About Oil Sands

Canada's Oil Sands

Oil sands are naturally occurring mixtures of bitumen, water and sand that are found in large deposits in three main areas of the Province of Alberta, Canada. These key oil sands areas are Athabasca, Peace River, and Cold Lake. The Athabasca deposit is the largest of the three oil sands deposits.

Global Crude Oil Reserves as of 2007

Country	Reserves (Billions)		Production (per day)		Reserve life (years)
Country	bbl	m³	Millions bbl	Thousands m³	Reserve life (years)
Saudi Arabia	264	42	8.8	1,400	81
Canada	179	28.5	2.7	430	182
Iraq	133	21.1	3.7	590	101
Iran	115	18.3	3.9	620	74
Kuwait	102	16.2	2.5	400	108
United Arab Emirates	97	15.4	2.5	400	107
Venezuela	80	13	2.4	380	91
Russia	60	9.5	9.5	1,510	17
Libya	41.5	6.60	1.8	290	63
Nigeria	36.2	5.76	2.3	370	43
United States	21	3.3	4.9	780	12
Mexico	12	1.9	3.2	510	10
Total	1,140.7	181.6	48.2	7,660	65

It has been calculated that about 28 billion cubic meters (179 billion barrels) of crude bitumen are economically recoverable from the three Alberta unconventional oil areas at current oil prices using current heavy oil recovery technologies. This is equivalent to about 10% of the estimated 1,700 and 2,500 billion barrels of bitumen in place. Estimates show that the Athabasca deposits alone contain 5.6 billion cubic meters (35 billion barrels) of surface mineable bitumen and 15.6 billion cubic meters (98 billion barrels) of bitumen recoverable by in situ methods. This volume places Canadian proven oil reserves second in the world behind those of Saudi Arabia.

The economics for developing Canada’s unconventional oil reserves are competitive with exploring for and producing conventional oil. Unconventional oil advantages include:

Relatively low exploration costs to establish the location and the quality of unconventional oil reserves.
Recovery rates for unconventional oil in situ projects can exceed 60% of a project's total bitumen reserves.
Unconventional oil in situ recovery technologies reduce land surface disturbance, in turn reducing environmental impact and land reclamation costs when compared to mining technologies.
Regulatory authorities have introduced competitive royalty and fiscal regimes that recognize the large upfront capital investments required by industry organizations and investors.
Rapid growth in unconventional oil development activity is occurring amid declining conventional oil production and reserves.

Industry Links

Alberta Department of Energy
The Department manages the development of provincially owned energy and mineral resources by industry and the assessment and collection of non-renewable resource revenues in the form of royalties, freehold mineral taxes, rentals and bonuses. The Department promotes development of Alberta’s energy and mineral resources, recommends and implements energy and mineral related policy, grants rights for exploration and development to industry and establishes and administers fiscal regimes and royalty systems. The Department's resource portfolio includes natural gas, conventional oil, unconventional oil, petrochemicals, electricity, coal and minerals, renewable energy (wind, bio-energy, solar, hydro, geothermal, etc.) and energy efficiency and conservation.
Alberta Environment
Alberta Environment is a partner in protecting and enhancing Alberta's natural environment, to ensure the continued enjoyment of a clean and healthy environment by all. The department has staff in more than 120 communities throughout Alberta.
Alberta Saline Aquifer Project (ASAP)
The Alberta Saline Aquifer Project (ASAP) is an industry initiative being led by Enbridge Inc. to identify deep saline aquifers in Alberta that could be used in a carbon sequestration pilot project. As a true collaborative effort, so far 28 companies are participating in the first phase of the project.
Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
The Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) is an independent, quasi-judicial agency of the Government of Alberta that is responsible to ensure that the delivery of Alberta's utility services take place in a manner that is fair, responsible, and in the public interest. We regulate investor-owned natural gas, electric, and water utilities and certain municipally owned electric utilities to ensure that customers receive safe and reliable service at just and reasonable rates. This regulatory role is currently in a state of evolution due to the ongoing deregulation of the natural gas and electric industries. Staff also respond to customer inquiries and complaints respecting utility matters. In addition, the AUC ensures that electric facilities are built, operated, and decommissioned in an efficient and environmentally responsible way.
Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC)
Canada’s oil sands offer the world’s second-largest reserves of oil (after Saudi Arabia). Rising oil and gasoline prices show how tight global oil supplies are, and why this debate is important. Developing the oil sands is challenging, and there are significant environmental impacts.
Canada's Oil Sands
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) is the voice of the upstream oil and natural gas industry in Canada. CAPP represents 140 member companies who explore for, develop and produce more than 95 per cent of Canada's natural gas, crude oil, unconventional oil and elemental sulphur.
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP)
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) is the voice of the upstream oil and natural gas industry in Canada. CAPP represents 140 member companies who explore for, develop and produce more than 95 per cent of Canada's natural gas, crude oil, unconventional oil and elemental sulphur.
Canadian Heavy Oil Association (CHOA)
Canadian Heavy Oil Association provides a forum for the membership to obtain technical information, to interact in a social environment and to keep current on business issues that affect the heavy oil and unconventional oil industries.
Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM)
The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), the leading technical society of professionals associated with the Canadian minerals and materials industry, has 11,000 members from industry, government and academia who are dedicated to the discovery, production, utilization and economics of minerals, metals and petroleum. Thousands more are also involved as CIM Branch members all across Canada. CIM periodicals also reach 2,000 other subscribers across the world in various universities and libraries.
DeGolyer & MacNaughton Canada Limited
DeGolyer and MacNaughton is a geographically based petroleum consulting firm. Professionals evaluate regions where they have applied expertise and in-depth knowledge. That unique geographical matching of personnel to specific projects creates a more cost-effective, efficient consulting service.
Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB)
The Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) is an independent, quasi-judicial agency of the Government of Alberta. We regulate the safe, responsible, and efficient development of Alberta's energy resources: oil, natural gas, unconventional oil, coal, and pipelines.
GLJ Petroleum Consultants Ltd.
GLJ Petroleum Consultants Ltd. consults to clients who require independent advice relating to the petroleum industry. Solutions are based on detailed geological, reservoir engineering and economic analyses of the subject petroleum assets.
Small Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (SEPAC)
The Small Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (SEPAC) represents the unique interests of emerging and junior oil and gas companies, to the public, governments and other sectors of the energy industry. Supporting more than 450 member companies, SEPAC is a powerful voice for this segment of the energy industry.
In Situ Oil Sands Alliance (IOSA)
IOSA is the voice of an alliance of emerging in situ oil sands developers. We are a vibrant, sustainable and forward-thinking group of oil sands companies. Our goal is to manage the responsible development of an industry we can be proud of.