CANADA : a petroleum superpower with oil sands as conventional resources

Abstract

The amount of the proved remaining reserves of crude oil in Canada is estimated to be 179 billion barrels including oil sands, which takes the second place in the world after Saudi Arabia. As more than one third of the crude oil production in Canada are from oil sands, it can be considered that oil sands are no longer mere unconventional resources. It is worth noting oil sands industries in Canada, which plan to expand or start commercial in-situ production projects and seek the opportunity of its exporting diversity. Natural gas in Canada, which controls the operating cost of the oil sands projects, is also the key of the Canadian oil companies. Remaining reserves of natural gas in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin is still abundant and there are several additional opportunities such as the coal bed methane and the northern pipelines. With oil sands and conventional petroleum resources, Canadian oil business can be a part of the portfolio of the foreign companies now and in the future with its uniqueness in lower country risk, developed infrastructures, and stable markets.

Effect of Emulsification Process Conditions on the Properties of Water-in-Bitumen Emulsion

“…82 1 2017 the natural emulsion stabilizers asphaltene, resin, and clay present in the oil Alade et al, 2016a . SAGD is one of the most popular TEOR methods which has been successfully established in the recovery of bitumen from the huge estimated over 175 billion barrels of proven reser ves of Canadian oil sand resource Takahasi and Ogino, 2005;Wada, 2006;Al-Bahlani and Babadagli, 2009;Kato et al, 2013 . As earlier described, the produced bitumen through SAGD is usually in form of water-inbitumen emulsion which could exhibit remarkable increase in apparent viscosity and non-Newtonian behavior compared to the original bitumen Bennion et al, 1993;Al-Bahlani and Babadagli, 2009 . Therefore, effect of in situ emulsification on the performance of SAGD process had been the focus of some previous investigations Chung and Butler, 1987;Chun and Butler, 1989;Sasaki et al, 2001;Sasaki et al, 2002;Al-Bahlani and Babadagli, 2009;Kumasaka et al, 2016 . In addition, studies on the bitumen emulsification as a result of steam quality, pressure and reservoir geometry have been reported Chung and Butler, 1987;Chun and Butler, 1989;Al-Bahlani and Babadagli, 2009 .…”

Investigation of Thermal Conductivity and Heat Characteristics of Oil Sands Using Ultrasound Irradiation for Shortening the Preheating Time

“…[1][2][3][4][5] Oil sands are made up of a mixture that includes bitumen, which is heavy oil, siliceous materials, and water. 6) Bitumen has high viscosity, over 5,000,000 mPaÁs at 11 C on site, so that it will not flow at ambient temperature.…”

“…In particular, in terms of oil sands, Canada's remaining recoverable reserves are ranked second in the world. [2][3][4] Oil sands development in Canada can be divided into open-pit mining and the in-site collection method. While open-pit mining is currently the mainstream method, only 20% of the remaining recoverable reserves can be developed in this way.…”

“…Oil sands, heavy crude oil, and natural bitumen are called nonconventional energy sources, and are attractive as abundant energy resources of the future. [1][2][3][4][5] Oil sands are made up of a mixture that includes bitumen, which is heavy oil, siliceous materials, and water. 6) Bitumen has high viscosity, over 5,000,000 mPaÁs at 11 C on site, so that it will not flow at ambient temperature.…”

“…6) Bitumen has high viscosity, over 5,000,000 mPaÁs at 11 C on site, so that it will not flow at ambient temperature. 2) Figure 1 gives a comparison of viscosity between some bitumen (heavy crude oil) and a common lubricant. 6) 9,3API (American Petroleum Institute) and 10,3API are a type of bitumen.…”