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Editor's Mail
Canadian oil sands - Oliver Campbell
From: Oliver L Campbell
To: Editor Petroleumworld
Subject: Canadian oil sands
Date: February 23, 2009
I refer to Mr. David Maclean's letter dated February 22 nd in response to your publication of Mr. Bill Chameides's article on Canadian oil sands. Mr. Maclean may well be right when he asserts the carbon footprint from the oil sands is much the same as from the crude in the Orinoco Belt. I am no expert on the subject.
However, as Mr. Chameides makes clear, when we take into account the ecological aspect, production from the Athabasca oil sands is much more damaging. To start with, it is a surface mining operation which requires enormous holes to be dug in the ground. Gas is used to heat the water to between 50 and 80º C to separate the oil from the sand so that energy is consumed to produce energy. For this purpose, huge amounts of water are taken from the Athabasca River . The waste is dumped into tailing ponds which, sooner or later, leak into, and pollute, aquifers, streams and rivers. The effect is to contaminate drinking water in the region. It is not surprising so many Canadians, particularly those in Alberta and Saskatchewan , are alarmed at the damage caused to the environment. Mr. Chameides criticisms are, in fact, quite mild in comparison with those of Mr. John Mancho in his article “Athabasca Oil Sands: The worst project on earth,” dated July 6, 2008.
Production from the Orinoco Oil Belt does not have the same ecological problems. The oil in the subsurface at 50º C is liquid and can be pumped to the surface like any normal, heavy crude. At the surface it cools and congeals into a heavy tar, so it is diluted with naphtha and pumped to the coast where the upgraders are situated. The naphtha is recovered and pumped back to the production area. Depending on the upgrader, the formation crude of 8.5º API is upgraded to either 16º API or 32º API.
As regards terminology, whether they are “oil sands” or “tar sands” is hardly important, though perhaps there is a slight PR advantage in calling them oil sands. However, to call the Orinoco Belt tar sands or oil sands gives a wrong impression. The substance being produced now, and in the foreseeable future, is an extra-heavy crude oil which flows in the subsurface and is extracted by conventional methods. Its peculiarity is that it needs to be upgraded, i.e. made into lighter oil, to make it a marketable product.
Mr. Maclean misunderstands Petroleumworld when he says “I totally understand why you might want to undermine oil sand production.” The disclaimer, “Petroleumworld does not necessarily share these views” is a sincere one, and I know you would equally publish an article praising Canada 's oil sand production. I suspect by “you” he means Venezuela, in which case he is wrong in thinking we have an axe to grind about Canada's oil sand production. In fact, CITGO buys oil from Canada as feedstock for its Lemont , Illinois refinery.
In the Americas there are two huge oil provinces--the Orinoco Oil Belt and the Athabasca Oil Sands. They are a resource for all mankind and we do not see ourselves as competing with Canada . The oil sands provide a substantial contribution to Canada 's economy and the challenge is to devise extraction and separation methods which do the least possible damage to the environment. I am sure Mr. Maclean and the Alberta Enterprise Group will support this sentiment.
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Athabasca Oil Sands: The Worst Project on Earth
I totally understand why you might want to undermine oil sand production, but you know what they say about throwing stones in glass houses….
Petroleumworld 02/25/09
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