Crude oil derived from the oil sands is refined into products, such as gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel, which keep us warm, power our industries, and help us move about the country and the world (not to mention cooking those turkeys). For conventional oil, natural gas and in situ oil sands, cleanup consists of capping wells to prevent methane leaks and taking up pipelines and infrastructure. "If we project out one or two decades and some of these projects require increasing cost and capital expenditures, I'm sure the proponents will say, 'hmm, is it better just to pack it up or continue," said Tertzakian. In 2019, the Alberta Heritage Fund is valued at $4,100 for each Albertan and the provincial debt amounts to $15,900. One of the most important mechanisms used to achieve this is co-generation. "Oilsands projects are very large initial investment and there is such scrutiny in the approval process to get those projects off the ground and built, a lot of those, even in today's environment, those operators in the oilsands are in it for the long haul," said Patrick McDonald, an oilsands manager with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. Investment hit a peak in 2012, but since has fallen off dramatically. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.
The position Alberta finds itself in is not a one-time crunch, but rather a trend with only 1 surplus since 2008. From the jobs we depend on to the roads that get us to our families during the holidays, oil sands development is a major part of … In part because of the carbon levy, spending on technology should rise again as oil prices gradually increase. Canada has vast energy resources of all types and its oil and natural gas resource base would be large enough to meet Canadian needs for generations if demand was sustained.
This is an elephant in the rowboat question. Watch for our next edition the week of October 20. So when you’ve polished off that last slice of pumpkin pie, put on your stretchy pants, hit the couch and consider how the oil sands may have contributed to what you’re thankful for this year. A five-year partnership between stakeholders in the region, the Suncor Energy Foundation, the Region of Waterloo in Ontario and the University of Waterloo, SPWB aims to improve the quality of life in Wood Buffalo by strengthening its non-profit sector. The common opinion is that the oilsands won't see much growth beyond 2020, but depending on what new technologies are developed, that could change. In reality, natural gas, conventional oil, oil sands in situ and oil sands mining are 4 separate industries with very different cost and revenue structures. Nearly everything we’re thankful for somehow depends on the health of Canada’s economy. Carbon Tracker Initiative recently reported that those investing in Canadian oil sands … While the bitumen fields around Fort McMurray, Alta., are probably not going to be.
Companies are looking at new ways to lower costs and to reduce the environmental impact on land, water and air. In the glory days of virgin conventional oil fields, EROIs of 100:1 were possible where 1 barrel of oil expended on drilling for and pumping out oil could yield a 100 barrel return. Mining the “paydirt” extracts over 90% of the oil while the in situ method achieves a 35% to 60% yield although its remediation cost would appear to be much lower. "There is a lot of talk about making the projects a lot smaller and bringing them online much faster, and partial upgrading and cleaning up the CO2 and all of that kind of stuff," said energy economist Peter Tertzakian with Calgary-based ARC Energy Research Institute. More about the where and the what of the oil sands can be found on our oil sands resource page. OSQAR will be taking a break for the Thanksgiving holiday. Read MoreDam, that's big!
Regardless of the glittering magnitude of its cash flow, nothing is too big to lose money. Oil sands already figures prominently in North America’s energy supply. Nearly everything we’re thankful for somehow depends on the health of Canada’s economy. We reserve the right to close comments at any time. The most likely scenario, according to industry watchers, is production increases over the next three years, then only smaller expansions to existing facilities leading to more bitumen being taken out of the ground. That's a lot of money in a relatively short period of time that fuelled a multi-year boom in Alberta and grew production from around a half million barrels per day in the late 1990s to a projected three million bpd in 2020. Direct employment in Canada resulting from new oil sands investment is expected to grow from 149,000 jobs in 2014 to 225,000 jobs in 2038.
Industry players are honing these competencies as they develop the oil sands: competencies which should serve industry and society well, as the focus of future energy development shifts from hydrocarbons to cleaner energy sources. Oil sands EROIs are 4.5:1 for mining and 3.5:1 for in situ making the sands a poor source of energy – much lower even than solar’s ~8:1 or wind’s 15:1. Communities benefit from oil sands development.
Companies are looking elsewhere for investments that can start earning a return more quickly and won't be as carbon intensive.
New technology is key to the oilsand's future. Alberta is the oil capital of Canada.
Just last week, MEG Energy announced an expansion project at its Christina Lake operations. But oil is the form of energy the world’s current transportation fleet needs making oil sands output more of an … According to the Canadian Petroleum Producers Association (CAPP), more than half of Canada’s crude oil production was from the oil sands in 2013. Oil sands are found worldwide, from Canada to Venezuela and, as you might imagine, in the Middle East. In part because of the carbon levy, spending on technology should rise again as oil prices gradually increase. As the massive expansion over the last decade slows, growth prospects have dampened. Thus huge amounts of natural gas are used to mine the oil sands. While some oilsands facilities have experienced temporary shutdowns, such as Nexen-CNOOC's Long Lake and JACOS's Hangingstone projects, those in the industry don't see any major facilities shutting down well before their targeted lifespan. Their study also shows that $783-billion will be paid in federal and provincial taxes and royalties. Thanksgiving in Canada is a great time to reflect on those things which make our lives richer: family, friends, snow tires and the return of hockey season. "It's certainly the big powerful growth industry in Canada for the near future and has been for a long time," Jack Plunkett, CEO of Plunkett Research, Ltd., told CNBC's Energy Future. "It's nothing I foresee in the next 10 years, but beyond that, who knows.".
During the downturn over the last few years, research and development funding was cut at many oilsands companies as spending was slashed across the board. The oil sands may contain 167 billion barrels of accessible oil but it is one of the most expensive sources in the world given the amount of energy production requires. Desperation is apparent as the provinces economy is sputtering with a commercial office vacancy rate in Calgary, and an unemployment rate for young men, both hovering around 20%.
Based solely on their upfront production costs, possibly all 4 fossil fuel industries are economically viable although one would never know it from the Alberta budget numbers. That's the reason why the industry has lowered its growth forecast for consecutive years. Are the oil sands, from a public coffer point of view, a fundamentally money losing proposition even before the issue of their remediation costs are included? Canada has 173 billion barrels of oil that can be recovered economically with today’s methods. Today, the average EROI of world oil has fallen to about 17:1 as the richest resources decline and more marginal plays have to be exploited. Remediating mined oil sands land adds the requirement that thousands of square kilometers of surface strip mined land and tailings be cleaned and replanted. This makes up about 0.2% of Alberta’s boreal forest, which covers over 381,000 km². He's covered stories across the country and internationally. There is a wide variability in the oilsands region in terms of costs and quality of resources, as some companies were late to the game and didn't have the best geology to access bitumen and get it to market. mi Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. In 2015, the U.S. consumed 19.4 million barrels of oil per day. The world's largest deposits of bitumen are in Canada, although Venezuela's deposits of extra-heavy crude oil are even bigger. Cenovus Energy and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. also announced oilsands expansions in the past two months. Despite this outlook, oil producers in the region feel they are well-placed to survive. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Audience Relations, CBC P.O.