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Alberta Tar Sands

Alberta Tar Sands. Is it good for Canada?. Alberta Oil Sands Area. The Resource.

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Alberta Tar Sands

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  1. Alberta Tar Sands Is it good for Canada?

  2. Alberta Oil Sands Area

  3. The Resource • Alberta's oil sands contain the biggest known reserve of oil in the world. An estimated 1.7 to 2.5 trillion barrels of oil are trapped in a complex mixture of sand, water and clay. Bitumen is a heavy, carbon rich, extremely viscous oil. The percentage of bitumen in oil sand can range from 1% -20%.

  4. Mining Production • Roughly 500 km2 of the 140,000 km2 oil sands deposit in Northern Alberta is currently undergoing surface mining activity. Oil sands within 75 m of the surface are mined using electric and hydraulic shovels with a capacity of 45 m3 and trucks that can carry up to 400 tons of ore that take three passes to fill.

  5. In Situ Production • In situ recovery is used for bitumen deposits buried too deeply - more than 75 m - for mining to be practical. • Most in situ bitumen and heavy oil production comes from deposits buried more than 350-600 m below the surface. • Steam, solvents or thermal energy make the bitumen flow to the point that it can be pumped by a well to the surface. • Cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) and steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) are effective in situ recovery methods. • No tailings ponds are required for in situ methods of recovery. Sand remains in the ground; only bitumen is removed.

  6. Refining the Bitumen • Step 1: distillation. Separates various compounds by physical properties. • Step 2: coking, hydro-conversion, solvent deasphalting. Improves hydrogen to carbon ratio. • Step 3: hydrotreating. Removes contaminants such as sulphur.

  7. Most Goes to the U.S.A.

  8. Pipelines to U.S.A.

  9. Environmental Issues Approximately 2 tonnes of oil sands are needed to produce 1 barrel of oil • Non-renewable Resource • Global Warming (CO2) • Water Pollution (Heavy Metals) • Water Use (2-4L water needed to make 1L oil) • Toxic “Tailings” Ponds (waste left over) • Air Pollution (Hydrogen sulfide gas released from crude) • Deforestation (clearing trees) • Habitat Destruction (removing top soil)

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