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We are pleased to answer your frequently asked questions about
The Oil Sands Developers Group and the
Canadian oil sands. The list of questions is listed below. For the answers,
just click.
The Oil Sands Developers Group is an oil sands industry association that facilitates solutions to
shared development issues related to the Alberta Athabasca Oil Sands
Deposit. We do this by:
- Consolidating and sharing oil sands developers' information, perspective
and advice with affected stakeholders.
- Consulting with stakeholders, communities and governments to facilitate
solutions related to development issues.
- Collaborating with stakeholders while balancing individual and
collective company responsibilities.
- Regularly communicating accurate and credible information, analysis and
forecasts, obtained through survey data, to our stakeholders.
- Managing an inclusive committee process that is focused on analyzing
issues, facilitating solutions and achieving results.
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The Oil Sands Developers Group's work involves resource developers and affected stakeholders in
the oil sands. The Oil Sands Developers Group's committees deal with the issues associated with
the development of the oil sands that affect the people and companies in
the area. In addition, The Oil Sands Developers Group collects data and conducts surveys to
forecast the development of oil sands and how this growth will
impact the population in the region.
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The List of Projects and the Oil Sands Industry Update are found on the
Government of Alberta's Economic Development web site.
An updated map of the oil sands leases in the Athabasca region may be
obtained from McElhanney Surveys in Fort McMurray (not available
electronically).
McElhanney Land Surveys (Alta.) Ltd.
10214 Centennial Drive
Fort McMurray, Alberta Canada T9H 1Y5
Tel. (780) 743-6328
E-mail:
[email protected]
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Canada's oil sands are the world's largest known hydrocarbon resource.
According to the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB), it
is
estimated that the area contains about 315 billion barrels of oil recoverable with
current technology.
Oil sands are deposits of bitumen, a naturally occurring viscous (like
molasses) mixture of hydrocarbons. Bitumen must be upgraded into crude
oil before it can be used by refineries to produce gasoline and diesel
fuels.
Source: Alberta Energy
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Oil sands are found in three different deposits in northern Alberta:
Athabasca, Peace River and Cold Lake. The Athabasca deposit, located
near Fort McMurray, is the largest of the three and has the most
concentrated oil sands development.
Alberta's oil sands comprise one of the world's two largest sources of
bitumen; the other is in Venezuela.
Source: Alberta Energy
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"About two tonnes of oil sand have to be dug up, moved and processed to
make one 159-litre barrel of crude oil. More than 90 per cent of the
bitumen can be recovered from the sand. The processed sand then has to
be returned to the pit, and the site reclaimed.
A big part of the mining operation involves clearing trees and brush
from the site and removing overburden � the topsoil, muskeg, sand, clay
and gravel � that sits atop the oil sands deposit. The topsoil and
muskeg are stockpiled so they can be replaced as sections of the
mined-out area are reclaimed. The rest of the overburden is used to
reconstruct the landscape."
Source:
Canada's Oil Sands and Heavy Oil
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"Oil sands are naturally occurring mixtures of bitumen, water, sand and
clay. If the oil sands deposits are close to the surface, bitumen can be
recovered from the oil sands by open-pit mining and hot-water processing
methods. Deeper deposits require in-situ methods such as steam injection
through vertical or horizontal wells. (In situ means �in place� in
Latin; the oil industry uses this term to indicate the bitumen is
separated from the sand underground, in the geological formation where
it occurs.) Surface mining is used in the Athabasca oil sands, while
in-situ methods are used in all three oil sands regions."
Source:
Canada's Oil Sands and Heavy Oil
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New technology has significantly decreased the impact of oil sands
development on the environment.
Energy used in oil sands mining and extraction has been reduced due to
new technologies that allow the use of hydrotransport in place of long
conveyors.
Oil sands mining with trucks and shovels versus draglines and
bucketwheels has lead to a reduction in land disturbance. This also
results in land being returned to its natural state several years
earlier.
Oil sands projects recycle from 70% to 90% of the water they use for
separating bitumen from sand. Oil produced from the oil sands uses half
the amount of water per barrel of production as conventionally produced
oil.
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