Tidal Current Energy

The Alberta Oil Sands: Reserves and Supply Outlook
After recovery, bitumen is mixed with a diluent and sent via pipeline to an
upgrader or a refinery. At the upgrader the bitumen is processed into higher
quality products, such as naphtha, light gas oils and heavy gas oils, which can be
custom blended into a synthetic crude oil (SCO) feedstock for downstream refineries.
Upgraders may also be capable of producing diesel and jet-fuel cuts from
the bitumen. Large portions from each of Alberta’s bitumen extraction projects
are sent to a specific upgrader and/or refinery.
This chapter reviews the fundamentals of Alberta bitumen, from reserve estimates
to commercially practiced methods of extraction. A summary of recent
supply cost evaluations for a selection of existing and proposed oil sand projects
acknowledges the economic viability of this vast energy resource.
2 . Bitumen Reserves in Alberta
Bitumen production in Alberta dates back to the 1930s. With the present technology,
the cost of bringing this viscous crude to surface far exceeds that of
bringing conventional crude oil to the surface. However, with current oil prices,
bitumen extraction is economically viable. In 2002, for the first time, the international
community recognized the reserves of Alberta’s oil sands. 3 Some
reporting entities have only given recognition to the reserves under active development,
while most others have recognized the larger deposit-wide reserves.
In Alberta, the oil sand-bearing geographic regions are designated by the
Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) as oil sand areas (OSAs) for ease of
4 administration. The three designated OSAs in Alberta, namely Athabasca, Cold
Lake and Peace River, are shown in Figure 4.1 (Plate 3). Each oil sand area contains
a number of bitumen-bearing deposits, totalling 15. The known extent of
the three most significant deposits from a commercial production point of view,
the Athabasca Wabiskaw-McMurray, the Cold Lake Clearwater and the Peace
River Bluesky-Gething deposits, are shown in the figure. As an indication of
scale, the right-hand edge shows township markers that are about 50 km apart.
The three areas cover an area of roughly 140 000 km 2 .
Over the past few years the EUB has worked aggressively to update Alberta’s
energy resource data and the reserves of crude bitumen, particularly the in situ
volumes. This initiative will continue for some years, as rapid development
of the resource continues. Initially, the updates will provide revisions to the
estimate of in-place resources for the most significant oil sand deposits, those
3 For example, the Cambridge Energy Review and the Oil and Gas Journal acknowledge the EUB’s oil
sand reserves estimates. Both organizations have included Alberta’s oil sand reserves as part of global
reserve estimates along with conventional reserves. In 2007, BP Statistics also recognized this
massive resource in Canada.
4 In 1996, the Alberta government established a generic royalty regime for production from oil sand
deposits. It designated the oil sands area concept, and any production of crude oil in this area has
been deemed to be oil sands and the same generic royalty regime applies.
61