Oil Sands

Michael Cibicki

Oil Sands aka “Tar Sands”

• What are they?

• Where are they found?

• How are they extracted?

What are they?

• A mixture of sand or clay, water and extremely viscous petroleum called bitumin

• Often referred to as unconventional oil

Where are they found?• Historically used by ancient

Egyptians, Sumerians, and Persians for waterproofing uses

• Primary reserves found in Canada (Alberta) and Venezuela

• 20% of US oil comes from Canada, 50% oil sands

• Alberta has 54,000 sq miles of oil sands containing 95% of Canadian oil reserves and 75% of North American oil reserves

Extraction• 40-60m under the surface,

underlain by limestone• Shovel and truck strip mining

operation• After excavation, hot water and

caustic soda (NaOH) are added and mixture is agitated, creating a liquid with oil rising to the top

• Bitumen is much thicker and must be mixed with lighter petroleum or gas before it can be transported via pipeline to a refinery.

• 2-4 times the amount of green house gases as conventional extraction

• 2 tons of oil sand needed to create 1 barrel of oil– 90% extraction

Extraction

• Steam assisted gravity drainage– Two pipes, one on top for

steam, one under to catch oil• 60% recovery

• Cyclic Steam generation– Steam injected into a well

at 300-340 degrees C– Injected for a period of

weeks to months– Drained for a period of

weeks to months• 20-25% recovery

References

• http://www.energy.alberta.ca/OilSands/793.asp

• http://www.ienearth.org/

• http://hornriver.files.wordpress.com/

• http://scienceblogs.com/framing-science/