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/