oil sands

Once considered too expensive, as well as too damaging to the land, exploitation of Alberta's oil sands is now a gamble worth billions.

Without foreign capital, he said, Canada 'could struggle to get investment for the things it needs for oil sands' projects.

For most people faced with images of oil sands being dug up in Canada or reserves in the Arctic being exploited, this might seem remarkable.

If the price of natural gas rises, or that of oil falls, the oil sands will look less enticing.

Where oil sands are close to the surface, they are extracted in large open pit mines.

To that end, it will soon require oil-sands projects to reduce the ratio of emissions to oil produced by 2% a year.

The reservoirs were uplifted to be exposed and be denuded and were changed into the present oil sands finally during the Himalayan movement.

Two big US companies have decided to avoid suppliers that source fuel from Canada's oil sands to curb their carbon footprints.

But oil sands usually need at least $55 to $60-a-barrel crude prices to be produced profitably.

The two projects, known as Mackay River and Dover, are being developed by Athabasca Oil Sands, a privately held Calgary-based group.

Western companies, including Shell, have come under pressure over oil sands' awful environmental footprint.

In their natural state , oil sands are made of quartz sand covered by layers of water and bitumen .

'If you combine that with the increased need for energy, ' he says, the oil sands are 'a sweet spot' to be.

"The oil sands represent a more technically complex and expensive endeavour" than traditional oil recovery methods, the report said.

Tightening environmental regulations and escalating protests in the US and Europe against the oil sands present another difficulty.

The industry has run ads featuring ordinary workers talking up the wonders of the oil sands.

The Athabasca Oil Sands are a stable source of oil for North America, including the United States, the world's largest consumer of oil.

Mr. Joerres said hundreds of trained staffers have been recruited from Asian countries to develop Canadian oil-sands projects.

Of the portion that remains -- oil available for public investment -- half is in Canada's oil sands.

The Alberta oil sands resource is increasingly recognized as a strategic source for North American energy supply.

The deals included a stake in Syncrude, an oil sands project in Canada, and a stake in Repsol Brasil.

We're proud of our record as an oil sands pioneer, but we know there is still a lot to be done.

Canada's oil sands are considered unconventional fuels, and producing them emits more greenhouse gas than conventional production.

But choosing Canadian oil sands as the first major project since the spill is a smart move, says Gheit.

The growth prospects of oil sands have been underpinned recently by the rising price of crude oil.

Oil sands that are buried more than 80 meters below the land surface are retrieved through in situ wells.

This leaves energy equities, particularly high oil-weighted companies (like oil sands) exposed to greater downside risk.

The oil sands represent the largest proven oil reserve outside Saudi Arabia and reduce Washington's dependence on Middle Eastern fuel.

Assessing metal matrix composites for corrosion and erosion- corrosion applications in the oil sands industry .

Stronger coke demand may stem from fuel substitution at oil sands production facility, perhaps on a pilot basis.

Sinopec has also bought a 9 per cent stake in Syncrude, one of the biggest oil sands producers.

First, does this mean that happy times are here again for developers of the heavier, more expensive oil sands?

Oil sands consist of clay, sand, and other minerals, coated in water and thick, viscous oil called bitumen (or asphalt).

Traditionally, BP has steered clear of gleaning petroleum products from the oil sands in North America's frozen north.

Industry and environmentalists disagree on how carbon-intensive oil sands fuel is, but both agree it is higher than traditional crude.

The energy industry is coming back to life, with new investments planned for in Alberta's oil sands.

Other Chinese companies have acquired interests in oil sands projects in northern Alberta.

Northern Alberta's oil sands are the world's second-largest oil reserve, following Saudi Arabia.

With the rising cost of oil, mining oil sands has become a profitable endeavor in the past decade.

Canada's welcoming attitude has sparked several large Chinese investments in oil sands.

Environmentalists oppose oil-sands projects due to their toll on the region's land and water.

Canada's oil sands, or tar sands, as the goo is known, are outsized in every way.

Suncor needs more qualified tradespeople for our oil sands workforce.

The bitumen-like oil sands have drawn growing interest from Chinese energy groups.

Some have decided to invest heavily in unconventional oil reserves such as Canada's oil sands.

Sinopec's purchase brings total Chinese investment in Canada's oil sands region in the province of Alberta to about C$10bn (US$10bn).

And Athabasca says this wasn't an impulse buy: The Chinese studied the oil sands for a decade.

The oil sands represent a unique opportunity for investors.

The revised estimate is 143bn barrels, the world's third-largest after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela (excluding Canada's oil sands).

Finally, Canada's oil sands have recently become a big part of America's debate over energy security.

Besides its mining interests, Teck is a partner in a big oil sands project in northern Alberta.

The Canadian oil sands, are probably generating $15-20 profit [per barrel] and nobody's going to shoot at them.

The oil sands have drawn, among others, France's Total and Statoil of Norway.

And, even amid lofty oil prices, big upfront capital investments and break-even costs above $40 a barrel make oil sands risky.

In-situ development uses horizontal wells to reach the oil sands ore.

Fuel from the oil sands continues into US government supply.

Canada's oil sands contain vast reserves of oil, second only to those of Saudi Arabia.

This fact has raised concerns about the impact of oil sands on climate change.

A $1. 7 billion stake in two undeveloped Canadian oil sands projects.

China's state-owned Cnooc agreed in July to acquire Opti Canada, a bankrupt oil sands producer, for C$2. 1bn.

But 80 percent of oil sands are too deep for this approach.

And Canada's Husky Energy, in which Hutchison and Li have a combined 72 per cent stake, has the world's richest oil sands reserve.

CCS can also help reduce emissions in the oil sands industry.

Technology for extracting crude from the bitumen-like oil sands is of limited use in China, because the country lacks similar deposits.

The assets include about 237, 000 acres of oil-sands leases and current production of about 2, 700 barrels of oil equivalent a day.

Analysts at Citibank reckon the oil price needs to remain above $40 a barrel to make the development of the oil sands worthwhile.

The real reason lies in the vast Alberta oil sands.

It also has untapped potential in oil sands and unconventional fuels such as shale gas.

PetroChina agreed to pay C$1. 9bn last year for a majority stake in two oil sands projects in northern Alberta.

Since oil prices tumbled last year, more than $80 billion of new oil sands projects have been canceled or put on hold.

This is low not only compared with conventional oil producers but also with recent oil sands transactions done at almost twice the price.

The Enbridge line that ruptured last year in Michigan, which was transporting oil sands crude, had a history of problems.

A West Coast oil port would open the Alberta oil sands to Asian markets, including China.

This is a big deal, outpacing Sinopec's $4. 7 billion takeover of ConocoPhillips' stake in the Syncrude oil sands project last year.

Oil sands companies can't increase production because they can't get tires for their big earthmovers, for example.

Distribution characteristics and developmental prospects of Mesozoic oil sands resources in northwestern margin of Junggar Basin

A Study on the Thermogravimetric Characters of Oil Sands and its Application to Thermal Oil-extracting System

The mild oxidative degradation of the heavy constituents in viscous crude oil and oil sands

Comprehensive Assessment Crude Oil Form Inner Mongolia Oil Sands

Pyrolysis of Zhalaiteqi oil sands under nitrogen atmosphere

The Largest Gathering of Oil Sands Professionals in the World