Athabasca Tar Sands Case Study

Where is it?

Athabasca in Alberta, Canada

What unconventional source of oil does it contain?

bitumen which can be converted into oil

What are the forests in Alberta like?

• 140,000 km² pristine boreal forests

How much of the oil is at the surface?

20%

• the rest is more than 75 metres underground and has to be extracted by ‘in-situ’ methods

How many predicted barrels of oil is there in the oil sands?

• 175 million

How much is the oil in Athabasca compared to Saudi Arabia?

$19 compared to $10 in Saudi Arabia

Where is most of the oil exported to?

US - 7% of their consumption

What is open-pit extraction?

• sands are strip-mined by layers

• boreal forest is felled, wetlands drained, rivers diverted, etc

• destroys landscapes, habitats and natural ecosystems

What is in-situ extraction?

• injecting high pressure steam in to liquify the bitumen so it can be extracted

What are advantages of in-situ extraction?

• smaller surface footprint

• more efficient water usage (used as steam and can be recycled)

• no tailings ponds

• lower costs

What are disadvantages of in-situ extraction?

• linear disturbances

• production well-pads

• lower bitumen recovery rates

• greater greenhouse gas emissions

How much more CO₂ is emitted by Tar Sands than conventional oil?

3x

What is happening to the Athabascan river and Glacier?

• glacier is rapidly melting + retreating

• River is extracted the the water is superheated for extraction

• contributes to greenhouse gases and melting

How many acres does Canada’s boreal forests supply?

1.3 billion acres of wild diverse habitat e.g. lynx, bears, wolves

• at least 5,000km² of this will be deforested

How much water is withdrawn a year for the Tar Sand extraction?

350 million m³/year which the river cannot meet

What does over-abstraction pose a threat to?

• the sustainability to fish populations

• the Peace-Athabasca delta - the largest boreal delta on Earth (A World Heritage Site)

What are tailings?

• a slurry mix of water, sand, clay and unrecovered bitumen

• toxic

Where are tailings stored?

• large reservoirs called ‘tailings ponds’

• caused bile duct cancer in local communities

• killing fish and bird species

What harmful gases are emitted by tar sands?

• nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, sulphur dioxide

How many does Athabasca sands employ?

500,000 directly

How many barrels a day does Athabasca produce?

3 million