How many barrels does the Alberta tar sands produce a day?
The Alberta tar sands are currently producing around two million barrels of oil per day, with plans to increase that to nearly four million barrels per day by 2022.
How were Alberta’s oil sands produced?
Alberta’s oil sands were formed millions of years ago, as tiny marine creatures died and drifted to the sea floor and were covered by layers of sediment that exerted enough pressure and temperatures to transform the organic matter into oil. Over millions of years, that oil became trapped in thick layers of sand.
How much oil does the Alberta oil sands produce?
Reserves and production Alberta’s oil sands’ proven reserves equal about 165.4 billion barrels (bbl). Crude bitumen production (mined and in situ) totaled about 2.8 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2017.
How many oil barrels are produced per day in Alberta?
According to the Alberta Energy Regulator, total crude oil production in Alberta is forecast to be around 4.2 million barrels per day in 2025 compared to what will likely be an average of about 3.6 million barrels per day this year—an increase of about 17%.
Is the Athabasca oil sands a tragedy of the commons?
The politicians and industry supporters want us to believe that we don’t have to do anything about GHG emissions because we (Canada, Alberta, the oil sands) are such a small contributor to global GHG emissions. This leads to a problem known as the “tragedy of the commons”.
Who owns oil sands in Alberta?
The Syncrude project is owned by Canadian Oil Sands (37% CDN), Suncor (12% CDN), Mocal Energy (5% Japan), Murphy Oil (5% USA) Suncor (59% Canadian), Sinopec (9% China), Imperial Oil (7.5% CDN and 17.5% USA) and Nexen (7% China)….Oil Sands Mining Operations.
| Operator | Syncrude |
|---|---|
| Operating | 407,000 |
| Construction | 0 |
| Total | 407,000 |
What is oil sands production?
The oil sands are the third-largest proven oil reserve in the world, representing 166.3 billion barrels (or 97%) of Canada’s 171 billion barrels of proven oil reserves (technical overview). In 2014, oil sands production was 2.2 million barrels per day.
How is the oil extracted from the oil sands?
Currently, 20% of oil sands reserves are accessible via mining techniques. Large shovels scoop the oil sand into trucks which then move it to crushers where the large clumps of earth are processed. Once the oil sand is crushed, hot water is added so it can be pumped to the extraction plant.
How did Alberta’s oil sands produce a record year in 2021?
Oil sands, the workhorse of Alberta’s — and Canada’s — crude oil production growth, achieved a record production year in 2021. A steady turnaround in crude oil prices, improved market access, and the tried-and-true resilience of oil sands producers combined to drive the increase in output.
How much oil does Alberta produce in a year?
Oil production in Alberta was 16.9 million cubic metres in September 2021, up 12.8% compared to September 2020. Non-conventional (or oil sands) production, which constituted 85.5% of all oil production in Alberta in September 2021, increased by 13.9% year-over-year, while production of conventional oil increased by 6.6%.
How much of Alberta’s boreal forest is affected by oil sands mining?
This makes up about 0.2% of Alberta’s boreal forest, which covers over 381,000 km². Oil sands mine reclamation and disturbance tracking by year is a sustainability indicator found in the oil sands information portal.
What are Alberta’s tar sands?
Oil and gas companies like ExxonMobil and the Canadian giant Suncor have transformed Alberta’s tar sands—also called oil sands—into one of the world’s largest industrial developments.