Athabasca Tar Sands

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Athabasca Tar Sands, Canada:

Higher oil prices and new technology means unconventional oil deposits are now economically viable

The Athabasca deposit in Alberta is estimated to contain between 1.75 and 2 trillion barrels of oil

Tar sands also called bitumen and oil sands, are any bitumen rich sandy deposits

Athabasca in Alberta and Orinico in Venezuela are the two most promising deposits and together are the two most promising deposits and together contain 2/3 of the worlds oil deposits

Exploitation of Tar Sands:

Clear Forests

Open cast mining to extract sediments

Crush and mix with water

Pressurise and use steam to separate bitumen from sand - 2-5 barrels of water per barrel of oil

Leaves polluted water

Key Players:

Greenpeace

Oil companies - Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP

Canada

Alaska

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Costs of exploiting tar sands:

Economic;

Expensive - only viable when oil costs over $30 a barrel - costs $15 to extract oil from bitumen compared to $2 for conventional crude oil

Enery intensive - takes one barrel of oil to produce 3 barrels

Takes 2-5 barrels of water to make 1 barrel of oil

Environmental;

Tar sands are a large source of greenhouse gases

2 tonnes of tar sand needed to make 1 barrel of oil leaving lots of waste sand

Deforestation - 470 km squared of forest destroyed

Toxic waste water covers 130 km squared

Social;

Non-renewable

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Benefits of exploiting tar sands:

Economic;

In 2007 oil accountd for 20% of Canadian exports

By 2050 tar sands could meet 16% of North America's demand

Environmental;

Mining companies are required to reclaim land disturbed by mining

Social;

Provides alternative source when conventional sources are unavailable

Overall the exploitation of tar sands is not worth it because it comes with more costs than benefits. Also it is not a sustainable way of getting oil because it uses up other valuable resources in order to extract it. It also destroys the environment in order to collect it e.g. deforestation. However it is a secure short term resource until we can develop renewable technology