Oil sands environmental benefits
Large enough to be seen from space, tailings ponds in Alberta’s oil sands region are some of the biggest human-made structures on Earth. They contain a toxic slurry of heavy metals and Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) is made up of oil sands producers who want to work together to accelerate the speed of "improvement in environmental performance" in the oil sands CE fully expects this in situ process to work as planned, which would present an entirely new paradigm in oil extraction from oil sands. Enabling the ability to replace strip mining of oil sands would result in phenomenal benefits to the environment and immense cost savings. Projections made after slowdowns in offshore production show that as much as 36 percent of American oil could be coming from Canadian oil sands by 2030. According to oil expert Daniel Yergin Tar sands (also called oil sands) are a mixture of sand, clay, water, and bitumen.[1] Bitumen is a thick, sticky, black oil that can form naturally in a variety of ways, usually when lighter oil is degraded by bacteria.[2] Bitumen has long been used in waterproofing materials for buildings, and is most familiar today as the binding agent in road asphalt.
environmental and social impacts from the performance improvements in oil sands are creating BP believes Canada's oil sands offer significant benefits
The carbon intensity of oil sands development poses other environmental health questions. The extraction and refining of oil sands produces 30–70% more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional oil production, according to estimates by Alex Farrell and Adam Brandt published in the October 2007 issue of Climatic Change. To fully understand the costs and benefits of the oil sands requires more than an appreciation of the size of the resource and the financial rewards of exploiting it. An understanding of the environmental effects and the context of a growing global imperative to reduce our global carbon footprint is essential. Most of the world’s oil, an estimated 2 trillion barrels, is found in the bitumen of tar sands. Accessing this resource allows us to continue building our society while maintaining our current lifestyle. On the other hand, the mining, extraction, and separation process can have a detrimental effect on the environment. “¢ The oil sands provide Canada with a relatively secure source of energy. While Canada’s oil supply isn’t unlimited, Canadian reserves are the second-largest on the planet. “¢ The oil sands have spurred massive economic growth in Alberta.
15 Dec 2010 of major environmental and health impacts of Canada's oil sands industry that has been made available to the public to date. Like any other
29 Jan 2013 Impacts include habitat destruction and fragmentation by surface mining and tailings disposal, depletion of water resources, greenhouse gas and already highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Apart from Tar sands production also poses unquantifiable environmental and social risks to local. sion of green GDP incorporates the negative environmen- tal effects of resource development. From an environmental point of view, the oilsands are probably 13 Jul 2018 However, we find that existing research on the environmental and wider social impacts is insufficient to underpin credible benefit–cost analysis of
5 Aug 2013 Environmental questions about Canada's massive tar sands assess the cumulative impacts of the oil sands industry on groundwater quality.
3 Feb 2014 It's worth noting, though, that the report didn't say that extraction from the oil sands itself won't have environmental impacts—just that this mining 26 May 2009 Instead, Levi argues, the social and environmental effects of tar sands development should be handled by the affected communities and U.S. 9 Nov 2017 “Our report is the most comprehensive study to date on Indigenous issues in Canada's oil sands, including connections between environmental 5 Aug 2013 Environmental questions about Canada's massive tar sands assess the cumulative impacts of the oil sands industry on groundwater quality. 13 Apr 2017 Processed bitumen is set to play a larger role in meeting the global demand for fossil fuels, despite the potential environmental risks that its
28 Feb 2012 But their work underscores evidence that the environmental impacts of producing the oil sands are primarily local rather than global.
13 Apr 2017 Processed bitumen is set to play a larger role in meeting the global demand for fossil fuels, despite the potential environmental risks that its The environmental impact of the oil sands is an issue that has been extremely divisive. As with the extraction and use of any fossil fuel, negative environmental effects arise as a result of the extraction, upgrading, and processing of bitumen from the oil sands. Although some steps are being taken to reduce the severity of these impacts - such as reclamation - there are still associated climate, air, water, and other ecological effects. The commercialisation of the oil sands industry coincided with the formalisation of environmental policy at both the provincial and federal levels. In Alberta, the Social Credit Government, which held power until 1971, created the Department of the Environment and a range of environmental laws and policies. Oil sands science and research Renewable energy. While the oil sands industry continues to make technological advances, annual production growth presents challenges to land, water, and air impacts, and energy conservation. New oil sands technology using solvents injected with steam into bitumen reservoirs can improve the economics of Alberta’s oil production, reports a story in the Financial Post. Major oil sands companies are exploring ways to use chemical solvents to produce more oil while using less water and creating fewer emissions. CERI estimates that the overall economic contribution from the oil sands will be $2.1-trillion over the next 25 years. Their study also shows that $783-billion will be paid in federal and provincial taxes and royalties.
New oil sands technology using solvents injected with steam into bitumen reservoirs can improve the economics of Alberta’s oil production, reports a story in the Financial Post. Major oil sands companies are exploring ways to use chemical solvents to produce more oil while using less water and creating fewer emissions. CERI estimates that the overall economic contribution from the oil sands will be $2.1-trillion over the next 25 years. Their study also shows that $783-billion will be paid in federal and provincial taxes and royalties. Communities downstream of the oil sands, such as Fort Chipewyan, have long pointed the finger at oil-sands operations for sullying water, fish and people with toxins. But, Dr. Hall said, the level of pollutants travelling by air and water to a place like Fort Chipewyan are not high enough