who what where when why how
TRANSCRIPT
Alberta Oil SandsWhoWhat
WhereWhenWhy How
What are the Tar Sands of Alberta, really?
• https://vimeo.com/46387379
• Type of “unconventional” petroleum deposit
• Mixtures of sand, clay and water, saturated with a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum
• Know for being very “dirty” oil because of the processes required to extract it
Extraction: How?• Types of extraction
1. Surface mining/open pit mining (which represents around 20% of all extraction)
2. Steam assisted gravity drainage (In Situ)
How? (continued)• Extraction of oil (In Situ or Steam driven)
• Transportation to refinery
• Hot water (fresh water)
• Bituminous oil mixture + waste
• Final round of refinement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsS9iq0olVI
Stats• Alberta is Canada’s largest producer of:• crude oil• synthetic crude oil• Natural gas
• 12% of GLOBAL oil reserves (whereas Canada’s population is 0.5% of global population Resource distribution***
Compared to Arabian Gulf
Benefits • Alberta has the highest economic growth in Canada
• 136 000 jobs are related to the tar sands industry
• 450 000 jobs are projected to be created in the next 25 years
• Very cheap and easy access to petroleum products
• Lowest tax in Canada
Negative impacts of the oil industry• Fresh water wastage• Emission of GHG’s (1/3 of Canada’s emissions)•Climate change•Deforestation • Ecological impacts (habitats and species)•Aboriginal impacts
Stop the TarSands Campaign•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaF5NfCjWHs
Why consider other alternatives?• 3-5 barrels of fresh water is needed to produce 1 barrel of synthetic oil• This is enough water for 2 million people… per day…
• 600 million cubic feet of natural gas is needed• Enough for 3 million Canadian homes
• Greenhouse gas emissions Climate change• Health factors for nearby residents (ex. Higher rates of cancer)• 70% of the product is used by the United States, NOT CANADA