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A large part of oil sands mining operations involves clearing trees and brush from a site and removing the overburden—topsoil, muskeg, sand, clay and gravel—that sits atop the oil sands deposit. [148] Approximately 2.5 tons of oil sands are needed to produce one barrel of oil (roughly 1 ⁄ 8 of a ton). [149]
Asphaltite (also known as uintahite, asphaltum, gilsonite or oil sands [1]) is a naturally occurring soluble solid hydrocarbon, a form of asphalt [2] (or bitumen) with a relatively high melting temperature. Its large-scale production occurs in the Uintah Basin of Utah and Colorado, United States.
The development of condensate-rich areas in the Duvernay formation remain steady as the natural-gas condensate is a key product to dilute the bitumen produced from the closely located oil sands deposits in Athabasca, Peace River, and Cold Lake, and is traded with the same reference price as WTI oil.
The goal of the study is to develop robust data examining the health and environmental impacts of the oil sands, with specific objectives to be developed by the communities.
The combined Bluesky-Gething deposit is the primary target area for oil sands development in the Peace River area. There is a reservoir at about 600 m (2,000 ft)–700 m (2,300 ft) below the surface. Heavy oil in the Peace River, produced from bitumen deposit is extracted using wells not by mining. [7]: 9
Natural toxicants derived from bitumen in Northern Alberta pose potential ecological and human health risks to people living in the area. Oil sands development contributes arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel and other metal elements toxic at low concentrations to the tributaries and rivers of the Athabasca. [106]
Oil is "acutely lethal" to fish - that is, it kills fish quickly, at a concentration of 4000 parts per million [25] (0.4%). The toxicity of petroleum related products threaten human health. Many compounds found in oil are highly toxic and can cause cancer (carcinogenic) as well as other diseases. [23]
In 1943, the federal government decided to aid oil sands development, and took over the Abasand plant. The federal researchers concluded that the hot water process was uneconomic because of the extensive heat loss and proposed a "cold" water process. But work at the plant came to an end with a disastrous fire in 1945.