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.
107-486: As of 2023, Canada's oil sands industry, along with Western Canada and offshore petroleum facilities near Newfoundland and Labrador, continued to increase production and were projected to increase by an estimated 10% in 2024 representing a potential record high at the end of the year of approximately 5.3 million barrels per day (bpd). The surge in production is attributed mainly to growth in Alberta's oilsands. The expansion of
214-665: A 10,000-mile round trip to the Arctic Ocean, the first white women to do so. They traveled by train from Chicago, through Winnipeg and Calgary to Edmonton, then took a stagecoach to Athabasca Landing, then they traveled by Hudson's Bay Company fur brigade scows, down the Athabasca River, across Lake Athabasca, to the Slave River, Slave Lake, the Mackenzie River to the Arctic Ocean. On their return journey with
321-564: A 2019 JWN Energy series— Inside Canada's Pipeline Industry —by former editor of Oilweek , Gordon Jaremko, both the Board approval and the construction of the 1,150-kilometre (710 mi) pipeline were sped up as concerns about the Korean War mounted. The governments considered the TMPL to be a strategic way of reducing reliance on oil tankers, made vulnerable under threats of potential attack on
428-649: A 2020 Global News interview, with the pipeline expansion work underway again, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, said that he expected that there would be more "Burnaby Mountain-style" protests. Protests took place in Vancouver to stop work on the pipeline on September 19, 2017. Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan addressed the crowd at a Stop Kinder Morgan protest rally in Burnaby Mountain Park. By 2018, rallies opposing
535-802: A 33-page filing that it planned to begin line fill in March or May, depending on the diameter of pipe to be used and assuming no new problems. The line fill represents the final step before the pipeline goes into service. According to the filing, the pipeline can enter service within one month of mechanical completion preceding line fill. On May 1, 2024, the long-delayed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion officially begun operations after 12 years and C$ 34 billion in costs. The project nearly tripled Canada's oil export capacity to 890,000 barrels per day, enabling better access to global markets and boosting crude prices. The expansion project faced criticism, particularly from environmentalists and First Nations groups. To reach
642-596: A Cree trader, brought a sample of bituminous sands to the Hudson's Bay Company post at York Factory on Hudson Bay where Henry Kelsey was the manager. In 1778, Peter Pond , another fur trader and a founder of the rival North West Company , became the first European to see the Athabasca deposits after exploring the Methye Portage which allowed access to the rich fur resources of the Athabasca River system from
749-424: A best seller and made her a media celebrity." In all Canada there is no more interesting stretch of waterway than that upon which we are entering. An earth-movement here has created a line of fault clearly visible for seventy or eighty miles along the river-bank, out of which oil oozes at frequent intervals. ... Tar there is ... in plenty. ... It oozes from every fissure, and into some bituminous tar well we can poke
856-545: A capacity of 45,000 barrels per day (7,200 m/d), it marked the beginning of commercial development of the Athabasca oil sands. In 2013 McKenzie-Brown listed industrialist J. Howard Pew as one of the six visionaries who built the Athabasca oil sands. By the time of his death in 1971, the Pew family were ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the half-dozen wealthiest families in America. The Great Canadian Oil Sands Limited (then
963-535: A cost of C$ 34 billion. The Trans Mountain Expansion Project was controversial due to its potential environmental impact. It faced legal challenges, as well as challenges from environmentalists and First Nations groups on the grounds of inadequate consultation of the pipeline route passing through unceded indigenous land . A Supreme Court decision on July 2, 2020, that rejected the appeals made by First Nations and environmental groups, "[brought] an end to
1070-492: A court injunction. The protest camp had been occupied by protesters since December 2020, and a leader of the protest claimed further actions would be planned. Agnes Deans Cameron Agnes Deans Cameron (20 December 1863 – 13 May 1912) was a Canadian educator, travel writer , journalist, lecturer, and adventurer. She was the first white woman to reach the Arctic Ocean and her published book about
1177-706: A day, equal to a quarter of Canada's oil production, was halted as a result of the fire in May. This continued into June at a rate of 700,000 barrels per day. The lost output was a contributing factor to rises in global oil prices. The scaled back operations, along with a refinery outage in Edmonton, caused many gas stations to run out of gas throughout Western Canada . In 2018, oil sands production reached 3.1 million barrels per day (490,000 m/d). Until 2014, industry groups believed oil sands production levels could reach 5 Mbbl/d (790,000 m/d) by 2030. As of 2021, after
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#17327721813791284-568: A dry retorting. During this process, oil sand is moved through a rotating drum, cracking the bitumen with heat and producing lighter hydrocarbons. Although tested, this technology is not in commercial use yet. The original process for extraction of bitumen from the sands was developed by Dr. Karl Clark , working with the Alberta Research Council in the 1920s. Today, all of the producers doing surface mining, such as Syncrude Canada, Suncor Energy and Albian Sands Energy etc., use
1391-485: A further impact on gasoline prices in the province. On May 29, 2018, the federal government announced its intent to acquire the Trans Mountain Pipeline from Kinder Morgan for $ 4.5 billion. The government did not intend to remain the permanent owner of the pipeline, as it planned to seek outside investors to finance the twinning project. The government could not find a buyer before the consummation of
1498-459: A majority occurred at contained zones such as pumping stations, and a majority were below the mandatory reporting threshold of 1.5 cubic metres, there were some significant spill events. In Abbotsford in 2005, a ruptured pipeline dumped 210 m (1,300 bbl) of crude oil. The company attributed the accident to activity on a neighbouring property. In 2007, in Burnaby, a contractor working on
1605-484: A press release from Diana McQueen's office, the Minister of Energy and Sustainable Development. The provincial government moved to develop the agency after widespread public criticism by environmentalists, aboriginal groups and scientists, who claimed the oil sands would have a devastating, long-term effect on the environment if left unchecked. On 17 June 2013 the newly formed corporation, Alberta Energy Regulator (AER)
1712-508: A province's right to enforce its own permits, its own regulations and the interests of its own citizens". On January 30, 2018, the B.C. government proposed a restriction on increases to the amount of diluted bitumen that could be imported into the province from Alberta, until the completion of studies on whether potential spillage could be mitigated. The province also announced an intent to consult with local communities and First Nations among others. Alberta premier Rachel Notley criticized
1819-737: A result of oil price increases since 2003, the existing mines have been greatly expanded and new ones were built. According to the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, 2005 production of crude bitumen in the Athabasca oil sands was as follows: As of 2006, oil sands production had increased to 1,126,000 barrels per day (179,000 m/d). Oil sands were by then the source of 62% of Alberta's total oil production and 47% of all oil produced in Canada. As of 2010, oil sands production had increased to over 1.6 million barrels per day (250,000 m/d) to exceed conventional oil production in Canada. 53% of this
1926-690: A result of the easy accessibility, the world's first oil-sands mine was in the Athabasca oil sands. Commercial production of oil from the Athabasca oil sands began in 1967, with the opening of the Great Canadian Oil Sands (GCOS) plant in Fort McMurray . It was the first operational oil sands project in the world, owned and operated by the American parent company, Sun Oil Company . When the US$ 240 million plant officially opened with
2033-742: A result of the price declines in the second half of 2008. The revised forecast predicted that Canadian oil sands production would continue to grow, but at a slower rate than previously predicted. There would be minimal changes to 2008–2012 production, but by 2020 production could be 300,000 barrels per day (48,000 m/d) less than its prior predictions. This would mean that Canadian oil sands production would grow from 1.2 million barrels per day (190,000 m/d) in 2008 to 3.3 million barrels per day (520,000 m/d) in 2020, and that total Canadian oil production would grow from 2.7 to 4.1 million barrels per day (430,000 to 650,000 m/d) in 2020. Even accounting for project cancellations, this would place Canada among
2140-588: A retail gasoline distributor owned by Energy Transfer Partners of Dallas , Texas. In Canada, Suncor Energy converted all of its Sunoco stations (which were all in Ontario) to Petro-Canada sites in order to unify all of its downstream retail operations under the Petro-Canada banner and discontinue paying licensing fees for the Sunoco brand. Nationwide, Petro-Canada's upstream product supplier and parent company
2247-422: A retaliatory sanction over these moves. The wine sanctions were lifted on February 22, 2018. On April 8, 2018, Kinder Morgan suspended "non-essential" activities relating to the pipeline, as the company did not want to "put [its] shareholders at risk on the remaining project spend". The company stated that it would attempt to reach agreements on a funding plan with stakeholders by May 31. On April 16,
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#17327721813792354-571: A runaway pace of development". Industry is the core force of oil sands development. The first major players, Suncor Energy and Syncrude , dominated the market until the 1990s. Currently there are 64 companies operating several hundred projects. The majority of production now comes from foreign-owned corporations, and the maintenance of a favourable climate for these corporations grants them strong influence; much stronger than that of non-productive stakeholders, such as citizens and environmental groups. Governance (policy, administration, regulation) over
2461-501: A sewage project for the City of Burnaby ruptured a pipeline, causing spillage of 224–234 m (1,410–1,470 bbl) of crude oil. Some of it flowed into Burrard Inlet via the Burnaby storm sewer system. Most of it was recovered. Eleven houses were sprayed with oil, and about 225–250 residents were evacuated or left voluntarily. Cleanup took more than a year. In 2009, in Burnaby 305 m (1,920 bbl) of crude oil were released from
2568-541: A slightly different route to include the Peace River (where Agnes shot a moose) and a steamboat's first voyage on the Slave Lake. Based on this adventure Agnes published her book entitled "The New North". Cameron traveled extensively as lecturer, showing magic lantern slides of her photographic images from this journey. She promoted immigration to western Canada at Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrew's University and
2675-681: A slowdown in investment, analyst are predicting it could reach 3.8 Mbbl/d (600,000 m/d) by that time. Canada is the largest source of oil imported by the United States, supplying 3 million barrels per day (480,000 m/d) chiefly from oil sands sources as of 2019. Industry observers went from believing there might be excess pipeline capacity to warning that it was insufficient to accommodate oil sands production growth, after several pipeline projects were abandoned or cancelled. The North Gateway project to Kitimat, British Columbia , which would have been built by Enbridge , operator of
2782-467: A steep learning curve to deal with before their bitumen mining techniques became efficient. In the intervening years, more effective in-situ production techniques were developed, particularly steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). In-situ methods became increasingly important because only about 20% of the Athabasca oil sands were shallow enough to recover by surface mining, and the SAGD method in particular
2889-478: A subsidiary of Sun Oil Company but now incorporated into an independent company known as Suncor Energy Inc. ) produced 30,000 barrels per day (4,800 m/d) of synthetic crude oil. The true size of the Canadian oil sands deposits became known in the 1970s. The Syncrude mine is now the largest mine (by area) in the world, with mines potentially covering 140,000 km (54,000 sq mi). (Although there
2996-538: A tank at the Trans Mountain Burnaby Terminal. Most of it flowed into a containment area. In Sumas in 2012 90 m (570 bbl) of light crude oil leaked from a Sumas Mountain holding tank. All of it flowed into a containment area. In 2020, in Sumas, 190.0 m (1,195 bbl) of light crude leaked from small pipe connected to mainline. Trans Mountain reported on June 14 that the spill
3103-633: A variation of the Clark Hot Water Extraction (CHWE) process. In this process, the ores are mined using open-pit mining technology. The mined ore is then crushed for size reduction. Hot water at 50–80 °C (122–176 °F) is added to the ore and the formed slurry is transported using hydrotransport line to a primary separation vessel (PSV) where bitumen is recovered by flotation as bitumen froth. The recovered bitumen froth consists of 60% bitumen, 30% water and 10% solids by weight. The recovered bitumen froth needs to be cleaned to reject
3210-732: Is Suncor Energy. Suncor Energy continues to operate just one Sunoco retail site in Ontario. At the turn of the 21st century, oil sands development in Canada started to take off, with an expansion at the Suncor mine, a new mine and expansion at Syncrude, and a new mine by Royal Dutch Shell associated with their new Scotford Upgrader near Edmonton . Three new large steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) projects were added – Foster Creek, Surmont, and MacKay River – by different companies, all of which have since been bought by larger companies. Shell Canada 's third mine began operating in 2003. However, as
3317-405: Is added to the sand, and the resulting slurry is piped to the extraction plant where it is agitated and the oil skimmed from the top. Provided that the water chemistry is appropriate to allow bitumen to separate from sand and clay, the combination of hot water and agitation releases bitumen from the oil sand, and allows small air bubbles to attach to the bitumen droplets. The bitumen froth floats to
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3424-466: Is advancing the project said that it still had enough insurance coverage. By February 2020, the assessment for the completion of the project was estimated at $ 12.6 billion, an increase of the previous estimate of $ 7.4 billion. The cost increase was the result of rising costs of "labour, steel, and land". In a September 2020 interview with the Canadian Press , TMC's CEO Ian Anderson said that
3531-486: Is carried out by a number of provincial institutions. Ottawa has avoided direct investment, preferring to improve the investment climate. A prime example of this occurred in 1994, when the federal government rolled out tax breaks allowing 100% of oil sands capital investments to be written off as accelerated capital cost allowances. The provincial government had a much more direct role in development; investing directly in numerous pilot projects, undertaking joint ventures with
3638-512: Is free flowing. The ERCB has also approved 20 projects that are testing unproven technology as well as new versions of existing technologies. Since Great Canadian Oil Sands (now Suncor) started operation of its mine in 1967, bitumen has been extracted on a commercial scale from the Athabasca Oil Sands by surface mining . In the Athabasca sands there are very large amounts of bitumen covered by little overburden, making surface mining
3745-492: Is in a fluid state and when mixed with gum, the resinous substance collected from the spruce fir, it serves to gum the Indians' canoes." He was followed in 1799 by mapmaker David Thompson and in 1819 by British Naval officer John Franklin . John Richardson did the first serious scientific assessment of the oil sands in 1848 on his way north to search for Franklin's lost expedition . The first government-sponsored survey of
3852-474: Is oil underlying 142,200 km (54,900 sq mi), which may be disturbed by drilling and in situ extraction, only 4,800 km (1,900 sq mi) may potentially be surface mined, and 904 km (349 sq mi) has to date been mined.) Development was inhibited by declining world oil prices, and the second mine, operated by the Syncrude consortium, did not begin operating until 1978, after
3959-458: Is that it is the only one shallow enough to be suitable for surface mining . About 10% of the Athabasca oil sands are covered by less than 75 metres (246 ft) of overburden . Until 2009, the surface mineable area (SMA) was defined by the ERCB, an agency of the Alberta government, to cover 37 contiguous townships (about 3,400 km or 1,300 sq mi) north of Fort McMurray . In June 2009,
4066-452: The 1973 oil crisis sparked investor interest. However, the price of oil subsided afterwards and although the 1979 energy crisis caused oil prices to peak again, during the 1980s, oil prices declined to very low levels causing considerable retrenchment in the oil industry. In 1979, Sun formed Suncor by merging its Canadian refining and retailing interests with Great Canadian Oil Sands and its conventional oil and gas interests. In 1981,
4173-481: The Alberta oil sands is focused on economic development, and has historically been dominated by the interests of two primary actors; government (federal and provincial) and industry. Canadian federalism forms the functions and roles of each level of government, in that constitutional power is split so that neither is superior to the other. The Constitution Act, 1867 , Section 109 ensures the province full ownership of
4280-681: The Enbridge Pipeline System which also serves the area, was cancelled in 2016. Similarly, after lengthy environmentalist and First Nation group opposition, Keystone XL , a pipeline project from Alberta to Gulf coast refineries, was cancelled in 2021. Other projects, using existing rights of way, are being built, like Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain Expansion , nationalized in 2018, or Enbridge's Line 9 , reversed to feed refineries in Quebec. Between January 2019 and December 2020,
4387-550: The Trans Mountain Pipeline ( TMPL ), is a multiple product pipeline system that carries crude and refined products from Edmonton , Alberta, to the coast of British Columbia , Canada. The corporation was created in 1951, construction began in 1952, and operations commenced in 1953. It is the only pipeline to run between these two areas. The construction of a second pipeline between Hinton, Alberta , and Hargreaves, British Columbia , running adjacent to
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4494-541: The Trans Mountain pipeline —the only oil pipeline to the West Coast—will further facilitate this increase, with its capacity set to increase significantly, to 890,000 barrels per day from 300,000 bpd currently. Despite this growth, there are warnings that it might be short-lived, with production potentially plateauing after 2024. Canada's anticipated increase in oil output exceeds that of other major producers like
4601-526: The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs , stated that the union was "absolutely shocked and appalled that Canada is willingly investing taxpayers' money in such a highly controversial fossil fuel expansion project". On August 30, 2018, Kinder Morgan Canada's shareholders voted to approve the sale of the pipeline to the federal government. However, the same day, the Federal Court of Appeal overturned
4708-419: The tailings , Diluent Recovery Units to recover naphtha from the froth, inclined plate settlers (IPS) and disc centrifuges . These allow the extraction plants to recover well over 90% of the bitumen in the sand. After oil extraction, the spent sand and other materials are then returned to the mine, which is eventually reclaimed . Alberta Taciuk Process technology extracts bitumen from oil sands through
4815-410: The 1990s and expanded their refineries in the Edmonton area following the TMPL construction. TMPL had the capacity to carry refined products, as well as crude oil via the batch system. According to a 2016 Oil Sands Magazine article, this resulted in the conversion of existing refineries along the TMPL route into storage and distribution facilities and terminals. In 1983, Kamloops ' Royalite Refinery,
4922-681: The Alberta Energy Regulator "the authority to administer the Public Lands Act , the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act and the Water Act , with regards to energy development." The Alberta Energy Regulator will enforce environmental laws and issue environmental and water permits, responsibilities formerly the mandate of Alberta Environment. The key characteristic of the Athabasca deposit
5029-422: The Alberta government announced it would follow the recommendations of a working group to develop an agency that would monitor the environmental impact of the oil sands. "The new science-based agency will begin work in the oil sands region and will focus on what is monitored, how it's monitored and where it's monitored. This will include integrated and coordinated monitoring of land, air, water and biodiversity," said
5136-514: The Alberta government imposed a quota to adjust production to pipeline export capacity. To compensate for pipeline capacity limitations, shipment of oil by rail increased from less than 50 thousand to 400 thousand barrels per day (64,000 m/d) between 2012 and 2020. As of December 2008, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers revised its 2008–2020 crude oil forecasts to account for project cancellations and cutbacks as
5243-515: The Alberta government introduced the Preserving Canada's Economic Prosperity Act, which would give the Minister of Energy power to regulate the export of crude oil, natural gas, or refined fuel from Alberta. The act could be used to effectively ban the export of Alberta gas to British Columbia. As such, B.C. Attorney General David Eby threatened to sue Alberta over the act, as he considered it unconstitutional, and stated that it could have
5350-655: The Arctic Ocean. Her photographs were reproduced in 2011–2012 in an exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, and included photos of Count Alfred Von Hammerstein's oil drill works along the Athabasca River. In 1926, Karl Clark of the University of Alberta received a patent for a hot water separation process which was the forerunner of today's thermal extraction processes. Several attempts to implement it had varying degrees of success. Project Oilsand
5457-574: The B.C. government said it did not support Trans Mountain, partly because Kinder Morgan had not provided enough information about its proposed spill prevention and spill clean-up program. On November 29, 2016, the federal cabinet approved the expansion project, announcing that the approval was "subject to 157 binding conditions that will address potential Indigenous, socio-economic and environmental impacts, including project engineering, safety and emergency preparedness." On January 11, 2017, B.C. Premier Christy Clark announced British Columbia's support for
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#17327721813795564-764: The Canadian and US militaries. On March 21, 1951, the Trans Mountain Pipeline Company Trans Mountain was created when the Canadian Parliament granted the company a charter under a special act of Parliament . The proposal for the pipeline was immediately submitted to the Board of Transport Commissioners and was approved. Construction began in February 1952 and the final section was welded in place near Aldergrove, British Columbia, on October 17, 1952. According to
5671-599: The Government of Ontario purchased a 25% stake in the company but divested it in 1993. In 1995, Sun Oil also divested its interest in the company, although Suncor maintained the Sunoco retail brand in Canada. Suncor took advantage of these two divestitures to become an independent, widely held public company . Suncor continued to grow and continued to produce more and more oil from its oil sands operations regardless of fluctuating market prices, and eventually became bigger than its former parent company. In 2009, Suncor acquired
5778-587: The Hudson Bay watershed. In 1788, fur trader Alexander Mackenzie , after whom the Mackenzie River was later named, traveled along routes to both the Arctic and Pacific Ocean wrote: "At about 24 miles [39 km] from the fork (of the Athabasca and Clearwater Rivers) are some bituminous fountains into which a pole of 20 feet [6.1 m] long may be inserted without the least resistance. The bitumen
5885-640: The Royal Geographical Society. Her photographs were reproduced in 2011–2012 in an exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, Canada. She was particularly enthusiastic about the Athabasca region and the Athabasca oil sands which included photos of Count Alfred Von Hammerstein's oil drill works along the Athabasca River. "While the Count was unsuccessful drilling for "elephant pools of oil," Cameron's book and its images became
5992-450: The SMA was expanded to 51 + 1 ⁄ 2 townships, or about 4,700 km or 1,800 sq mi. This expansion pushes the northern limit of the SMA to within 12 miles (19 km) of Wood Buffalo National Park , a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The Albian Sands mine (operated by Shell Canada ) opened in 2003. All three of these mines are associated with bitumen upgraders that convert
6099-471: The TMPL was the "only major system in the world" at that time, transporting both crude oil and refined petroleum products" in a single pipeline. By 1998, TMPL made regular shipments to Vancouver of refined petroleum products "including jet fuel, gasoline (unleaded and premium unleaded), diesel (regular sulfur, low sulfur, and low temperature), methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), and crude-oil (light sweet, light sour, and heavy)". In 2004, Kinder Morgan began
6206-413: The United States, and the country is poised to become a significant driver of global crude oil production growth in 2024. The exploitation of these resources has stirred debates regarding economic development, energy security, and environmental impacts, particularly emissions from the oilsands, prompting discussions around emissions regulations for the oil and gas sector. The Athabasca oil sands, along with
6313-789: The Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA), the Canadian Oil Sands Network for Research and Development (CONRAD) and the Athabasca Regional Issues Working Group (RIWG). The role of the MSC is to consult and make recommendations on management principles. The recommendations contained in the MSC's first 2007 Final Report were lauded by several ministers and government representatives, but none have yet been effectively passed into law. On October 17, 2012,
6420-532: The approval being overturned, Premier Rachel Notley announced that Alberta would pull out of the national carbon price and called for an appeal to the Supreme Court of the Federal Court's August 30 decision. The expansion project faced opposition from civic governments, First Nations, environmentally concerned citizens, and others. In September 2012, Tsleil-Waututh leaders had hoped to shut down
6527-533: The benchmark for light oil, West Texas Intermediate (WTI). This widened to a record US$ 50 in the fall of 2018 with the price of WCS hitting a record low of less than US$ 14 a barrel. Despite federal government approval, seven Federal Court challenges were filed by the municipalities of Vancouver and Burnaby, and the Tsleil-Waututh , Squamish , Kwantlen , and Coldwater First Nations. In November 2017, Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr stated that
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#17327721813796634-503: The contained solids and water to meet the requirement of downstream upgrading processes. Depending on the bitumen content in the ore, between 90 and 100% of the bitumen can be recovered using modern hot water extraction techniques. After oil extraction, the spent sand and other materials are then returned to the mine, which is eventually reclaimed. Trans Mountain pipeline The Trans Mountain Pipeline System , or simply
6741-619: The existing line, was completed in 2008. In 2013, a project to twin the existing Trans Mountain pipeline—the Trans Mountain Expansion Project—was proposed to the Canadian National Energy Board . The project was 98% complete, as of 23 January 2024, and began operations on 1 May 2024. The expansion, which runs roughly parallel to the existing pipeline, increased capacity from 300,000 to 890,000 barrels per day (48,000–141,000 m /d), at
6848-627: The expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, saying the project met her government's five conditions for approval and included a revenue-sharing agreement worth up to $ 1 billion. In 2018, the federal government created a Crown corporation, the Trans Mountain Corporation (TMC), when it bought the pipeline from the Houston-based Kinder Morgan for C$ 4.5 billion. The purchase had been announced by
6955-463: The expansion said that it would create jobs and that it had a lower risk of spilling oil than transporting oil by rail, which pipeline proponents said would otherwise have to be used. A 2014 study by Simon Fraser University claimed that Kinder Morgan overestimated the economic benefits of the pipeline expansion. From 2008 through 2018, Western Canadian Select (WCS), Canada's benchmark for heavy crude oil sold at an average discount of US$ 17 against
7062-464: The expansion was on schedule despite the $ 5.2-billion increase in its cost. Anderson cited other challenges to construction including the COVID-19 pandemic , the slump in the demand for fuel, which contributes to the slump in the price of oil , and the protests by opponents to the expansion. By February 2022, TMC said that costs had increased by 70%, from $ 12.6 billion to $ 21.4 billion. Faced with
7169-489: The federal government had sent a letter in support of a dispute resolution process to the National Energy Board to expedite any future disputes over provincial or municipal permits impeding the expansion. BC Environmental Minister George Heyman accused the federal government of interfering with an independent review of the project, arguing that "it's both a highly unusual and a highly troubling intrusion on
7276-412: The federal government in May 2018. At that time, the government said it would seek outside investors to complete the expansion. These investors would also be indemnified for any delays induced by provincial or municipal governments. In 2020, three insurance companies that had previously supported the project withdrew their support, including Zurich Insurance Group , the leading insurer. The company that
7383-473: The federal government's costly COVID-19 response, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland , said this new funding for the pipeline was not part of the federal government's commitment. The status of the company changed to a non-agent Crown corporation on April 29, 2022, which meant that it was able to access financing from third-party lenders. In March 2023, it was announced that the cost has again increased to $ 30.9 billion. As of April 2022, construction had reached
7490-404: The formerly Canadian government owned oil company, Petro-Canada , which turned Suncor into the largest petroleum company in Canada and one of the biggest Canadian companies. Suncor Energy is now a Canadian company completely unaffiliated with its former American parent company. Sun Oil Company became known as Sunoco , but later left the oil production and refining business, and has since become
7597-732: The four or five largest oil-producing countries in the world by 2020. In early December 2007, London-based BP and Calgary-based Husky Energy announced a 50–50 joint venture to produce and refine bitumen from the Athabasca oil sands. BP would contribute its Toledo, Ohio refinery to the joint venture, while Husky would contribute its Sunrise oil sands project. Sunrise was planned to start producing 60,000 barrels per day (9,500 m/d) of bitumen in 2012 and may reach 200,000 bbl/d (32,000 m/d) by 2015–2020. BP would modify its Toledo refinery to process 170,000 bbl/d (27,000 m/d) of bitumen directly to refined products. The joint venture would solve problems for both companies, since Husky
7704-544: The government's approval of the expansion project, citing that it did not sufficiently fulfill its constitutional duties to consult local First Nations groups, and because it lacked an environmental assessment of increased tanker traffic on orcas in the Salish Sea off the BC coast. On August 31, Trudeau said the federal government remained committed to the pipeline expansion project in spite of this setback. In response to
7811-504: The half-way mark. The company said in their November 2022 third-quarter report that expansion would be mechanically complete by the third quarter of 2023 and the commercial service would be operational in the fourth quarter of 2023. According to a January 2023 statement from the company, more than 700 kilometres (430 mi) of pipe was already in place representing 75% of the entire project. On January 3, 2024, Trans Mountain Corp said in
7918-454: The heart of the deposit, and traces of the heavy oil are readily observed on the river banks. Historically , the bitumen was used by the indigenous Cree and Dene Aboriginal peoples to waterproof their canoes. The oil deposits are located within the boundaries of Treaty 8 , and several First Nations of the area are involved with the sands. The Athabasca oil sands first came to the attention of European fur traders in 1719 when Wa-pa-su,
8025-419: The industry and consistently making massive investments in research and development. Some people have claimed that Alberta features one of the lowest royalty rates in the world. Since Alberta, unlike US states, owns the vast majority of oil under its surface it can exercise more control over it, whereas US states are limited to severance taxes. This industry-centric royalty system has been criticised for "promoting
8132-472: The journey was a best-seller. She promoted immigration to Canada through her lectures and publications. Agnes Deans Cameron was born in Victoria , Colony of Vancouver Island , the youngest child of Duncan and Jessie Cameron. Duncan Cameron was a successful Scots immigrant miner and contractor. She was an outstanding student at Victoria High School, a public school. While still a student she successfully wrote
8239-471: The lands and resources within its borders. The province acts as the landowner and the federal government oversees jurisdiction over trade, commerce and taxation. There is a clear overlap, as resource management influences trade, and trade management influences resources. As of the 1990s, both the federal and provincial government have been aligned, focusing on regulation, technology and the development of new export markets. The majority of "ground-level" governance
8346-701: The largest private sector oil sands producer in the world. ConocoPhillips currently holds the largest position in the Canadian oil sands with over 1 million acres (4,000 km) under lease. Other major oil sands producers planning to increase their production include Royal Dutch Shell (to 770,000 bbl/d (122,000 m/d)); Syncrude Canada (to 550,000 bbl/d (87,000 m/d)); Suncor Energy (to 500,000 bbl/d (79,000 m/d)) and Canadian Natural Resources (to 500,000 bbl/d (79,000 m/d)). If all these plans come to fruition, these five companies will be producing over 3.3 Mbbl/d (520,000 m/d) of oil from oil sands by 2028. The governance of
8453-463: The largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta's history and the costliest disaster in Canadian history . The wildfire halted oil sands production at facilities north of Fort McMurray. Shell Canada shut down output at its Albian Sands mining operation. Suncor Energy and Syncrude Canada also scaled back operations and evacuated employees and their families. Approximately one million barrels of oil
8560-419: The most efficient method of extracting it. The overburden consists of water-laden muskeg (peat bog) over top of clay and barren sand. The oil sands themselves are typically 40 to 60 metres (130 to 200 ft) deep, sitting on top of flat limestone rock. Originally, the sands were mined with draglines and bucket-wheel excavators and moved to the processing plants by conveyor belts . These early mines had
8667-720: The most extensive petroleum field in America, if not the world." Count Alfred von Hammerstein (1870–1941), who arrived in the region in 1897, promoted the Athabasca oil sands for over forty years, taking photos with descriptive titles such as "Tar Sands and Flowing Asphaltum in the Athabasca District," that are now in the National Library and National Archives Canada. Photos of the Athabasca oil sands were also featured in Canadian writer and adventurer, Agnes Deans Cameron 's, best-selling book The New North which recounted her 10,000 mi (16,000 km) roundtrip to
8774-474: The nearby Peace River and Cold Lake deposits oil sand deposits lie under 141,000 square kilometres (54,000 sq mi) of boreal forest and muskeg (peat bogs ) according to Government of Alberta's Ministry of Energy, Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP). The Athabasca oil sands are named after the Athabasca River which cuts through
8881-697: The oil sands is held almost entirely by the Ministry of Energy (Alberta) and its various departments. Critics noted a clear and systemic lack of public involvement at all key stages of the governance process. In answer to this, the province initiated the Oil Sands Consultations Multistakeholder Committee (MSC) in 2006. The MSC represents four organisations: the Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA),
8988-555: The oil sands was initiated in 1875 by John Macoun , and in 1883, G. C. Hoffman of the Geological Survey of Canada tried separating the bitumen from oil sand with the use of water and reported that it separated readily. In 1888, Robert Bell , the director of the Geological Survey of Canada, reported to a Senate Committee that "The evidence ... points to the existence in the Athabasca and Mackenzie valleys of
9095-502: The opening ceremony. Prior to 1983, the only product TMPL carried was crude oil to supply refineries in the Vancouver area and to the state of Washington. In 1983, Trans Mountain began experiments to shift from single- to multiple-product pipelines to increase efficiency and to become more competitive. By 1985, TMPL regularly carried refined-products 820 kilometres (510 mi) from Edmonton to Kamloops, British Columbia. This had extended to Vancouver by 1993. A 1993 report said that
9202-478: The price of oil down from more than 100 dollars a barrel in 2013 to less than 40 dollars three years later. Lingering low oil prices prompted companies to cancel new investments in the oil sands. From May to July 2016, a wildfire spread from Fort McMurray across northern Alberta , burning approximately 590,000 hectares (1,500,000 acres) of forested areas and destroying approximately 2,400 homes and buildings. 88,000 people were forced from their homes in what became
9309-769: The process to add a second pipeline, running parallel to the first, for the portion running between Hinton, Alberta , and Hargreaves, British Columbia . This required two more pumping stations – the Wolf Pump Station, near Niton Junction, Alberta , and the Chappel Pump Station, near Pyramid Creek Falls Provincial Park, British Columbia . This increased capacity by 40,000 barrels per day (6,400 m /d), (from 260,000 to 300,000 barrels per day (41,000 to 48,000 m /d)). Shell, Petro-Canada and Imperial closed refineries in British Columbia in
9416-545: The project altogether. In November 2014, opponents of the pipeline expansion camped in Burnaby Mountain Park to block pipeline construction crews, and over 100 were arrested. Members of the Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations in British Columbia paddled canoes on Burrard Inlet, in North Vancouver , to Kinder Morgan's Burnaby Terminal for a ceremony to protest the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline. In
9523-643: The projects had been organized across Canada. Organizations including LeadNow and the Dogwood Initiative also opposed the project and organized protests. The RCMP contained the protests on Burnaby Mountain. In July 2018 activists blocked an oil tanker from the Ironworkers' Memorial Bridge in Vancouver. In September 2021 a treetop camp in the Brunette River Conservation Area was dismantled by RCMP following
9630-480: The proposal as being a stalling tactic on Trans Mountain expansion, explaining that "the B.C. government has every right to consult on whatever it pleases with its citizens. It does not have the right to rewrite our constitution and assume powers for itself that it does not have." On February 6, 2018, Notley ordered the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission to cease future imports of British Columbia wine as
9737-802: The provincial teachers' examinations. She taught in the one-room school in Comox in 1882 and then returned to Victoria in 1883 to teach at the private Angela College for girls. By 1894 she was already principal of the South Park School. She was the first woman to hold an administrative office in a co-educational school in Victoria. In 1908 after 25 years of teaching, Cameron accepted a contract with Western Canada Immigration Association based in Chicago. Accompanied by her niece Jessie Brown, and taking her ever-present typewriter and Kodak camera, they began
9844-556: The purchase, and it carried out the purchase via a crown corporation , and operated it in the meantime. Critics of the expansion argued that the purchase was a taxpayer-funded bailout of the project. B.C. Premier John Horgan stated that the sale would not affect the provincial government's ongoing efforts to block the pipeline expansion, stating that "rather than go to the court to determine jurisdictions, they're making financial decisions that affect taxpayers and they'll have to be accountable for that". Stewart Phillip , president of
9951-732: The system's capacity from 300,000 to 890,000 barrels per day (48,000 to 141,000 m /d). In 2013, the cost of completing the connection between Strathcona County, Alberta , and Burnaby, British Columbia was estimated at $ 6.8 billion. Kinder Morgan had the support at that time of several large petroleum industry customers for this expansion ( BP Canada Energy Trading Co. , Canadian Natural Resources , Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. , Cenovus Energy Inc. , Devon Canada Corp. , Husky Energy Marketing Inc. , Imperial Oil Ltd. , Nexen Marketing Inc. , Statoil Canada Ltd. , Suncor Energy Marketing Inc., Suncor Energy Products Partnership , Tesoro Refining & Marketing Co, and Total E&P Canada Ltd ). In 2016,
10058-516: The terminus, tankers have to pass through a very narrow channel of shallow water from the open sea, still putting leaks at risk due to vehicle crashes. Environmentalists expressed concern about the heightened risk of an oil spill in the Burrard Inlet resulting from the expansion, which entailed the obstruction of 30% of the inlet and a seven-fold increase in tanker traffic, according to Stand.earth , formerly ForestEthics. Those who supported
10165-408: The top of separation vessels, and is further treated to remove residual water and fine solids. About two short tons (1.8 t) of oil sands are required to produce one barrel ( 1 ⁄ 8 short ton; 110 kg) of oil. Originally, roughly 75% of the bitumen was recovered from the sand. However, recent enhancements to this method include Tailings Oil Recovery (TOR) units which recover oil from
10272-633: The unusable bitumen into synthetic crude oil for shipment to refineries in Canada and the United States . For Albian, the upgrader is at Scotford, 439 km south. The bitumen, diluted with a solvent, is transferred there in a 610 mm (24 in) corridor pipeline. The Energy Resource Conservation Board has approved over 100 mining and in-situ projects despite the negative environmental impacts. As of 2012, there were 9 active open mining projects, more than 50 approved in-situ projects as well as 190 primary recovery projects extracting bitumen that
10379-472: The west coast of North America. Canadian Bechtel Ltd. was responsible for engineering, design, and construction of the project. Ownership of the company was split between Canadian Bechtel Ltd. and Standard Oil . In August 1953, crude oil from Edmonton, Alberta, began flowing to refineries in the Vancouver area and the northwestern U.S. through TMPL. The total cost of TMPL was $ 93 million, according to then Premier of British Columbia W. A. C. Bennett at
10486-561: The years-long legal challenge". On August 31, 2018, the Government of Canada purchased the pipeline for $ 4.7 billion from Kinder Morgan through the creation of the Trans Mountain Corporation (TMC), in order to "keep the project alive". TMC is a Crown corporation , a subsidiary of the Canada Development Investment Corporation (CDEV). Until the purchase by CDEV, the Trans Mountain Pipeline
10593-527: Was a 1958 proposal to exploit the Athabasca oil sands using the underground detonation of nuclear explosives ; hypothetically, the heat and pressure created by an underground detonation would boil the bitumen deposits, reducing their viscosity to the point that standard oilfield techniques could be used. The plan was discussed in the October 1976 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists . A patent
10700-825: Was contained on the property and that groundwater was monitored for contamination. On June 18, 2013, Kinder Morgan filed an application with the National Energy Board pursuant to Part III of the National Energy Board Act to build a second pipeline under the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project. The second pipeline was to run roughly parallel to the existing pipeline, between Edmonton and Burnaby (east of Vancouver ) and to be used to transport diluted bitumen , also known as dilbit. The additional pipeline requires 12 new pumping stations. The proposed expansion, with 980 kilometres (610 mi) of pipe, would increase
10807-692: Was granted for the intended process in 1964. The nuclear heating option is considered a forerunner to some of the conventional heating methods used to extract tar sands oil. In April 1959, the Federal Mines Department approved Project Oilsand. However, it was subsequently cancelled in 1962. The oil sands, which are typically 40 to 60 metres (130 to 200 ft) thick and sit on top of relatively flat limestone , are relatively easy to access. They lie under 1 to 3 m (3 ft 3 in to 9 ft 10 in) of waterlogged muskeg , 0 to 75 metres (0 to 246 ft) of clay and barren sand. As
10914-587: Was owned by the Houston, Texas –based pipeline operator's Canadian division. In February 1947, large oil deposits were discovered near Leduc , Alberta. The idea for a pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia quickly emerged, driven by the growing demand for oil both in Asia and on the west coast of Canada and the United States . One element seen as a benefit to the project were defence implications, with availability of oil infrastructure being beneficial to both
11021-721: Was phased in with a mandate to regulate oil, gas and coal development in Alberta including the Athabasca oil sands. The AER brings together "the regulatory functions from the Energy Resources Conservation Board and the Alberta Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development into a one-stop shop" The Alberta Energy Regulator is now "responsible for all projects from application to reclamation." They will respond to project proponents, landowners and industry regarding energy regulations in Alberta. The Responsible Energy Development Act gave
11128-579: Was produced by surface mining and 47% by in-situ techniques. In 2012, oil production from oil sands was 1.8 million barrels per day (290,000 m/d). The massive development of tight oil extraction in the Bakken and Permian Basin in the United States transformed the oil industry rapidly, reducing importation of foreign oil dramatically. As with the oil sands, production costs of shale oil are higher than those of conventional oil. A combination of factors, among them oversupply and geopolitical rivalries, drove
11235-422: Was short of refining capacity, and BP had no presence in the oil sands. It was a change of strategy for BP, since the company historically has downplayed the importance of oil sands. In mid December 2007, ConocoPhillips announced its intention to increase its oil sands production from 60,000 barrels per day (9,500 m/d) to 1 million barrels per day (160,000 m/d) over the next 20 years, which would make it
11342-794: Was shut down. In 1993, two refineries were closed—Shell's in North Burnaby —a large Vancouver neighbourhood—and Petro-Canada's in Port Coquitlam —27 km (17 mi) east of Vancouver—were closed. In 1995, Imperial Oil closed their refinery in Port Moody —a city that is part of the Metro Vancouver Regional District . After TMX opened in 2024, oil refineries complained about poor oil quality. As of 2017 , TMPL had reported approximately 84 spills to Canada's National Energy Board since 1961. Although
11449-522: Was very efficient at recovering large amounts of bitumen at a reasonable cost. In recent years, companies such as Syncrude and Suncor have switched to much cheaper shovel-and-truck operations using the biggest power shovels (at least 100 short tons; 91 t) and dump trucks (400 short tons; 360 t) in the world. This has held production costs to around US$ 27 per barrel of synthetic crude oil despite rising energy and labour costs. After excavation, hot water and caustic soda ( sodium hydroxide )
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