"In the oldest and most notorious one, Suncor's
Pond 1, the sludge is perched high above the river, held back by a dike of
compacted sand that rises more than 300 feet from the valley floor and is
studded with pine trees. The dike has leaked in the past, and in 2007 a modeling
study done by hydrogeologists at the University of Waterloo estimated that
45,000 gallons a day of contaminated water could be reaching the river. Suncor
is now in the process of reclaiming Pond 1, piping some tailings to another
pond, and replacing them with gypsum to consolidate the tailings. By 2010, the
company says, the surface will be solid enough to plant trees on" (24).
oil sands mining in Alberta, canada: 57.0426, -111.527
introduction
Oil sands are a naturally occurring deposit of unconsolidated sand to consolidated sandstone containing a mixture of sand and clay-sized grains saturated with water and a form of extremely viscous petroleum known as bitumen (1). The technical definition of crude bitumen is that of a viscous, heavy oil that will not flow to a well in its natural state (2). Since bitumen is characteristically dense, sticky, smelly, and will not flow unless heated, bitumen deposits are often mischaracterized as ‘tar sands,’ a colloquialism that has become synonymous with ‘oil sands’ (1). Less viscous petroleum – conventional crude oil – is often extracted by drilling wells into a reservoir and allowing the oil to flow up the well under natural positive pressures analogous to an artesian water well (1). Bitumen, however, is too dense and viscous for this method and must be extracted by strip mining the oil sands or by in-situ techniques that utilize steam and solvent injection to reduce the viscosity (3). Strip mining and in-situ techniques require greater energy and water inputs than traditional extraction to remove comparable volumes of petroleum. More problematic, bitumen strip mining often results in considerable environmental degradation due to the extensive land area required for invasive excavation, and the resulting introduction of contaminants into the biosphere including mercury, arsenic, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (4).
Major oil sands –approximately 98% of global bitumen resources – are limited to Venezuela, Russia, and Canada (5). The Province of Alberta, Canada contains 85% of the global bitumen reserves, or deposits that are economically mineable based on current economical and technological conditions (6). The Alberta Geological Survey equates this to 168.7 billion barrels; however, the entire bitumen deposit in Alberta is estimated at 1.8 trillion barrels. To put this into perspective, should this entire resource become available in the future, it would be capable of meeting global petroleum demand for over 50 years based on global annual petroleum demand of ~90 million barrels in 2011 (22).
Major oil sands –approximately 98% of global bitumen resources – are limited to Venezuela, Russia, and Canada (5). The Province of Alberta, Canada contains 85% of the global bitumen reserves, or deposits that are economically mineable based on current economical and technological conditions (6). The Alberta Geological Survey equates this to 168.7 billion barrels; however, the entire bitumen deposit in Alberta is estimated at 1.8 trillion barrels. To put this into perspective, should this entire resource become available in the future, it would be capable of meeting global petroleum demand for over 50 years based on global annual petroleum demand of ~90 million barrels in 2011 (22).
Athabasca Oil Sands
There are three major oil sands in Alberta: Athabasca, Cold Lake, and Peace River (7). The oil sands deposits in these areas cover a combined 142,200 km2 (4). The Athabasca deposit is the largest of the three containing roughly 80% of global bitumen reserves alone (6). Located in northeastern Alberta along the Athabasca River and north of Fort McMurray, the Athabasca oil sands has a surface mineable area of 4,800 km (24) (Figure 1-1 & 1-2).
The first large-scale commercial strip mining development of the Athabasca oil sands began in 1967 by Suncor Energy (5). Additional mining operations began in 1978 by Syncrude Canada Ltd., which has undergone an approximate $10 billion expansion since 1996 (8). There are currently two additional companies– Shell Albian Sands and Canadian Natural Resources – that also have active oil sands mining operations in Athabasca (9). These four commercial entities and their eight separate strip mining operations within the Athabasca oil sands account for a bitumen capacity of 1.2 million barrels per day (M bpd) (9). The largest of these developments are Suncor Energy’s Millennium and Steepbank mines and Syncrude’s Mildred Lake and Aurora North mines, which account for over 60% of the total bitumen capacity within Athabasca (9) (Figures 1-4 & 1-5). Located 10 km north of Fort McMurray, these four mines are adjacent to each other, appearing to form a singular development that has and continues to impact surrounding land as operations expand (18; 19). The Syncrude and Suncor Athabasca operation, as viewed aerially as a single development, is the largest oil sands mining footprint in Alberta (10). The historical development of this area, with particular attention to environmental degradation, is highlighted in subsequent sections using remote sensed multispectral data from the Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite.
Substantial new developments and expansion of existing operations are planned for Athabasca in the near future. It is estimated that only 10% of the bitumen resources in Alberta are available via strip mining3; however, approximately 80% of current bitumen reserves, located predominantly north of Fort McMurray along the Athabasca River, are suitable for strip mining (11). Therefore, further mining developments will be isolated to this area, and based on projects currently under construction or having gained or awaiting regulatory approval, are expected to increase from 1.2 M bpd to an estimated 2.3 M bpd (9). Additionally, in-situ bitumen extraction in this area is expected to increase from current production of 0.5 M bpd to over 2.0 M bpd (9).
The first large-scale commercial strip mining development of the Athabasca oil sands began in 1967 by Suncor Energy (5). Additional mining operations began in 1978 by Syncrude Canada Ltd., which has undergone an approximate $10 billion expansion since 1996 (8). There are currently two additional companies– Shell Albian Sands and Canadian Natural Resources – that also have active oil sands mining operations in Athabasca (9). These four commercial entities and their eight separate strip mining operations within the Athabasca oil sands account for a bitumen capacity of 1.2 million barrels per day (M bpd) (9). The largest of these developments are Suncor Energy’s Millennium and Steepbank mines and Syncrude’s Mildred Lake and Aurora North mines, which account for over 60% of the total bitumen capacity within Athabasca (9) (Figures 1-4 & 1-5). Located 10 km north of Fort McMurray, these four mines are adjacent to each other, appearing to form a singular development that has and continues to impact surrounding land as operations expand (18; 19). The Syncrude and Suncor Athabasca operation, as viewed aerially as a single development, is the largest oil sands mining footprint in Alberta (10). The historical development of this area, with particular attention to environmental degradation, is highlighted in subsequent sections using remote sensed multispectral data from the Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite.
Substantial new developments and expansion of existing operations are planned for Athabasca in the near future. It is estimated that only 10% of the bitumen resources in Alberta are available via strip mining3; however, approximately 80% of current bitumen reserves, located predominantly north of Fort McMurray along the Athabasca River, are suitable for strip mining (11). Therefore, further mining developments will be isolated to this area, and based on projects currently under construction or having gained or awaiting regulatory approval, are expected to increase from 1.2 M bpd to an estimated 2.3 M bpd (9). Additionally, in-situ bitumen extraction in this area is expected to increase from current production of 0.5 M bpd to over 2.0 M bpd (9).