Energy Study Tour of the Oil Sands in Canada

Calgary, Canada
October 3, 2006

On October 2nd I traveled to northern Alberta, the furthest north I have ever been, to visit the Athabasca oil sands. Canada has the second largest reserves of oil after the middle east, and they supply more oil to the U.S. than any other foreign country. The oil sands have been mined in Alberta since the 1970s, but development has been expanding as the world demand and prices increase. Most of the oil sands are mined from the top 100 meters of soil, using a combination of large cranes and 400 ton dumptrucks.

More than 80% of the oil sand resource is too deep to mine, so new technology is being used today to heat the soils and extract the sands through underground pipes without digging up any soil. The land in northern Alberta is as vast as it is scenic. Reclamation efforts ensure that as new areas are developed, recovered lands are returned to their original state - minus the important natural resources that help keep the economies of the western hemisphere in motion.

Learn more about energy in my Energy Resources Issue Briefing.