The athabasca oil sands represent a form of oil deposit significantly more expensive to collect and refine than traditional oil deposits, with operators of extraction facilities being much more vulnerable to fluctuations in the oil price than those at traditional oil fields with lower costs for startup and continued operation. Aug 31, 2010 edmonton a study conducted by university of alberta biologists and ecologists released monday concluded that toxic pollutants found in albertas athabasca river came from the oil sands. While conventional oil has held steady, oil sands output has gone up from 1 million barrels per day in 2005 to 2. Canada has the third largest oil reserves in the world, behind only saudi arabia and venezuela. Alberta was established on september 1st of 1905, when it separated from the northwest territories.
Bitumen was first discovered in nigerian in 1990 in a belt stretching from east of ijebu ode ogun. Athabasca chipewyan first nation files constitutional challenge to shell oil canadas tar sands expansion application. Water and groundwater resources in the athabasca river basin, canada. The athabasca river winds nearly 1,500 kilometres from its source at the athabasca glacier in jasper national park to lake athabasca in wood buffalo national. The athabasca tar sands in canada are, like you said, vast, and environmentally devastating. The athabasca oil sands, also known as the athabasca tar sands, are large deposits of bitumen or extremely heavy crude oil, located in northeastern alberta, canada roughly centred on the boomtown of fort mcmurray.
The athabasca tar sands first came to the attention of european fur traders in 1719 when wapasu, a cree trader, brought a sample of bituminous sands to the hudsons bay company post at york factory on hudson bay where henry kelsey was the manager. As the majority owner, shell is the overall project administrator as well as operator of the scotford upgrader. First nations cancer linked to oil sands toxins in wild. The athabasca tar sands or athabasca oil sands are large deposits of bitumen or extremely heavy crude oil, located in northeastern alberta, canada roughly centred on the boomtown of fort mcmurray. It is composed of sand, claw, water, and bitumen, which is an oil that is black and viscous. Understanding waterbased bitumen extraction from athabasca.
The information presented here draws on independent research, public information and the work of others to put the relevant facts in their proper context. Oil sands properties the samples are loose sands held together by bitumen from shallow depth around 300m. It has been said that the tar sands are a fundamental element within the canadian economy occupying. The very nature of extracting oil from the tar sands and making it profitable means that industry is.
Spragins introduction the growing energy crisis has focused attention on every known significant source of fossil fuel and has spurred exploratory activity in favorable petroliferous and carboniferous areas on land and beneath the sea throughout the world, including the athabasca tarsand deposit of northeastern alberta. Fort mcmurray, albertachief allan adam of the athabasca fort chipewyan first nation has issued a formal request to natural resources minister joe oliver and alberta premier allison redford to join the fourth annual tar sands healing walk in fort mcmurray on july 6. Oil sands development contributes polycyclic aromatic. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Authors creators alberta environment, standards and approvals division. Oil sands that are buried more than 80 meters below the land surface are retrieved through in situ wells. Alberta tar oil sands envr 2000 definition extraction environmental issues social issues definition n n n n tar sands oil sands.
In the paper coupled fluid flow, heat and mass transport, and erosion in the. Nasa eo athabasca tar sands environmental impact 1984 vs 2011. The tar deposits of athabasca sands is a gargantuan, cultured nation, ruled by his oiliness nick athabasca with an even hand, and renowned for its public floggings, complete lack of prisons, and infamous sellswords. Pdf understanding waterbased bitumen extraction from. Distribution of oil sands resources is severely controlled by the reservoir heterogeneity. Athabasca oil sands project, alberta hydrocarbons technology. Pdf reservoir and bitumen heterogeneity in athabasca oil. Athabasca chipewyan first nation and the tar sands updates. Disturbing aerials reveal canadas vast tar sand mines. Various studies have examined the contamination of the athabasca oil sands region with polycyclic aromatic compounds pacs, and the subset of pacs, polycyclic aromatic. The technology that the tar sands industry relies on has evolved over time. Take a guided tour of suncor energy, visit the oil sands discovery center for an interactive look into the athabasca oil sands, and explore heritage park to experience fort mcmurrays unique and vibrant past. We see that with each year there is more and more land that is cleared of forests for the extraction of the tar sands. The alberta tar sands also known as athabasca oil sands have been expanding over the past decade being the third largest oil reserve in the world energy alberta, n.
The top layer of muskeg and earth right, and the underlying tar sands left after the removal of the muskeg, at the syncrude tar sands operations near fort mcmurray, alberta, on september 17, 2014. This was the beginning of my 1,700mile walk along the proposed keystone xl pipeline from hardisty, alberta to. Study finds albertas athabasca river polluted by oil sands. Evaluation of oil sands resources a case study in the. Maria kleindienst the athabasca oil sands 4 the athabasca tar sands became the object of vigorous discussions until now. Three sites along each of four impacted tributaries were selected using 2006 landsat imagery. Demaison 1977 described the alberte tar sands as the world largest selfcontained accumulation.
Federal study says oil sands toxins are leaching into. Alberta tar sands pollution suspected in rare cancer cases. Pdf reservoir and bitumen heterogeneity in athabasca oil sands. The main heavy oil areas of central alberta are the athabascawabasca, peace river, and cold lake. The alberta oil sand areas of northern alberta, with the known extent of the two largest. Oil sands are the most important of the oil and gas resources in canada. Since then, oil sands production has outpaced conventional oil production. Origin of the lower cretaceous heavy oils tar sands of alberta. The importance of, and interest in, the tar sands of alberta continues to increaselargely. Sep 25, 2014 the top layer of muskeg and earth right, and the underlying tar sands left after the removal of the muskeg, at the syncrude tar sands operations near fort mcmurray, alberta, on september 17, 2014. Below is an alphabetical listing of websites that include data or statistics related directly to the alberta oil sands industry or indirectly to. Mar 23, 2020 below is an alphabetical listing of websites that include data or statistics related directly to the alberta oil sands industry or indirectly to the canadian petroleum industry in general.
These tar sands, hosted in the mcmurray formation, consist of a mixture of crude bitumen a semisolid form of crude oil, silica sand, clay minerals, and water. Pdf on jan 1, 20, frances hein and others published a regional. Jan 29, 20 in september 2012, i flew over and took footage of the tar sands of northern alberta. First nations cancer linked to oil sands toxins in wild food.
Seismic refraction survey of tar sands deposits in ijebu. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. These sands can be mined, and then processed, to remove the bitumen. It is the worlds largest oil sands deposit, with a capacity to produce 174. Tar sands also referred to as oil sands are a combination of clay, sand water and bitumen, a heavy black viscous oil. Dec 29, 2009 three sites along each of four impacted tributaries were selected using 2006 landsat imagery. The athabasca oil sands are at once a source of oil, of economic growth, and of environmental concern. Located around fort mcmurray in the north of alberta, canada, the athabasca oil sands named after the river that cuts through the heart of the deposit is the largest of provinces three oil sands resources. The upgrading process subjects the bitumen to fluid coking, hydro processing, hydro.
Perhaps nowhere is growth easier to see than at the athabasca oil sands in alberta, canada. Tar sands exploitation is not only impacting the quantity of water flowing out of the athabasca. The ongoing developments of the northern albertan athabasca oil sands include exceptionally labour intensive processes, while securing labour for this. Sep 10, 20 fort mcmurray, albertachief allan adam of the athabasca fort chipewyan first nation has issued a formal request to natural resources minister joe oliver and alberta premier allison redford to join the fourth annual tar sands healing walk in fort mcmurray on july 6. This series of images shows the growth of surface mines around the athabasca river from 1984 to the present. In grain size analysis, the sample is well sorted with a diameter of about 0. Its terrible to see all of the pictures of the destroyed wilderness and the huge machinery the plant uses. But recent fears that oil sands pollution is contaminating the food, has led fewer people to eat it. Developing oil sands syncrude surface mines oil sand, extracts the raw oil known as bitumen and upgrades it into highquality, sweet light crude oil. Click on the athabasca oil sands map to view it full screen.
About 80 percent of canadas tar sands are too deep for surface mining. The city sits on the athabasca tar sands, the worlds largest. The environmental impact assessment matrix is a simple way of summarizing which impacts are considered of greatest significance. Nov 30, 2015 the athabasca oil sands are large deposits of bitumen or extremely heavy crude oil, located in northeastern alberta, canada roughly centred on the boomtown of fort mcmurray. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle.
Deterministic modeling is commonly used to solve the heterogeneity problems in the reservoir, but rarely used to evaluate. There are a number of companies involved in exploiting the deposit, though three major operations dominate the field. The bitumen in tar sands cannot be pumped from the ground in its natural state. Oconnor suspected pollution from albertas tar sands, 100 miles. Once processed, then bitumen can be then refined into oil. Pdf the athabasca oil sands aos deposit, the largest petroleum accumulation in the. New federal research has strongly backed suspicions that toxic chemicals from albertas vast oil sands tailings ponds are leaching into groundwater and seeping into the athabasca river. Edmonton a study conducted by university of alberta biologists and ecologists released monday concluded that toxic pollutants found in albertas athabasca river came from the oil sands.
A comprehensive guide to the alberta oil sands may 2011. The new scientific study states the regions country food contains elevated levels of toxic metals and carcinogens, that members of the mikisew cree and athabasca chipewyan first nations traditionally eat. Dissolved pac concentrations in tributaries to the athabasca increased from university of manitoba envr 2000 fall 2018 8. Modified chart courtesy of albian sands energy inc. Where oil sands are close to the surface, they are extracted in large open pit mines. The alberta oil sands cover 142,000 square kilometers, 4,800 km2 of which are mineable. Disturbing aerials reveal canadas vast tar sand mines wired. The estimated world wide resources of tar sands are about three times the known petroleum reserves. Hot water is pumped into the ground to liquefy the oil so that it can be pumped out. These oil sands, hosted primarily in the mcmurray formation, consist of a mixture of crude bitumen, silica sand, clay minerals, and water.
Understanding waterbased bitumen extraction from athabasca oil sands article pdf available in the canadian journal of chemical engineering 824. In the article new map shows dramatic time lapse of tar sands deforestation by kevin grandia, we can see just how vast the deforestation of the tar sands areas are. The athabasca deposit is the largest known reservoir of crude bitumen in the world and the largest of three major oil sands deposits in. Media in category athabasca oil sands the following 112 files are in this category, out of 112 total. The canadian pipeline company transcanada has proposed a tar sands pipeline that could bring as much as 900,000 barrels per day bpd of costly and polluting fuel to the u.
The worlds largest deposit of tar sands is near athabasca, in alberta. These images from landsat satellites show the growth of surface mines over the athabasca oil sands between 1984 and 2016. Deterministic modeling is commonly used to solve the heterogeneity problems in the reservoir. On march 9, 2017, shell announced it would sell all of its insitu and undeveloped oil sands interests in canada and reduce its share in the athabasca oil sands project aosp from 60% to 10%. Their flagship platform, hydrogeosphere, is a leader in fully integrated threedimensional surface and subsurface modelling. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. New federal research has strongly backed suspicions that toxic chemicals from albertas vast oil sands tailings ponds are leaching into groundwater. Mar 09, 2017 shell sells oil sands assets as boss warns on clean energy challenge.
The athabasca oil sands are large deposits of bitumen or extremely heavy crude oil, located in northeastern alberta, canada roughly centred on the boomtown of fort mcmurray. Water and the tar sands climate action network canada. This deposit, one of major proportions, is now receiving. Snowmelt samples from around the oil sands mining and refining areas were found to be toxic to larval minnows at concentrations as low as 25%, in a recent study. I had never even heard of the tar sands, so i was shocked and disturbed that our society would do this to our. The first was located upstream of oil sands development and the mcmf, the second midstream within the mcmf but upstream of mining activity, and the third near stream mouths at the confluence with the athabasca, downstream of development and downstream. The athabasca oil sands also known as the athabasca tar sands are large deposits of bitumen, or extremely heavy crude oil, located in northeastern alberta, canada roughly centred around the boomtown of fort mcmurray. Big oil is spending millions of dollars to greenwash the tar sands, canadas fastest growing. Pdf a regional geologic framework for the athabasca oil sands.
Athabasca tar sands development environmental impact statement matrix. The athabasca chipewyan first nation acfn and the mikisew cree first nation mcfn held a press conference in edmonton on monday, july 7 in conjunction with the release of environmental and human health implications of the athabasca oil sands, a study that is the first to document associations between oil sands perpetrated environmental. The athabasca development is a joint venture between shell canada limited 60%, chevron canada limited 20% and western oil sands l. Shell sells oil sands assets as boss warns on clean energy.
Two giant oil pipelines proposed to speed doubling of tar sands. The athabasca chipewyan first nation acfn and the mikisew cree first nation mcfn held a press conference in edmonton on monday, july 7 in conjunction with the release of environmental and human health implications of the athabasca oil sands, a study that is the first to document associations between oil sandsperpetrated environmental. The athabasca tar sands also known as oil sands are a very large source of heavy, viscous oil, known as bitumen, located in alberta, canada. Albian sands energy, a new company created by the joint venture, operates the muskeg river. The province of alberta contains the natural resource oil sand. The athabasca tar sands are the major deposit of oil in a viscousoil trend, stretching across alberta, from the albertasaskatchewan border near cold lake to a. The athabasca oil sands project aosp is located in the athabasca oil sands region in northeastern alberta. Activity hints at tar sands development in utah 52310 8. Shell will remain as operator of aosps scotford upgrader and quest carbon capture and storage ccs project. In september 2012, i flew over and took footage of the tar sands of northern alberta. So the distribution and evaluation of oil sands form a critical basis for risk investment in canada. Tar sands or oil sands are a lowgrade petroleum deposit, a very viscous mix of clay, sand, water and oilrich bitumen think asphalt. Athabasca chipewyan first nation and the tar sands.
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