strong>for</strong>mation <strong>for</strong> several weeks. The heat<br />
softens the bitumen, while the water helps to dilute<br />
and separate the bitumen from the sand grains. The<br />
pressure also creates channels and cracks through<br />
which the bitumen can flow to the well. When a<br />
portion of the reservoir is thoroughly saturated, the<br />
steam injection ceases and the reservoir “soaks” <strong>for</strong><br />
several weeks.<br />
This is followed by the production phase, when<br />
the bitumen is pumped up the same wells to the<br />
surface. When production rates decline, another<br />
cycle of steam injection begins. This process uses<br />
vertical, deviated and horizontal wells and is<br />
sometimes called “huff-and-puff” recovery. Shell<br />
Canada uses a similar method, with horizontal wells,<br />
in the Peace River oil sands area.<br />
STAGE 1<br />
Steam Injection<br />
Steam is injected into<br />
the reservoir.<br />
STAGE 3<br />
Production<br />
Heated oil and<br />
water are pumped<br />
to the surface.<br />
STAGE 2<br />
Soak phase<br />
Steam and condensed<br />
water heat the<br />
viscous oil.<br />
Vapour extraction<br />
One technology that could reduce energy<br />
requirements is called “vapour extraction” or VAPEX.<br />
In this method, pairs of parallel horizontal wells are<br />
drilled as in SAGD, but instead of steam, natural<br />
gas liquids such as ethane, propane or butane are<br />
injected into the upper well to act as solvents so the<br />
bitumen or heavy oil can flow to the lower well.<br />
An industry-government consortium is currently<br />
evaluating a VAPEX pilot project at the Dover lease<br />
northwest of Fort McMurray, and the technology is<br />
also being tested by several operators on their own<br />
leases.<br />
A number of other in-situ production systems,<br />
including solvents, electric currents, microwaves<br />
and even ultrasound, have been tried on an<br />
experimental scale.<br />
14 CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011
Firefloods<br />
There has been some production of heavy oil and<br />
oil sands bitumen with “firefloods” in which air<br />
or oxygen is injected and part of the resource is<br />
ignited to heat the reservoir. Petrobank <strong>Energy</strong> and<br />
Resources Ltd. is using a variation on the fireflood<br />
method near Christina Lake, south of Fort McMurray<br />
in the Athabasca oil sands region; the system is called<br />
“toe-to-heel air injection” or THAI TM .<br />
Injection well<br />
Pipe per<strong>for</strong>ated in<br />
injection zone<br />
Air<br />
Combustion<br />
zone<br />
Coke<br />
zone<br />
Mobile oil<br />
zone<br />
Production well<br />
connected to<br />
gathering system<br />
This process uses no natural gas <strong>for</strong> production and<br />
very little water, thereby substantially reducing the<br />
GHG emissions and overall environmental footprint of<br />
in-situ production.<br />
“Cold” production<br />
Conventional production methods using vertical and horizontal wells have also been used,<br />
primarily in the Cold Lake oil sands but also in the Athabasca and Peace River oil sands,<br />
where deposits are considered too thin to make steam injection economic. This production<br />
method is also known as CHOPS (cold heavy oil production with sand). Technologies such<br />
as progressive cavity pumps have improved the effectiveness of these “cold” production<br />
methods.<br />
Toe<br />
Pipe per<strong>for</strong>ated<br />
from toe to heel<br />
Frontal advance<br />
Heel<br />
Cold<br />
heavy oil<br />
Toe-to-heel air injection<br />
Air or oxygen is injected and<br />
part of the resource is ignited<br />
to heat the reservoir.<br />
Processing<br />
In-situ bitumen processing involves using water to separate the bitumen from water and<br />
sand. In-situ use of surface water has remained relatively constant, but the total volume<br />
of groundwater allocated and used is increasing substantially, doubling between 2002<br />
and 2007, with saline ground water use growing and expected to meet up to 40 per cent<br />
of total in-situ water requirements in the future. Devon’s Jackfish project currently uses<br />
100 per cent saline water. In-situ projects that use saline water from deep <strong>for</strong>mations also<br />
treat the water after use and then re-inject it into these same <strong>for</strong>mations, so as to not<br />
impact the surface or groundwater systems. Up to 90 per cent of the water is recycled,<br />
with the remainder injected underground if it cannot be used in operations. Solids may be<br />
landfilled, injected underground or used to surface roads. After processing, the bitumen<br />
is diluted with condensate (pentanes and heavier hydrocarbons obtained from natural gas<br />
processing) and the mixture is shipped by pipeline to an upgrader or refinery.<br />
CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011 15
Upgrading<br />
Compared to conventional light crude oil, bitumen typically contains more sulphur and a<br />
much higher proportion of large, carbon-rich hydrocarbon molecules. All operating mines<br />
have integral upgraders and 100 per cent of mineable production is upgraded within<br />
Alberta. In 2010, about 15.3 per cent of in-situ production was upgraded in Alberta, with<br />
most of the rest being upgraded elsewhere in Canada or shipped to the U.S. <strong>for</strong> upgrading.<br />
Currently only a very small portion of bitumen is shipped to Asian markets.<br />
Upgrading is the process that converts bitumen into a product with a density and viscosity<br />
similar to conventional light crude oil. This is accomplished by using heat to “crack” the<br />
big molecules into smaller fragments. Adding high-pressure hydrogen and/or removing<br />
carbon can also create smaller hydrocarbon molecules. Most of the energy <strong>for</strong> upgrading is<br />
obtained from byproducts of the process.<br />
Upgrading is usually a two-stage process. In the first stage, coking, hydro-processing, or<br />
both, are used to break up the molecules. Coking removes carbon, while hydro-processing<br />
adds hydrogen. In the second stage, a process called hydrotreating is used to stabilize the<br />
products and to remove impurities such as sulphur and nitrogen. The hydrogen used <strong>for</strong><br />
hydro-processing and hydrotreating is produced from natural gas and steam.<br />
If the upgrading process includes coking,<br />
the coke is removed from the bitumen and<br />
used <strong>for</strong> industrial applications. Another<br />
upgrading process adds hydrogen to<br />
the bitumen and breaks up the large<br />
hydrocarbon molecules – a process called<br />
hydrogen-addition or hydrogen-conversion.<br />
Hydrocarbons are stabilized by adding<br />
hydrogen in the presence of catalysts.<br />
After stabilization, the hydrocarbons<br />
are separated into naphtha, kerosene<br />
and gas oil.<br />
Utilities plants provide<br />
steam, nitrogen, oxygen,<br />
potable water and<br />
electricity.<br />
Sulphur can be<br />
recovered to be<br />
used in fertilizer<br />
and other products.<br />
A range of products including light<br />
sweet and sour crude oils and diesel<br />
products are blended and shipped<br />
to markets.<br />
Upgrading produces various hydrocarbon products that can be blended together into a<br />
custom-made crude oil equivalent, or they can be sold or used separately. The Syncrude<br />
and Suncor mining projects use some of their production to fuel the diesel engines in<br />
trucks and other equipment at their operations. Suncor also ships diesel fuel by pipeline to<br />
Edmonton <strong>for</strong> sale in the marketplace.<br />
Upgraders in Canada remove most of the sulphur from bitumen. Since sulphur may be<br />
about five per cent of the raw resource, large volumes of this by-product are produced. The<br />
Alberta <strong>Energy</strong> Resources Conservation Board expects annual sulphur production from oil<br />
sands projects to rise from about 1.74 million tonnes in 2010 to about 3.07 million tonnes in<br />
2020. Sulphur is used in the manufacture of fertilizers, pharmaceuticals and other products.<br />
Unsold sulphur is stockpiled. Those operations that use coking also market or stockpile the<br />
coke, which contains some sulphur as well as carbon.<br />
16 CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011
Co-generation is the simultaneous production of electricity and heat energy from a single<br />
facility. All of the oil sands mining operations, and several of the larger in-situ projects,<br />
include natural gas or synthetic gas-fired co-generation. The electricity is used to meet the<br />
projects’ own energy needs, such as operating mine machinery and in-situ well pumps, and<br />
any excess power is sold to the provincial power grid. The heat energy is used to separate<br />
bitumen from sand – whether at the extraction plants in the mining operations or by steam<br />
injection at the in-situ projects. Co-generation produces fewer air emissions per unit of<br />
energy produced compared to other thermal-electric generating facilities.<br />
Upgrading can occur at the producing site, adjacent to a refinery or anywhere in between.<br />
The choice of location <strong>for</strong> upgrading depends on several factors:<br />
• Capital and operating costs of the upgrader at one location relative to another<br />
• Potential synergies of locating an upgrader near to or in association with other<br />
corporate assets such as a refinery<br />
• Transportation costs<br />
• Diluent cost and availability – crude bitumen has to be diluted to flow<br />
through pipelines<br />
• Pumping costs – diluted bitumen requires more energy to pump than<br />
conventional or upgraded crude<br />
• Marketing conditions<br />
Photo courtesy of<br />
Suncor <strong>Energy</strong> Inc.<br />
Product tanks store refineryready<br />
feedstock and diesel fuel<br />
that is shipped by pipeline to<br />
customers in commercial and<br />
industrial markets throughout<br />
North America.<br />
Transportation<br />
Pipelines are the least expensive and most efficient way to move petroleum products<br />
over land. Upgraded synthetic crude oil has a density of about 850 kilograms per cubic<br />
metre (about 34 degrees on the America Petroleum Institute gravity scale), similar to the<br />
vegetable oil in our kitchens, and is shipped through pipelines just like the conventional<br />
light crude oil it resembles.<br />
Moving bitumen by pipeline is a challenge due to its high viscosity (resistance to flow, or<br />
stickiness). Large-diameter pipelines with powerful pumps help, but producers also lower<br />
the density and viscosity of the bitumen by diluting it with a light, low-viscosity petroleum<br />
product such as condensate, conventional light crude oil or synthetic crude oil. Some<br />
bitumen must be diluted by as much as 40 per cent to flow through a pipeline.<br />
Photo courtesy of<br />
Suncor <strong>Energy</strong> Inc.<br />
Sand is mined using shovels with<br />
buckets that hold 100 tonnes,<br />
loading 400 tonne trucks.<br />
The most common diluent <strong>for</strong> oil sands bitumen is condensate, a mixture of pentanes and<br />
heavier hydrocarbons obtained from natural gas processing. Supplies of condensate in<br />
Western Canada are limited. Some pipeline systems already include return lines to carry<br />
condensate back upstream <strong>for</strong> re-use. A recent alternative uses synthetic crude to dilute<br />
bitumen <strong>for</strong> shipment; the two fluids are separated be<strong>for</strong>e processing at the downstream<br />
end. Other proposed solutions involve pipelining imported condensate from the U.S.<br />
Midwest or Canada’s West Coast <strong>for</strong> use as diluent.<br />
As bitumen production has increased, there have been periodic shortages of condensate<br />
and light oil available <strong>for</strong> dilution. This is one reason why upgraders in Western Canada<br />
increased their processing capacity.<br />
Bitumen can also be shipped by truck, but again it must be diluted or heated first. Trucks<br />
are used mainly to carry production from small or experimental operations to the nearest<br />
upgrader or pipeline terminal.<br />
CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011 17
Economics<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> sands development depends mainly on two factors: the cost of producing and<br />
transporting the products, and the price buyers are willing to pay. Crude oil prices are<br />
determined by global supply and demand and change with the weather, politics and other<br />
factors. For Western Canadian producers, refining capacity and competition in the midcontinental<br />
U.S. and Canadian markets are also key considerations.<br />
Photo courtesy of<br />
Syncrude Canada Ltd.<br />
The high demand <strong>for</strong> labour<br />
in the oilsands region has also<br />
alleviated unemployment<br />
across the country.<br />
Operating costs – the labour, natural gas and other goods and services needed to produce<br />
a barrel – comprise about half of the supply cost <strong>for</strong> producers. In addition, companies<br />
have to earn enough to repay the capital they invested in the project, pay royalties and<br />
taxes to government, reclaim the sites and set aside funds <strong>for</strong> research, maintenance and<br />
new developments. The developers have invested billions of dollars in the projects, and<br />
they must attempt to earn a competitive return on this investment. Judging by the scale<br />
of current and proposed activity, companies generally believe that oil sands projects are<br />
worthwhile long-term investments.<br />
A number of factors affect the profitability of oil sands projects. Major influences include<br />
the exchange rate of the Canadian dollar, fiscal terms and operating expenses such as initial<br />
capital costs, crude prices and natural gas, material and labour costs. As well, because of<br />
unique challenges, different projects will have differing operating costs.<br />
The operating costs <strong>for</strong> conventional light oil in Western Canada are considerably lower<br />
than <strong>for</strong> upgraded oil sands bitumen, but conventional producers also have to invest<br />
continually in exploration <strong>for</strong> new reserves, which can add substantially to their costs. After<br />
a few years of production, the volume produced from a conventional well begins to decline<br />
and the operating costs start to rise, whereas this is not the case with oil sands mining.<br />
Operating costs in the oil sands mining projects are partly dependent on the price of<br />
natural gas used to generate steam and electricity and to produce hydrogen in associated<br />
upgrading facilities. If ways can be found to reduce or eliminate natural gas use, then<br />
costs could be reduced significantly. Wages and salaries are another major component of<br />
operating costs <strong>for</strong> mines and upgraders as they employ large numbers of skilled workers.<br />
The operating costs to produce oil sands bitumen vary considerably. In 2011, the Alberta<br />
<strong>Energy</strong> Resources Conservation Board estimated plant gate supply costs of $47 to $57 per<br />
barrel <strong>for</strong> steam-assisted gravity drainage projects, compared to $63 to $81 per barrel<br />
<strong>for</strong> stand-alone mining projects and $88 to $100 per barrel <strong>for</strong> integrated mining and<br />
upgrading projects. The Canadian <strong>Energy</strong> Research Institute (Study 122) estimated the cost<br />
<strong>for</strong> new SAGD and stand-alone mining projects at $93 per barrel and integrated mining and<br />
upgrading projects at $100 per barrel. The amount of natural gas used to generate steam<br />
and the recovery rate are the key factors. The availability of condensate and light oil to<br />
dilute bitumen can also affect markets <strong>for</strong> these products. The price of bitumen generally<br />
increases in the spring and summer when a lot of road-building and construction activity<br />
requiring asphalt is under way. The spread between the price of heavy and light oils is<br />
called the differential.<br />
The provincial government, which owns the mineral rights to virtually all of the oil sands<br />
resources, has recognized the long-term benefits of development in shaping royalty<br />
arrangements <strong>for</strong> their “owner’s share” of revenues from oil sands. Alberta established a<br />
stable “generic” oil sands royalty system in 1997 after decades of negotiating project-byproject<br />
arrangements. Under the generic system, the province collected one per cent of<br />
18 CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011
gross sales revenues on all production and a 25 per cent share of net project revenues after<br />
the operator recovered capital costs to build the project.<br />
In 2009, the government introduced its New Royalty Framework, consisting of price-sensitive<br />
royalty rates linked to the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil in Canadian dollars.<br />
For projects that haven’t recovered capital costs incurred to construct the project, gross<br />
royalty rates start at one per cent when oil is priced at $55 per barrel or less, and increase to a<br />
maximum of nine per cent when oil is priced at $120 per barrel or more. For projects that have<br />
recovered start-up coats, net royalty rates start at 25 per cent when oil is priced at $55 per<br />
barrel or less, and increase to a maximum of 40 per cent when oil is priced at $120 or more.<br />
The goals of the new Royalty Regime are as follows:<br />
• Support sustainable economic development that contributes to a high quality of life<br />
<strong>for</strong> all Albertans now and into the future<br />
• Support a fair, predictable and transparent royalty regime<br />
• Align Alberta’s royalty regime with overall government objectives<br />
More in<strong>for</strong>mation is available at http://www.energy.gov.ab.ca/<strong>Oil</strong><strong>Sands</strong>/808.asp<br />
One economic benefit of oil sands development is the ongoing stable employment and<br />
significant maintenance capital expended throughout the entire life of the project, in contrast<br />
to the ups and downs of conventional oil operations. This was an important consideration<br />
cited by the governments when they implemented the generic royalty and tax regimes.<br />
Though the economic effects of oil sands development are concentrated in Alberta, they also<br />
spread across the country and internationally through purchases of equipment, materials and<br />
services. Companies and workers pay taxes to the federal government, and Alberta is a major<br />
contributor to equalization payments that aid poorer provinces. According to the Canadian<br />
<strong>Energy</strong> Research Institute (Study 124), oil sands tax revenue across the country will total<br />
$444.2 billion over the next 25 years, $321.8 billion of which will go to the federal government.<br />
The high demand <strong>for</strong> labour in the oil sands region has also alleviated unemployment<br />
across the country. People from Atlantic Canada, <strong>for</strong> example, now account <strong>for</strong> more than<br />
one-quarter of the population in Fort McMurray.<br />
CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011 19
<strong>Energy</strong> balance<br />
The energy balance is simply the ratio between energy inputs and outputs <strong>for</strong> a given type<br />
of energy production. <strong>Energy</strong> balances are used as indicators of efficiency when comparing<br />
energy types and production methods.<br />
Based on National <strong>Energy</strong> Board data <strong>for</strong> natural gas inputs and petroleum outputs, the<br />
energy balance <strong>for</strong> oil sands mining-upgrading projects is about 1:12 and it is about 1:6 <strong>for</strong><br />
in-situ bitumen production. In addition, about 14 per cent of the raw bitumen is consumed<br />
to produce energy during upgrading or is converted into by-products such as coke and<br />
sulphur. As a result if the raw bitumen from in-situ projects is then upgraded into synthetic<br />
crude oil, the energy balance is as low as 1:4.<br />
The energy balance <strong>for</strong> oil sands is roughly comparable to that <strong>for</strong> ethanol produced from<br />
sugar cane in Brazil – where one unit of energy input produces about eight units of ethanol<br />
fuel energy – and it is much better than ethanol produced from corn in North America,<br />
where one unit of energy input only produces about 1.3 units of ethanol fuel energy.<br />
Since the early 1990s, energy use per barrel in oil sands mining and extraction has been<br />
reduced about 45 per cent through the use of new technologies such as hydrotransport,<br />
which is more efficient than conveyors or truck transport. New, low-temperature extraction<br />
processes further reduce energy use.<br />
Products and uses<br />
Upgraded synthetic crude oil is a conventional light oil equivalent. The most common<br />
products made from upgraded synthetic crude oil are transportation fuels such as gasoline,<br />
diesel and jet fuel. Others include petrochemicals used in making synthetic rubber and<br />
polystyrene. When bitumen is processed in refineries, it also produces transportation fuels<br />
and some petrochemicals, as well as the asphalt needed <strong>for</strong> road paving and roofing.<br />
Sulphur, which comprises about five per cent of oil sands bitumen, is a major by-product of<br />
oil sands upgrading. The decision to sell or stockpile sulphur <strong>for</strong> future sale is dependent<br />
on world sulphur markets and the availability of storage space. Until recently, Syncrude<br />
stockpiled most of its sulphur at the upgrader site, but in 2005 Syncrude sold sulphur from<br />
its stockpile <strong>for</strong> the first time in 10 years, and the company is now producing fertilizer from<br />
its sulphur. Suncor and other companies have sold most of their sulphur production on<br />
international markets despite low prices and high transportation costs <strong>for</strong> the commodity.<br />
Canada is the world’s largest producer and exporter of elemental sulphur, which is also<br />
obtained from sour gas production.<br />
Common products made from<br />
upgraded crude oil, other than<br />
transportation fuels, include<br />
petrochemicals used in making<br />
synthetic rubber and plastics.<br />
By 2018, however, upgraders could generate as much as 3.3 million tonnes of sulphur per<br />
year. To address this issue, several countries have been identified as potential markets since<br />
sulphur can be used to make fertilizer. Canadian supply to the United States rose 116.5 per<br />
cent in 2010 compared to 2009. Other countries to which export increased in 2010 include<br />
Australia, South Africa and Israel. Although exports to China decreased 37.7 per cent in<br />
2010 over 2009, the value of sulphur exports to China increased 33 per cent to $178 million.<br />
Sulphur is also used in other industries such as pharmaceuticals and synthetic rubber. Some<br />
sulphur is currently used in road asphalt and potentially could be used in concrete or other<br />
construction materials.<br />
20 CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011
Section 3<br />
Towards Sustainable<br />
Development<br />
Like many types of resource development, oil sands projects<br />
affect land, air and water and the human, plant and animal<br />
life they sustain.<br />
As ecological knowledge and environmental awareness<br />
have grown over the years, companies and government<br />
authorities have sought better ways to reduce or eliminate<br />
such effects.<br />
This helps to ensure the highest possible quality of life <strong>for</strong><br />
industry’s workers and those who reside near its plants,<br />
while also reducing impacts on regional and global<br />
ecosystems.<br />
CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition november 2011 21
The Alberta and federal governments and the petroleum industry generally subscribe to<br />
the concept of sustainable development, defined as “development that meets today’s<br />
needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”<br />
As the pace of oil sands development began to accelerate in 1999, the Alberta government<br />
announced the Regional Sustainable Development Strategy <strong>for</strong> the oil sands area of<br />
northeastern Alberta. The strategy defined sustainable development this way:<br />
"Under sustainable development, renewable resources are managed to ensure<br />
their long-term viability and potential future use. Non-renewable resources are<br />
managed to maximize their benefits. Sustainable development takes into account<br />
the interdependence of trees, minerals, wildlife, water, fish, range lands, public<br />
lands, plants and other similar resources... It considers the economic effects of<br />
environmental decisions, and the environmental effects of economic decisions."<br />
To implement the strategy, multi-stakeholder task <strong>for</strong>ces brought together industry,<br />
different levels of government, non-governmental organizations, Aboriginal communities<br />
and local businesses and other interests. They sought coordinated approaches to issues<br />
such as health care, infrastructure and air quality as well as the cumulative effects from so<br />
much development occurring so rapidly, most of it in one geographical area.<br />
In 2006, the Alberta government conducted public consultation through the oil sands<br />
Multi-Stakeholder Committee (MSC), to consider economic, social, environmental and First<br />
Nations and Métis issues associated with oil sands development.<br />
Phase I of the process set out a vision and principles <strong>for</strong> oil sands development. Phase II<br />
sought public input on implementing the vision and principles, and included separate,<br />
parallel First Nations and Métis consultation focusing on potential adverse impacts of oil<br />
sands development on constitutionally protected rights and traditional land uses.<br />
In<strong>for</strong>mation gathered by the MSC supplemented previous public and interest-group input<br />
that has been ongoing since commercial oil sands operations began.<br />
The MSC reached consensus on 96 of 120 recommendations regarding Aboriginal<br />
consultation, minimizing the impact of oil sands on biodiversity, improving land<br />
reclamation, the need <strong>for</strong> protected areas, planning and monitoring processes, and<br />
retention of a larger share of related, value-added processing.<br />
It failed to reach consensus on the pace of development, water use, targets <strong>for</strong> greenhouse<br />
gas emissions, limiting the amount of land available <strong>for</strong> oil sands projects, and royalties and<br />
taxes. The Multi-Stakeholder Committee Final Report and the Aboriginal Consultation Final<br />
Report were published in 2007 and are available at www.oilsandsconsultations.gov.ab.ca<br />
Photo courtesy of<br />
Syncrude Canada Ltd.<br />
Several hundred wood bison<br />
graze on the Syncrude site as<br />
part of a long-term reclamation<br />
project co-managed with the<br />
nearby Fort McKay First Nation.<br />
Aboriginal people, who have inhabited the oil sands region <strong>for</strong> thousands of years, have a<br />
special interest in how development proceeds. While they have gained many opportunities<br />
through direct employment and the creation of Aboriginal-owned businesses, they have<br />
also expressed concern about the impacts of development on their communities, the<br />
environment and traditional land uses.<br />
In December 2008, the Alberta government released the Land-use Framework, which sets<br />
out an approach on how to better manage public and private lands and natural resources in<br />
22 CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011
light of achieving Alberta’s long-term economic, environmental and social goals. The Lower<br />
Athabasca Regional Plan will identify and set resource and environmental management<br />
outcomes <strong>for</strong> air, land, water and biodiversity, and guide future resource decisions while<br />
considering social and economic impacts.<br />
In February 2009, Alberta released Responsible Actions, a 20-year strategic plan <strong>for</strong><br />
Alberta’s oil sands, which addresses the economic, social, environmental, research and<br />
innovation, and governance needs of Alberta’s oil sands regions. The plan will <strong>for</strong>m a new<br />
provincial and regional approach to managing the oil sands regions. The plan was based<br />
on extensive stakeholder consultations described in Investing in our Future: Responding to<br />
the Rapid Growth of <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Development, the Multi-Stakeholder Committee Final Report<br />
and the Aboriginal Consultation Final Report. Responsible Actions also builds on existing<br />
Alberta government policies, programs and initiatives, particularly the Provincial <strong>Energy</strong><br />
Strategy and Land-use Framework.<br />
Land and biodiversity<br />
As Canada’s largest mines, the Athabasca oil sands projects affect thousands of hectares of<br />
boreal <strong>for</strong>est, wetlands, watersheds and muskeg. However, only four per cent of Canada’s<br />
310 million hectare boreal <strong>for</strong>est is underlain by oil sands. Approximately 2.5 per cent<br />
of that land, or 0.1 per cent of the boreal <strong>for</strong>est, is mineable. As at October 2011, 71,500<br />
hectares had been disturbed. During operations, as well as when mining is completed, the<br />
developers are required to restore the mine sites to at least the equivalent of their previous<br />
biological productivity. Reclamation is an ongoing process with initial reclamation work<br />
commencing as soon as three years after the land is first disturbed. This does not mean<br />
“tree-by-tree” restoration, but rather that the region as a whole should <strong>for</strong>m an ecosystem<br />
with a productive capacity equal to or greater than that which existed be<strong>for</strong>e development.<br />
Photo courtesy of<br />
Shell Canada Inc.<br />
Scientific studies are underway<br />
to determine how much water<br />
can be withdrawn from the<br />
Athabasca River without<br />
negative effects.<br />
How is this done? Be<strong>for</strong>e operations begin, environmental scientists record existing soil<br />
types and plant and animal species in a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment or EIA.<br />
Trees that must be harvested are sent to nearby lumber or pulp mills. Muskeg and topsoil<br />
are removed and stockpiled. Sand from the processing facility is returned to mined-out<br />
areas. After an area is mined, topsoil and overburden are replaced, and an annual ground<br />
cover such as barley is planted to stabilize the soil. The surface is then replanted with<br />
trees, shrubs or grasses. When the area meets the provincial government’s standard <strong>for</strong><br />
reclamation the land is certified and it is officially returned to the Province and is no longer<br />
under the control of the oil sands project. Once a certificate is granted the land reverts<br />
back to the crown, would be available <strong>for</strong> public access and would be unavailable to the oil<br />
sands project.<br />
Syncrude and Suncor have reclaimed 4,900 and 1,300 hectares respectively and have<br />
planted more than 8.5 million trees. Another 80 hectares has been reclaimed by Canadian<br />
Natural Resources Limited and 16 by Shell Canada. Only Syncrude has received certification<br />
<strong>for</strong> reclaimed land, a 104-hectare area known as Gateway Hill. Applications <strong>for</strong> certification<br />
are generally not submitted until the reclaimed land is no longer integral to a company’s<br />
operations as the companies want to maintain control over these areas.<br />
Several hundred wood bison graze on the Syncrude site as part of a long-term reclamation<br />
project co-managed with the nearby Fort McKay First Nation. The bison project is the result<br />
of Syncrude’s research ef<strong>for</strong>ts into reclamation techniques that will also create productive<br />
wildlife habitats. Wood bison were chosen as a focus because the species was native to the<br />
CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011 23
area until their near extinction in the 1800s, and played an important role in the economy<br />
and culture of Aboriginal communities.<br />
Only Syncrude’s 104-hectare parcel of land known as Gateway Hill has been issued a<br />
certificate by Alberta Environment to date (2009).<br />
Photo courtesy of<br />
Suncor <strong>Energy</strong> Inc.<br />
Settling ponds allow clay and<br />
silt to settle out of the water<br />
used in the extraction process.<br />
A number of improvements<br />
have been made to the design<br />
and operation of in-situ oil<br />
well casings.<br />
Research and development to address land issues is continuing. Among the issues <strong>for</strong><br />
upgraders are the long-term disposal or utilization options <strong>for</strong> their stockpiles of sulphur<br />
and coke.<br />
The use of slanted and horizontal wells greatly reduces the land disturbance associated<br />
with in-situ bitumen projects. One surface installation, known as a pad, may contain up to<br />
10 well pairs producing from <strong>for</strong>mations with a radius of more than a kilometre. Insulated,<br />
above-ground pipelines carry steam and bitumen among facilities and well locations at<br />
in-situ projects. When production ceases, regulations require that the wells be sealed with<br />
cement and the biological productivity of the site be restored. In-situ reclamation is similar<br />
in scale and timing to conventional oil reclamation.<br />
Mining and in-situ oil sands projects, related seismic programs, roads, pipelines and<br />
electrical power lines disturb substantial areas of boreal <strong>for</strong>est. The “linear disturbances”<br />
fragment the landscape and affect wildlife habitat. An approach called Integrated<br />
Landscape Management, developed by the Alberta Chamber of Resources in the late 1990s,<br />
brings together oil companies and <strong>for</strong>estry companies to reduce their cumulative impacts<br />
on landscapes, <strong>for</strong>est productivity and wildlife – through measures such as narrower<br />
seismic cutlines and coordinated planning to reduce the number of roads. “Meandering”<br />
cutlines reduce line-of-site corridors <strong>for</strong> predators, and on-site mulching of wastes speeds<br />
reclamation. Research is also underway to improve re<strong>for</strong>estation of reclaimed sites.<br />
Water resources<br />
The National <strong>Energy</strong> Board estimates that between two and 4.5 barrels of water are needed<br />
to produce a barrel of oil sands bitumen in oil sands mining operations. Most of this, up to<br />
90 per cent in some cases, is recycled, and industry is working to reduce water use overall.<br />
Some water is also returned to the hydrosphere through evaporation. In-situ development<br />
is required by the provincial environmental and energy agencies to use brackish or nonpotable<br />
groundwater <strong>for</strong> production. Most of the water utilized in oil sands mining comes<br />
from surface water bodies, typically large adjacent rivers.<br />
Scientific studies were conducted to determine how much water can be withdrawn from the<br />
Athabasca River and other watersheds without negative effects on fish and aquatic life. The total<br />
annual allocation of water from the Athabasca River <strong>for</strong> all uses (e.g., municipal, industrial and oil<br />
sands) is less than 3.2 per cent of flow. This compares to 37 per cent <strong>for</strong> the North Saskatchewan<br />
River (Edmonton), 60 per cent <strong>for</strong> the Oldman River (Southern Alberta) and 65 per cent <strong>for</strong> the<br />
Bow River (Calgary).<br />
Current oil sands mining projects use about one per cent of the total annual water flow of<br />
the Athabasca River. Should all existing, approved and announced oil sands projects proceed,<br />
industry would use 2.2 per cent of the Athabasca river flow.<br />
Industry’s withdrawal of water from the Athabasca River is capped during periods of low river<br />
flow to protect the aquatic ecosystem.<br />
24 CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011
The industry-funded, multi-stakeholder Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program (RAMP)<br />
has been assessing regional watersheds, fish populations and aquatic ecosystems in the<br />
Athabasca oil sands area since 1997. In 2010, RAMP reported that differences between<br />
baseline flow rates and 2009 flow rates were negligible to low at eight test sites, moderate at<br />
one test site and high at four. Similarly, differences between baseline water quality conditions<br />
and 2010 water quality conditions at test sites were negligible to low at all 17 test sites.<br />
Differences in invertebrate populations were negligible to low at six test sites, moderate at six<br />
test sites and high at two sites.<br />
The federal Fisheries Act requires that developers compensate <strong>for</strong> loss of fish habitat. The<br />
ratio <strong>for</strong> compensation is at least two-to-one; that is, <strong>for</strong> each unit of habitat lost, at least two<br />
units of equivalent habitat must be created, restored or protected elsewhere in the region.<br />
The tailings ponds at oil sands mining projects pose additional challenges. In the extraction<br />
process at the mining projects, the water picks up tiny particles of clay. Ponds are used<br />
to hold the resulting tailings, a mixture of clay, water and trace amounts of unrecovered<br />
bitumen. <strong>Oil</strong> sands mining developers are using various methods <strong>for</strong> managing the tailings<br />
over the long term. Tailings ponds are not used in in-situ projects.<br />
There are two methods of reclaiming tailings ponds, water-capped lakes and solid<br />
landscapes. With water-capped lakes, a layer of fresh water is placed over the tailings; this<br />
water cap could function as a normal aquatic ecosystem while the clay particles slowly<br />
drift to the bottom. Because there is still some debate about whether the settling ponds<br />
can become biologically productive ecosystems over the long term, the developers are<br />
continuing to study the matter.<br />
With solid or dry landscapes, gypsum is used to accelerate the settling time and create<br />
consolidated tailings. Without the gypsum, the coarse sand fraction of the tailings settles<br />
out faster than the finer clays, which may take some years to <strong>for</strong>m mature fine tailings, a<br />
mixture of water and 30 per cent solids.<br />
In the consolidated tailings process, the tailings stream is hydrocycloned to separate the<br />
coarse sand fraction from the fine tailings and water. The sand is then mixed with mature<br />
fine tailings and gypsum to <strong>for</strong>m an unsegregated, stable mixture that consolidates<br />
to approximately 80 per cent solids in less than one year. Calcium-rich water released<br />
from the concentrated tailings is added to the fine tailings from the cyclone process to<br />
accelerate settling and produce more consolidated fine tailings which are in turn mixed<br />
with sand and gypsum.<br />
In-situ projects have made a continuing ef<strong>for</strong>t to reduce water use through increased<br />
recycling. Developers are required to use brackish (non-drinkable) water from underground<br />
aquifers to meet part of their water needs.<br />
Another issue <strong>for</strong> in-situ operations is the possibility that casing failures in steaming<br />
operations could contaminate water supplies in underground aquifers. In the Cold Lake<br />
area, investigations of the impacts of casing failures on groundwater quality found the<br />
effects were restricted to the immediate vicinity of a casing failure. Produced fluids released<br />
into an aquifer from a casing failure are recovered by pumping back the released fluids.<br />
A number of improvements have also been made to the design and operation of in-situ<br />
oil well casings. These improvements reduce the number of future casing failures and<br />
Photo courtesy of EnCana<br />
Carbon sequestration not only<br />
dispose of C0 2<br />
safely, it reduces<br />
greenhouse gas emissions. In<br />
some conventional oilfields, the<br />
carbon dioxide from oil sands<br />
emissions could be used to<br />
enhance oil recovery.<br />
CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011 25
minimize their consequences. For example, by detecting breaks earlier, when they are the<br />
size of pinholes, the amount of fluid that may be released into a groundwater aquifer is<br />
significantly reduced.<br />
In the late 1990s, an extensive investigation of groundwater quality around in-situ heavy oil<br />
operations was conducted by Komex International Ltd. and Imperial <strong>Oil</strong>. The study found<br />
that regional groundwater quality had not been affected by in-situ operations. The study<br />
also recommended that the monitoring of groundwater quality be enhanced. The enhanced<br />
monitoring systems determine groundwater conditions prior to new developments, as well as<br />
monitor groundwater quality during the operating life of the development.<br />
Local and regional air quality<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> sands mining, processing and upgrading produce emissions that affect air quality. New<br />
technology and more efficient operations have greatly reduced emissions per barrel of<br />
production, but the rapid increase in production has led to increases in some emissions<br />
such as oxides of nitrogen (NO x<br />
). Alberta authorities have stated that they will be watching<br />
closely the cumulative effect of air emissions.<br />
Between 1990 and 2010, the annual average NOx concentration increased between 18<br />
and 36 per cent at monitoring stations in the Ft. McMurray area. However, mean annual<br />
NOx concentrations in the oil sands regions remain below those in Edmonton and Calgary<br />
and are well below regulatory limits. NOx emissions contribute to acid deposition and<br />
also combine with volatile organic compounds and particulate matter in the presence of<br />
sunlight to <strong>for</strong>m ground-level ozone or smog. According to Environment Canada data, oil<br />
sands accounted <strong>for</strong> 5.5 per cent of Alberta’s total emissions of NOx in 2010. Companies<br />
have committed to use “best available technology economically achievable” to reduce NOx<br />
emissions. For example, new truck engines emit considerably less NOx and gas-fired heaters<br />
must comply with strict “low-NOx” emission standards.<br />
Emissions of sulphur compounds and hydrocarbons also affect local air quality. Syncrude<br />
and Suncor have reduced these by capturing gases <strong>for</strong>merly released into the atmosphere<br />
or burned in open flares. The gases are captured in flue gas desulphurization units that<br />
produce sulphur <strong>for</strong> use in making gypsum (Suncor) or fertilizer (Syncrude).<br />
Upgraders remove up to 99.8 per cent of the sulphur from bitumen by converting it into<br />
elemental sulphur or retaining it in the coke byproduct, so it is not released with endproduct<br />
combustion. The remaining sulphur is released into the atmosphere as sulphur<br />
dioxide (SO2). This may combine with water vapour to <strong>for</strong>m sulphurous acid or sulphuric<br />
acid and contribute to acid deposition that affects <strong>for</strong>ests and water resources. According<br />
to Environment Canada data, oil sands projects accounted <strong>for</strong> 35 per cent of Alberta’s total<br />
sulphur dioxide emissions in 2010.<br />
The Wood Buffalo Environmental Association monitors air quality in Fort McMurray and the<br />
surrounding area. Monitoring includes continuous air quality data and periodic air samples.<br />
Air quality in the region generally compares favourably with that of Alberta cities such as<br />
Edmonton, Calgary and Fort Saskatchewan. Monitoring results in 2008 showed:<br />
• The one-hour average readings <strong>for</strong> sulphur dioxide in Fort McMurray, Fort McKay and<br />
Fort Chipewyan were below provincial objectives <strong>for</strong> ambient air quality<br />
• There were two exceedances of the one-hour provincial objectives <strong>for</strong> sulphur<br />
26 CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011
dioxide in areas close to the oil sands facilities<br />
• There was one exceedance of the 24-hour provincial objectives <strong>for</strong> sulphur dioxide<br />
• There were no exceedances of the one-hour provincial objective <strong>for</strong> nitrogen dioxide,<br />
carbon dioxide, ammonia, ozone or particulate matter<br />
• There were 614 exceedances of the one-hour average provincial objective <strong>for</strong><br />
hydrogen sulphide<br />
• There were 118 exceedances of the 24-hour average provincial objective <strong>for</strong><br />
hydrogen sulphide<br />
The Wood Buffalo Environmental Association also operates the Terrestrial Environmental<br />
Effects Monitoring (TEEM), an ecological monitoring program that samples bogs, fens,<br />
lichens and other plant growth to monitor nitrogen and sulphur. The Cumulative<br />
Environmental Management Association (CEMA) has developed management frameworks<br />
<strong>for</strong> terrestrial ecosystem, land capability, ozone management, landscape design, acid<br />
deposition, ecosystems management, trace metals and nitrogen.<br />
In all the oil sands areas, including Cold Lake and Peace River as well as Athabasca, monitoring<br />
through 2008 showed that air quality was rated good more than 95 per cent of the time.<br />
Greenhouse gases<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> sands operations also emit large amounts of carbon dioxide and some methane. These<br />
are among the heat-trapping greenhouse gases that affect global climate. In 2008, oil<br />
sands facilities were the third largest source of reported GHG emissions in Alberta tied<br />
with transportation accounting <strong>for</strong> 15 per cent or 36.6 megatonnes of total GHG emissions<br />
(carbon dioxide equivalent) in the province. The utilities sector was the largest source of<br />
greenhouse gas emissions in Alberta with 58.6 megatonnes or 24 per cent of total reported<br />
GHG emissions.<br />
In 2007, Alberta became the first jurisdiction in North America to legislate GHG reductions<br />
<strong>for</strong> large industrial facilities. Any facility, including oil sands, that emits more than 100,000<br />
tonnes of GHG per year is required to reduce their emissions intensity by 12 per cent from<br />
2003-2005 levels starting in 2007. Facilities that fail to meet this target have the option of<br />
buying Alberta-based carbon offsets, or paying $15 per tonne over reduction targets into<br />
the Climate Change and Emissions Management Fund. The fund supports projects and<br />
technologies aimed at reducing GHG emissions in the province.<br />
As part of the long-term climate change plan Alberta plans to cut projected greenhouse<br />
gas emissions by 50 per cent or 200 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents by 2050. It<br />
translates to real reductions of 14 per cent below 2005 levels.<br />
To date, more efficient use of energy has been the main strategy to reduce greenhouse<br />
gas emissions from oil sands. Research is underway into the possibility of capturing carbon<br />
dioxide emissions from oil sands plants and injecting them underground, which is known<br />
as carbon capture and storage (CCS) or carbon sequestration. In some conventional oilfields,<br />
the carbon dioxide from oil sands emissions could be used to enhance oil recovery. Alberta<br />
is the first jurisdiction in North America to direct dedicated funding to implement carbon<br />
capture and storage across industrial sectors. CCS is <strong>for</strong>ecast to deliver about 70 per cent of<br />
the long-term climate change plan’s projected 200 megatonnes carbon dioxide equivalentreduction<br />
by 2050, with the majority of those reductions coming from activities related to<br />
oil sands production.<br />
CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011 27
Offsets are another option to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Offsets are<br />
reductions in emissions that are caused by an activity not directly related to the source<br />
creating the emissions. Planting millions of trees to absorb carbon dioxide creates an offset<br />
<strong>for</strong> whoever plants the trees. In an emissions-trading system, carbon dioxide offsets can be<br />
traded on an emissions market.<br />
From a global perspective, what matters is the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted<br />
during a product’s “wells to wheels life cycle” from extraction to the final use by a<br />
consumer. According to two independent studies commissioned by the Alberta <strong>Energy</strong><br />
Research Institute released in 2009, greenhouse gas emissions from the oil sands are<br />
about 10 per cent higher than direct emissions from other crudes in the United States.<br />
However, if cogeneration is taken into consideration, greenhouse gas emissions from oil<br />
sands are similar to those from the other crudes.<br />
The studies, Life Cycle Assessment Comparison of North American and Imported Crude,<br />
researched and authored by Jacobs Consultancy Canada Inc. and Comparison of North<br />
American and Imported Crude <strong>Oil</strong> Lifecycle GHG Emissions, researched and authored by TIAX<br />
LLC, were conducted in 2008.<br />
The studies also indicated that greenhouse gas emissions from conventional crudes are<br />
rising because of the increasing reliance upon heavier crudes that are more difficult to<br />
produce. Conversely, greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands crudes are decreasing<br />
because of technological advances.<br />
Quality of life<br />
Tens of thousands of new jobs come from oil sands development. Workers and their<br />
families have flocked to the oil sands region and elsewhere in the province. While this<br />
growth has been a boon <strong>for</strong> these individuals, it puts great pressure on public services,<br />
housing and infrastructure. Many businesses had trouble finding and keeping staff. During<br />
consultations in 2006, some Albertans, including the mayor of Fort McMurray, urged a<br />
slowdown in oil sands development so that other sectors could keep pace. In 2008 and<br />
2009, the pace of development did slow due to economic conditions that caused the delay<br />
or outright cancellation of some projects. Capital spending in 2009 dropped 38 per cent<br />
from $18.1 billion to $11.2 billion. However, in 2010, capital spending increased 53 per cent<br />
to $17.2 billion, the third highest on record.<br />
Photo courtesy of<br />
Shell Canada Ltd.<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> sands projects have<br />
created new opportunities<br />
<strong>for</strong> local businesses, including<br />
many enterprises owned and<br />
operated by Aboriginal people.<br />
However, oil sands projects also created new opportunities <strong>for</strong> local businesses, including<br />
many enterprises owned and operated by Aboriginal people. Splitting contracts into many<br />
components makes it possible <strong>for</strong> smaller companies to bid on them. <strong>Oil</strong> sands developers<br />
use open house events, local media and ongoing consultation to ensure that local people<br />
are aware of upcoming business opportunities. The Northeast Alberta Aboriginal Business<br />
Association distributes contract in<strong>for</strong>mation among its members, and the Regional<br />
Economic Development Link or “Red Link” facilitates opportunities through in<strong>for</strong>mation,<br />
communications, promotions, research, networking, and sales.<br />
Providing employment and business opportunities is, however, just one of the ways that<br />
the industry is trans<strong>for</strong>ming the social fabric and economic well-being of the oil sands<br />
areas. Aboriginal people make up about 10 per cent of the population in the Athabasca<br />
28 CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011
oil sands area, and industry has made a concerted ef<strong>for</strong>t to provide opportunities <strong>for</strong><br />
them. Since the 1970s, the government and oil sands companies have established<br />
programs to train and recruit Aboriginal people as employees, contractors and suppliers,<br />
and the new projects seek Aboriginal involvement wherever possible. In 2010, there were<br />
more than 1,700 Aboriginal people employed in operations jobs in the oil sands. About<br />
$5 billion worth of contracts have been awarded to local Aboriginal companies since 1998<br />
- $1.3 billion in 2010 alone.<br />
The Canadian <strong>Energy</strong> Research Institute <strong>for</strong>ecasts that 900,000 new jobs will be created<br />
and preserved in the oil sands between 2010 and 2035. This includes direct, indirect and<br />
induced employment.<br />
Regulation and consultation<br />
The Alberta Resources Conservation Board and Alberta Environment are the principal<br />
regulators of oil sands operations in the province. Alberta <strong>Energy</strong> and Alberta Sustainable<br />
Resource Development also have direct roles in oil sands regulation. The National <strong>Energy</strong><br />
Board regulates interprovincial and international aspects such as pipelines and exports.<br />
Photo courtesy of<br />
Imperial <strong>Oil</strong> Ltd.<br />
Education initiatives and<br />
consultation ef<strong>for</strong>ts help<br />
educate surrounding<br />
communities about<br />
<strong>Canada's</strong> oil sands.<br />
Large projects affecting interprovincial air and water resources, and related issues such<br />
as fisheries, are typically subject to joint federal-provincial environmental assessment.<br />
Provincial and federal energy, environment, health and safety authorities are also involved<br />
in many aspects of oil sands regulation.<br />
Through the Aboriginal Policy Framework released in 2000, Alberta committed to consult<br />
with First Nations when land management and resource development decisions may<br />
infringe their existing treaty or other constitutional rights. Beginning in September 2003,<br />
Alberta engaged in dialogue with industry and First Nations about consultation and the<br />
focus of consultation policy. The province’s First Nations Consultation Policy on Land<br />
Management and Resource Development was approved on May 16, 2005. It rein<strong>for</strong>ced<br />
the commitment <strong>for</strong> consultation that was identified in the Aboriginal Policy Framework.<br />
The policy outlines the province’s expectations of First Nations and resource companies<br />
in striving <strong>for</strong> increased certainty <strong>for</strong> all parties with respect to land management and<br />
resource development activities. In addition, it outlines the province’s approach to meeting<br />
its consultation responsibilities.<br />
Photo courtesy of<br />
Imperial <strong>Oil</strong> Ltd.<br />
Through the Aboriginal Policy<br />
Framework released in 2000,<br />
Alberta committed to consult<br />
with First Nations when land<br />
management and resource<br />
development may infringe<br />
their existing treaty or other<br />
constitutional rights.<br />
Following the release of the policy, the province worked with First Nations and industry<br />
to develop a Framework <strong>for</strong> Consultation Guidelines and sector-specific consultation<br />
guidelines. The framework was released on May 19, 2006 and the guidelines were<br />
implemented on September 1, 2006. In addition, the Athabasca Tribal Council began<br />
working with the government to develop specific consultation guidelines <strong>for</strong> the Athabasca<br />
oil sands area where development has been most intense.<br />
In 2000, two groups were created to address traditional environmental knowledge in<br />
the Athabasca oil sands region. The Cumulative Environmental Management Association<br />
<strong>for</strong>med a standing committee, the Traditional Environmental Knowledge Committee,<br />
to provide guidance on how to incorporate Aboriginal expertise into their knowledge<br />
base. The Reclamation Advisory Committee meanwhile created a sub-group to address<br />
traditional knowledge. Much of the science and understanding used in reclamation and<br />
environmental activities previously were based on Western knowledge. The members<br />
of the two bodies were aware of the needs and desires of the people indigenous to<br />
CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011 29
the Athabasca area, and wanted to incorporate their knowledge to have a greater<br />
understanding of what environmental protection and reclamation should encompass.<br />
Traditional ecological knowledge includes in<strong>for</strong>mation from people with an understanding<br />
of how past generations lived off of the land. This includes many First Nations people, Métis<br />
and historians of local culture.<br />
Research<br />
The National <strong>Energy</strong> Board estimates that only about 10 per cent of Canada’s oil sands<br />
resource can be recovered economically with current technology. The future of this<br />
resource will be decided in the laboratory. Government and industry have invested<br />
heavily in oil sands and in-situ research and development <strong>for</strong> decades, and much more<br />
will undoubtedly be spent in the future to improve the technological, environmental and<br />
economic per<strong>for</strong>mance of oil sands developments.<br />
To date, the Alberta government and private industry have each invested more than<br />
$1 billion in research to reduce the environmental footprint of oil sands development and<br />
increase economic recoveries.<br />
Several hundred researchers work in industry, university and government laboratories,<br />
primarily in the Calgary and Edmonton areas, to find solutions to the scientific and<br />
technological challenges facing the oil sands industry. Employees and contractors<br />
throughout the industry constantly seek more efficient, cost-effective and environmentally<br />
sensitive ways to do things.<br />
Some of the immediate challenges facing the scientists and technologists include: reducing<br />
emissions of oxides of nitrogen and greenhouse gases; reducing water use and natural<br />
gas consumption; improving the efficiency of oil sands mining, bitumen extraction and<br />
in-situ recovery; obtaining a higher yield of desirable products from upgrading; reducing<br />
equipment maintenance requirements; reducing the need to dilute bitumen <strong>for</strong> pipeline<br />
transportation; and improving tailings management and reclamation methods.<br />
Research partners from industry, the academic community and government coordinate<br />
their ef<strong>for</strong>ts through associations such as the Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada<br />
(PTAC), Canadian <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Network <strong>for</strong> Research and Development (CONRAD), the Alberta<br />
Chamber of Resources’ <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Task Force, Black <strong>Oil</strong> Pipeline Network Steering Committee,<br />
the CO2 Synergies Research Network, and Coordination of University Research <strong>for</strong> Synergy<br />
and Effectiveness (COURSE).<br />
The Alberta <strong>Energy</strong> Research Institute's research priorities with regard to oil sands include<br />
improving bitumen upgrading; demonstrating clean carbon/coal is a viable fuel <strong>for</strong><br />
producing electricity; improving oil recovery technologies; developing technologies that<br />
reduce greenhouse gas emissions; supporting new technology to reduce fresh water use by<br />
the energy industry and advancing and adapting technology <strong>for</strong> alternative energy sources.<br />
30 CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011
The path ahead<br />
North Americans have a huge appetite <strong>for</strong> oil products. Each Canadian and American uses<br />
an average of more than 20 barrels (3,178 litres) worth of petroleum-based products and<br />
services per year.<br />
Today, it is not possible <strong>for</strong> historic domestic sources of production to meet this demand.<br />
Conventional light crude oil production is declining throughout most oil-producing areas of<br />
the United States and Western Canada. The United States already imports more than half of<br />
its oil supplies. Canada has continued to export more oil than it imports.<br />
In fact, Canada has actually increased oil production thanks to oil sands, heavy oil and<br />
offshore oil development. Offshore, Arctic and conventional oil resources can maintain<br />
Canadian production and revenues <strong>for</strong> a while, but the oil sands are the nation's principal<br />
petroleum source <strong>for</strong> the long haul.<br />
Human ingenuity has already accomplished a great deal by making the oil sands<br />
economically competitive with conventional oil. Environmental and social challenges<br />
are being engaged. Continuous improvement in science, technology and management<br />
are helping to overcome the remaining challenges to meet society’s expectations <strong>for</strong><br />
sustainable development.<br />
CANADA’S OIL SANDS THIRD edition November 2011 31
For further in<strong>for</strong>mation<br />
Publications<br />
Alberta <strong>Energy</strong> and Natural Resources. <strong>Energy</strong> Heritage – <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> and Heavy <strong>Oil</strong>s of Alberta. Edmonton: 1982.<br />
Alberta <strong>Energy</strong> Research Institute. Life Cycle Analysis of North American and Imported Crude <strong>Oil</strong>s. Two studies<br />
commissioned and released by AERI: Life Cycle Assessment Comparison of North American and Imported Crude,<br />
researched and authored by Jacobs Consultancy Canada Inc. and Comparison of North American and Imported Crude<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> Lifecycle GHG Emissions, researched and authored by TIAX LLC. 2009.<br />
AEUB. Crude Bitumen Reserves Atlas. Calgary: May 1996.<br />
Alberta <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Technology and Research Authority. AOSTRA – A 15-Year Portfolio of Achievement. Edmonton: 1990.<br />
Bryson, Connie, ed. Opportunity <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong>. Winnipeg: Fleet Publications Inc., 1996.<br />
Bott, Robert. “True Grit – How Syncrude Manages <strong>for</strong> Success,” The Globe and Mail Report on Business Magazine.<br />
Toronto: May 1995.<br />
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. 2005 CAPP Stewardship Progress Report. Calgary: 2006.<br />
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. Statistical Handbook <strong>for</strong> Canada’s Upstream Petroleum Industry. Calgary:<br />
September 2011.<br />
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. Upstream Dialogue: The Facts on <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong>. Calgary: October 2011<br />
Canadian <strong>Energy</strong> Research Institute. Canadian <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Supply Costs and Development Projects (2010-2044), Study 122.<br />
Calgary: May 2011.<br />
Canadian <strong>Energy</strong> Research Institute. Economic Impacts of New <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Projects in Alberta (2010‐2035), Study 124.<br />
Calgary: May 2011.<br />
Canadian <strong>Energy</strong> Research Institute. Economic Impacts of Alberta’s <strong>Oil</strong> Resources: September 2008 Update, Vol. 1.<br />
November 2008.<br />
Canadian <strong>Energy</strong> Research Institute. Economic Impacts of the Petroleum Industry in Canada. July 2009.<br />
Chastko, Paul. Developing Alberta’s <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong>, From Karl Clark to Kyoto. University of Calgary Press, 2004.<br />
Com<strong>for</strong>t, Darlene J. The Abasand Fiasco: The rise and fall of a brave pioneer oil sands extraction plant. Edmonton:<br />
Friesen Printers, 1980.<br />
De Bruijn, Theo. Challenges <strong>for</strong> Low Cost Upgrading – A Canadian Perspective. Devon, Alberta: National <strong>Centre</strong> <strong>for</strong><br />
Upgrading Technology, December 1998.<br />
<strong>Energy</strong> Resources Conservation Board. ST98-2011: Alberta’s <strong>Energy</strong> Reserves 2010 and Supply/Demand Outlook 2011-<br />
2020. Calgary: June 2011.<br />
<strong>Energy</strong> Resources Conservation Board. ST98-2010: Alberta’s <strong>Energy</strong> Reserves 2009 and Supply/Demand Outlook 2010-<br />
2019. Calgary: June 2010.<br />
<strong>Energy</strong> Resources Conservation Board. Alberta’s <strong>Energy</strong> Reserves 2008 and Supply/Demand Outlook 2009-2018. ST98-<br />
2009. Calgary: June 2009<br />
Ferguson, Barry Glen. Athabasca <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> – Northern Resource Exploration, 1875-1951. Regina: Canadian Plains<br />
Research <strong>Centre</strong>, 1985.<br />
Fitzgerald, J. Joseph. Black Gold with Grit: The Alberta <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong>. Sidney, British Columbia: Gray’s Publishing Ltd., 1978.<br />
Ignatieff, A. A Canadian Research Heritage: An Historical Account of 75 Years of Federal Government Research and<br />
Development in Minerals, Metals and Fuels at the Mines Branch. Ottawa: <strong>Energy</strong>, Mines and Resources Canada, Canada<br />
<strong>Centre</strong> <strong>for</strong> Mineral and <strong>Energy</strong> Technology, 1981.<br />
McCann, T.J., and Phil Magee. “Crude <strong>Oil</strong> Greenhouse Gas Life Cycle Analysis Helps Assign Values For CO2 Emissions<br />
Trading,” The <strong>Oil</strong> and Gas Journal. Tulsa, Oklahoma: February 22, 1999.<br />
McKenzie-Brown, Peter; Gordon Jaremko, and David Finch. The Great <strong>Oil</strong> Age. Calgary: Detselig Publishers, 1993.<br />
Mikula, R.J., V.A. Munoz, K.L. Kasperski, O.E. Omotoso, and D. Sheeran. Commercial Implementation of a Dry Landscape<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Tailings Reclamation Option: Consolidated Tailings. 7th UNITAR International Conference on Heavy Crude and<br />
Tar <strong>Sands</strong>, paper 1998.096.<br />
Mink, Frank, and Richard N. Houlihan. “Tar <strong>Sands</strong>,” p. 129, Vol. A26, Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry.<br />
Weinheim, Germany: 1995.<br />
32 <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Questions + Answers 3rd edition
Mitchell, Robert; Brad Anderson, Marty Kaga, and Stephen Eliot. Alberta’s <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong>: Update on the Generic Royalty<br />
Regime. Edmonton: Alberta Department of <strong>Energy</strong>, 1998.<br />
National <strong>Energy</strong> Board. 2009 Reference Case Scenario: Canadian <strong>Energy</strong> Demand and Supply to 2020. Ottawa: July<br />
2009.<br />
National <strong>Energy</strong> Board. Canada’s <strong>Energy</strong> Future: Scenarios <strong>for</strong> Supply and Demand to 2025. Calgary: 2003.<br />
National <strong>Energy</strong> Board. Canada’s <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong>: Opportunities and Challenges to 2015. Calgary: May 2004.<br />
National <strong>Energy</strong> Board. Canada’s <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> – Opportunities and Challenges to 2015: An Update. Calgary: June 2006.<br />
National <strong>Oil</strong> sands Task Force. A New Era of Opportunity <strong>for</strong> Canada’s <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong>. Edmonton: Alberta Chamber of<br />
Resources, 1996.<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Ministerial Strategy Committee. Investing in Our Future – Final Report. Edmonton: Government of Alberta,<br />
2007. (Downloaded March 2, 2007 from http://www.gov.ab.ca/home/index.cfm?page=1551)<br />
Prince, J.P., and Govinda Timilsina. Spreading the Wealth Around: The Economic Impacts of Alberta’s <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Industry.<br />
Calgary: Canadian <strong>Energy</strong> Research Institute, September 2005.<br />
Regional Aquatic Monitoring Program. 2010 Technical Report. Fort McMurray: 2011.<br />
Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Municipal Census 2007. Fort McMurray, 2007.<br />
Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Municipal Census 2010. Fort McMurray, 2010.<br />
Rolheiser, Pius. “Riddle of the <strong>Sands</strong>,” Imperial <strong>Oil</strong> Review. Toronto: Summer 1998.<br />
The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology. The Land Be<strong>for</strong>e Us – The Making of Ancient Alberta. Red Deer, Alberta: Red<br />
Deer College Press, 1994.<br />
Russell, Loris S. “Abraham Gesner,” Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000.<br />
Shell Canada Ltd. 2010 <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Per<strong>for</strong>mance Report. Calgary: 2011<br />
Sheppard, Mary Clark, ed. <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Scientist – The Letters of Karl A. Clark, 1920-1949. Edmonton: The University of<br />
Alberta Press, 1989.<br />
Statistics Canada. <strong>Energy</strong> Statistics Handbook, Second Quarter 2011. Ottawa: September 2011.<br />
Statistics Canada. International Merchandise Trade Annual Review 2010. Ottawa: April 2011.<br />
Statistics Canada. The Supply and Distribution of Refined Petroleum Products in Canada. Ottawa: July 2011.<br />
Suncor <strong>Energy</strong> Inc. 2011 Summary Report on Sustainability. Calgary: July 2011<br />
Syncrude Canada Ltd. 2009 Sustainability Report. Fort McMurray 2010<br />
Wood Buffalo Environmental Association. 2010 Annual Report. Fort McMurray 2011<br />
Woynillowicz, Dan, Chris Severson-Baker and Marlo Raynolds. <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Fever: The Environmental Implications of<br />
Canada’s <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Rush. Calgary: Pembina Institute, November 2005.<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Questions + Answers 3rd edition 33
Websites<br />
The Canadian <strong>Centre</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Energy</strong> In<strong>for</strong>mation web portal www.centre<strong>for</strong>energy.com provides up-to-date in<strong>for</strong>mation<br />
about oil sands and crude oil in Canada. The <strong>Centre</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Energy</strong>’s general introduction to the industry, Our Petroleum<br />
Challenge, can be purchased online and provides in<strong>for</strong>mation about drilling, pipelining and processing of crude oil<br />
and natural gas as well as a glossary of industry terms.<br />
Note: Most U.S. references, and some Canadian and international entities, use the American spelling <strong>for</strong> sulphur and<br />
related compounds. When doing searches in libraries or on the Internet, also remember to check <strong>for</strong> “sulfur, sulfide,<br />
sulfuric, sulfurous, etc.” as well as the Canadian spellings.<br />
Alberta <strong>Energy</strong> www.energy.gov.ab.ca<br />
Alberta <strong>Energy</strong> Research Institute www.aeri.ab.ca<br />
Alberta Environment www.environment.gov.ab.ca<br />
Alberta Federation of Labour www.afl.org<br />
Alberta Geological Survey www.ags.gov.ab.ca<br />
Alberta <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> www.oilsands.alberta.ca<br />
Alberta Utilities Commission www.auc.ab.ca<br />
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers www.capp.ca<br />
Canadian <strong>Energy</strong> Research Institute www.ceri.ca<br />
Canadian Heavy <strong>Oil</strong> Association www.choa.ab.ca<br />
Canadian Natural Resources Limited www.cnrl.com<br />
Clean Air Strategic Alliance www.casahome.org<br />
<strong>Energy</strong> In<strong>for</strong>mation Administration www.eia.gov<br />
<strong>Energy</strong> Resources Conservation Board www.ercb.ca<br />
Environment Canada www.ec.gc.ca<br />
In Situ <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Alliance www.iosa.ca<br />
National <strong>Energy</strong> Board www.neb-one.gc.ca<br />
Natural Resources Canada www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Developers Group www.oilsandsdevelopers.ca<br />
Pembina Institute www.pembina.org<br />
Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program www.ramp-alberta.org<br />
Regional Economic Development Alliance http://www.albertacanada.com/regionaldev/1218.html<br />
Wood Buffalo Environmental Association www.wbea.org<br />
34 <strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Questions + Answers 3rd edition
Key definitions<br />
Hydrocarbons are compounds of hydrogen and carbon. The simplest hydrocarbon is methane (CH4), composed of one<br />
carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms. Methane is the principal component of natural gas.<br />
Crude oil is a naturally occurring liquid mixture of hydrocarbons. It typically includes complex hydrocarbon molecules<br />
– long chains and rings of hydrogen and carbon atoms. The liquid hydrocarbons may be mixed with natural gas, carbon<br />
dioxide, saltwater, sulphur compounds and sand. Most of these substances are separated from the liquid hydrocarbons at<br />
field processing facilities called batteries. Conventional light crude oil flows easily at room temperature.<br />
Upgraded crude oil is a blend of hydrocarbons similar to light crude oil. It is produced by processing bitumen or heavy oil<br />
at a facility called an upgrader. The term synthetic crude oil is sometimes also used <strong>for</strong> upgraded crude oil.<br />
Bitumen is a thick, sticky <strong>for</strong>m of crude oil. At room temperature, bitumen has the consistency of molasses. It must be<br />
heated or diluted be<strong>for</strong>e it will flow easily into a well or through a pipeline. Bitumen is sometimes called extra-heavy crude<br />
oil. A typical dictionary definition of bitumen is “a tar-like mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons.” A more technical definition<br />
in the oil-producing industry is: A naturally occurring, viscous mixture of hydrocarbons that contains sulphur compounds<br />
and will not flow in its naturally occurring viscous state.<br />
Diluents are light petroleum liquids used to dilute bitumen and heavy crude oil so it can flow through pipelines.<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> sands are naturally occurring mixtures of bitumen, water, sand and clay that are found mainly in three areas of Alberta<br />
– Athabasca, Peace River and Cold Lake. A typical sample of oil sands might contain about 12 per cent bitumen by weight,<br />
although bitumen content can vary widely among specific samples and sites. If the oil sands deposits are close to the<br />
surface, bitumen can be recovered from the oil sands by open-pit mining and hot-water processing methods. Deeper<br />
deposits require in-situ methods such as steam injection through vertical or horizontal wells. (In-situ means “in-place” in<br />
Latin; the oil industry uses this term to indicate the bitumen is separated from the sand underground, in the geological<br />
<strong>for</strong>mation where it occurs.) Surface mining is used in the Athabasca oil sands, while in-situ methods are used in all three<br />
major oil sands areas.<br />
Heavy crude oil includes some crude oil that will flow at room temperatures, however slowly, but most heavy oil also<br />
requires heat or dilution to flow to a well or through a pipeline. There<strong>for</strong>e it is similar to bitumen, although lighter, generally<br />
less viscous and usually containing less sulphur. In Canada, the term heavy oil refers to petroleum with a density greater<br />
than 900 kilograms per cubic metre (or below 25.7°API on the American Petroleum Institute gravity scale).<br />
Petroleum is a general term <strong>for</strong> all the naturally occurring hydrocarbons – natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil and<br />
bitumen – although in some usage petroleum refers only to liquid hydrocarbons.<br />
Natural gas liquids (NGLs) are ethane, propane, butane and condensates (pentanes and heavier hydrocarbons) that are often<br />
found in natural gas; some of these hydrocarbons are liquid only at low temperatures or under pressure. NGLs can be used as<br />
solvents <strong>for</strong> in-situ bitumen production, and condensates are the most common diluent <strong>for</strong> shipping bitumen by pipeline.<br />
Resources are substances found in nature that are of some use. Bitumen resources, <strong>for</strong> example, are all the extra-heavy<br />
hydrocarbons in the ground in a given area.<br />
Reserves are the recoverable portion of resources. Governments generally define reserves as the amounts available <strong>for</strong> use<br />
based on current knowledge, technology and economics. Securities regulators use a narrower definition that also requires<br />
a firm development plan with reasonable timelines. As a result, there can be a wide gap between government reserves<br />
estimates and the sum of those reported by companies.<br />
Barrel is a common unit <strong>for</strong> measuring petroleum. One barrel contains approximately 159 litres. There are about 6.3 barrels<br />
in one cubic metre.<br />
All costs in this booklet are quoted in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.<br />
<strong>Oil</strong> <strong>Sands</strong> Questions + Answers 3rd edition 35
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