Energy Sources
Oil Sands
Also Known As Tar Sands
Fossil Fuel
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A naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, water and bitumen, a heavy and extremely viscous oil that must be processed before refineries can use it. In Canada, reserves lying within about 75 metres of the surface are open-pit mined, while deeper deposits are produced in situ by injecting steam to make the bitumen fluid enough to flow, and the recovered bitumen is upgraded into synthetic crude oil.
Facts
Source Class First Commercial YearGreat Canadian Oil Sands opened what is now Suncor's Base Plant in the Athabasca oil sands on 30 September 1967, the first large scale commercial oil sands development; earlier experimental extraction dates to the early twentieth century. Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Natural Resources Canada
Government of CanadaOil Sands Extraction and ProcessingQuote, Oil Sands Extraction and Processing
Steam is injected continuously into the top well and, as the temperature rises in what is termed the 'steam chamber', the bitumen becomes more fluid and flows to the lower well.
1. Natural Resources Canada
Government of CanadaAssociated With: Crude Oil, Oil Sands Extraction and Processing, UpgradingQuote, Associated With: Crude Oil, Oil Sands Extraction and Processing, Upgrading
The purpose of upgrading is to transform bitumen into synthetic crude oil (SCO) which can be refined and marketed as consumer products such as diesel and gasoline.
2. Oil Sands Magazine
How it all Began, A Brief History of the Canadian Oil SandsQuote, How it all Began, A Brief History of the Canadian Oil Sands
Great Canadian Oil Sands (GCOS) completed construction of what is now known as the Suncor Base Plant in 1967, making it the first large-scale commercial development in the oil sands.
2. Oil Sands Magazine
Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Oil Shale, GeologyQuote, Associated With: Oil Shale, Geology
Oil shale differs from bitumen-impregnated rocks...such as oil sands and petroleum reservoir rocks...heat and pressure have not (yet) transformed the kerogen in oil shale into petroleum.
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