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J A NUAR Y -
MARCH 2 0 1 5
BUSINESSREVIEWOPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
1STQUARTER
OIL SANDS 101How bitumen is extracted from the oil sands and
converted into refined products
OIL SANDS MAGAZINE • January 20, 2016
J A NUAR Y -
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What is oil sands?Oil sands are a loose sand deposit which contain avery viscous form of petroleum known as bitumen.
Deposits average 10% bitumen, 5% water and85% solids (silica sand & fine clays).
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What isbitumen?
Bitumen is a naturallyoccurring, highly viscoushydrocarbon contained
within the oil sandsdeposit. Bitumen normally
contains high levels ofsulphur and nitrogen.
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Where are the oilsands located?
◦ The Athabasca Basin◦ The Peace River Basin◦ The Cold Lake Basin
Canada’s oil sands areconcentrated in Alberta,
Oil sands basins areclassified as follows:
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How were the oil sands formed?Algae and other marine life decomposed into light oil.
Microbe bacteria contained in trapped oxygenated waterfed off the lighter hydrocarbon molecules
(biodegradation), leaving behind a heavier complexhydrocarbon with sulphur and trace metals (oil sands).
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What is the sizeof Canada's oil
sands reserves?
Canada has an estimated1.75 trillion barrels of
petroleum reserves, 97%contained in Alberta's oilsands. Total proven oil
sands reserves areestimated at 170 billion
barrels.
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How is bitumen extracted?Oil sands located near the surface are mined and sent
to a processing plant for removal of solids/water.Bitumen contained in deep deposits (>200 m
depth) is extracted in-situ (or in-place) using steam.
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What happens to the bitumen?About half is upgraded into light synthetic crude oil.The remainder is diluted and sold directly to high-
conversion refineries which have the capacityto process heavy sour feedstock.
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What is a heavy oil upgrader?Upgraders transform heavy bitumen into light crude
oil by fractionation and chemical treatment. Upgradingimproves the quality of the crude oil, reducing its
viscosity and sulphur content.
J A NUAR Y -
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How much crudeoil does the oilsands produce?
Alberta's oil sandsproduced an average of2.36 million bbl/day in2015. About 40% was
upgraded to light oil, theremainder sold as heavy
diluted bitumen.
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BUSINESSREVIEWOPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
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How much greenhouse gases areemitted by the oil sands?
In 2011, 55 metric tonnes per year. That works outto 0.7% of North America's emissions and 0.15% of
global GHG emissions.
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Where are the GHGs emitted?
7-10% emitted during bitumen extraction12-15% emitted during upgrading & refining1-2% emitted during transportation75-80% emitted during combustion.
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How much river water isallocated to the oil sands?
3% of the Athabasca River is allocated to existing &future oil sands mining operations. Only 0.7% iscurrently used. In-situ facilities use ground water.
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How much of theoil sands can besurface mined?
Only 3% of Canada's oilsands is mineable. Theremainder can only be
recovered in-situ.Alberta's active miningfootprint is about the
size of Edmonton.