Tar sands development

Conference · Sun Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1973 · Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6815621

Cross, J S

Tar sands (also known as oil sands and bituminous sands) are sand deposits which are impregnated with dense viscous petroleum. Ultimate world reserves of bitumen in tar sands are about equal to ultimate reserves of crude oil in the U.S. However, the only tar-sand deposit of present commercial importance is in the Athabasca area of Alberta, Canada. The pioneer venture to produce synthetic crude oil from tar sands began in 1967, operated by Great Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. (GCOS). Tar sand is mined and transported to a processing plant where the bitumen is extracted, after which the sand is discharged into a tailings pond. At 10% by wt bitumen saturation, 2 tons of processed tar sand produces 1 bbl of bitumen. Because tar sand is a relatively low-value ore, mining and transportation costs must be minimized. A key economic factor to be considered is the removal of overburden. The fact that large tar sands reserves are readily available in a friendly, stable country, and further that the material shipped is almost pollution free, should lend impetus to development.

• Research Organization: Sun Oil Co.
• OSTI ID: 6815621
• Report Number(s): CONF-7305138-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States) Journal Volume: 57:4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040402* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Surface Methods
ALBERTA
BITUMENS
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CANADA
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COST
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
INDUSTRY
MATERIALS
MINING
NORTH AMERICA
OIL SAND DEPOSITS
OIL SAND INDUSTRY
OIL SAND MINING
OIL SAND PROCESSING PLANTS
OIL SANDS
OPERATING COST
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PRODUCTION
PRODUCTIVITY
RESERVES
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
RESOURCES
SYNTHETIC FUELS
SYNTHETIC PETROLEUM
TAR