Alberta's Oil Sands-Present and Future

The paper presents an overview of the occurrence, geology, and reserves of Alberta's oil sands deposits. It discusses expected recovery, recovery methods currently being applied and experimental and research work underway to devise alternate methods of recovery of the crude bitumen. A forecast of expected rates of production of synthetic crude from the oil sands is made, taking into account the current situation and the possibility of increased exports being permitted. A brief discussion of the properties of the synthetic crude, as compared to conventional crude oil, and the market demand for such crude oil, is provided.