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The Athabasca oil sands, also known as the Athabasca tar sands, are large deposits of oil sands rich in bitumen, a heavy and viscous form of petroleum, in northeastern Alberta, Canada. These reserves are one of the largest sources of unconventional oil in the world, making Canada a significant player in the global energy market.
The name tar sands was applied to bituminous sands in the late 19th and early 20th century. [18] People who saw the bituminous sands during this period were familiar with the large amounts of tar residue produced in urban areas as a by-product of the manufacture of coal gas for urban heating and lighting. [19]
The largest single plant in Canada to use in situ production is Imperial Oil's Cold Lake oil sand plant. This plant uses a technique called cyclic steam injection . Using this method, the company pumps high-pressure steam into a section of the underground reservoir for a week or so, then pumps the liquid oil out for as long as several months.
Tar sands get a lot of bad press, much of it to do with the fact that the extraction and processing of tar sands bitumen creates a lot more pollution than other fuel sources. A few companies are ...
The Tar Sand Triangle is the largest deposit of oil sands in the United States known today. It contains about 6.3 billion barrels of heavy oil, but is thought to have originally held more. At one point the Tar Sand Triangle could have consisted of 16 billion barrels of heavy oil, almost as much as in Utah today. [3]
Habitat degradation is caused by the depletion of resources, in which human activities are the primary driving force. [50] [51] One major impact that the depletion of fish stocks causes is a dynamic change and erosion to marine food webs, which can ultimately lead to ecosystem collapse because of the imbalance created for other marine species.
Surface mining and in-situ processing requires extensive land use. Mining, processing, and waste disposal require land to be withdrawn from traditional uses, and therefore should avoid high density population areas. [3] Oil shale mining reduces the original ecosystem diversity with habitats supporting a variety of plants and animals.
Tar sands have affected over 75% of the habitat in the Alberta taiga forest due to the clearing of the forests and the oil ponds that come from the extraction. These tar sands also create awful toxic oil ponds that affect wildlife and surrounding vegetation. Oil extraction also affects the forest soil, which harms tree and plant growth.