Oil sands mining vs in situ
So what’s the difference between mining and in situ? Oil sands mining tends to capture the bulk of negative media and public attention because the visuals are compelling. By comparison, in situ drilling has a much smaller footprint because it can cluster many wells on one pad so it takes up much less space. Most water used in oil sands development is recycled – 80 percent for established mining operations and approximately 94 percent for in-situ recovery. However, some new water is required and comes from a variety of sources, including on-site drainage, collected precipitation (rain and melt water), underground salt water (brackish) aquifers, and the local watershed such as rivers. There are two ways to extract bitumen from the oil sands: either mine the entire deposit and gravity separate the bitumen, or extract the bitumen in-place (or in-situ) using steam without disturbing the land. The technique used depends on the depth of the deposit. On average, a typical oil sands mine requires about 3 barrels of fresh water to produce one barrel of oil from the oil sands. In contrast, in-situ facilities primarily use water for steam generation and have a much smaller need for fresh water (less than 0.3 barrels fresh water per barrel of oil produced). But tar sands oil is in a category all its own. Tar sands retrieved by surface mining has an EROI of only about 5:1, according to research released Tuesday. Tar sands retrieved from deeper beneath the earth, through steam injection, fares even worse, with a maximum average ratio of just 2.9 to 1. In Situ refers to methods of oil sands production that use drilling and steam to produce bitumen. The most common in situ method is called Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD). Between 2 and 4.5 volume units of water are used to produce each volume unit of synthetic crude oil in an ex-situ mining operation. According to Greenpeace, the Canadian oil sands operations use 349 × 10 ^ 6 m 3 /a (12.3 × 10 ^ 9 cu ft/a) of water, twice the amount of water used by the city of Calgary.
Here oil sands were surface mined, and the bitumen was extracted using Major Oil Sands Projects. In Situ. Mining. Mineable Region. Peace. River. Oil of the IHS CERA Multiclient Study Potential versus Reality: West African Oil and Gas.
Oil sand mining has a large impact on the environment. Forests must be cleared for both open-pit and in situ mining. Pit mines can grow to more than 80 meters Here oil sands were surface mined, and the bitumen was extracted using Major Oil Sands Projects. In Situ. Mining. Mineable Region. Peace. River. Oil of the IHS CERA Multiclient Study Potential versus Reality: West African Oil and Gas. 18 Dec 2013 Mining versus in situ tar sands extraction. Unfortunately, the carbon emissions associated with extracting tar sands could increase over time, as in 4 Jul 2014 4.1 Fresh Water Usage by Oil Sands Mining Operations, 2005-2013.. 43. 4.2 Fresh and Brackish Water Use by In Situ Oil Sands Producers . All oil sands vs. total. 0.03%. 0.05% 0.16% 8.69% 2.40% 2.26%. 29 Aug 2016 In-situ extraction doesn't leave behind large tailings ponds or vast landscape disturbances as do open-pit mines, so it's often described as more 2 Jan 2013 In 2011, for the first time, oil production from such in situ operations surpassed that of mining for oil in the tar sands—a trend that is only likely to
The in-situ method relies on steam injection to heat buried tar sands and facilitate extraction via conventional wells. It is estimated that over 2 trillion barrels of oil
An in-situ processing plant is generally much smaller and simpler than an oil sands mining facility. However, bitumen can only be extracted in-situ if the oil sands deposit is deep below the surface. Most in-situ deposits lie at least 200 meters below grade. In situ operations require more energy than oil sands mining to produce a barrel of bitumen. As a result, in situ operations generate two and half times as much greenhouse gas per barrel of bitumen as oil sands mines (91 kg/barrel vs. 36 kg/ barrel, excluding the emissions associated with bitumen upgrading). In situ oil sands mining. Oil sands deposits that are greater than 75 meters below the ground surface are usually extracted without removing the overlying rock and dirt. This is known as in situ oil sands mining. Oil sands deposits are usually split into two types of deposits. Only 20% of the Alberta oil sands is mineable (by surface area) The remaining 80% of oil is too deep and can only be extracted using in-situ methods with minimal land disturbance. Oil sands surface area: 142,000 km2. Mineable oil sands area cleared or disturbed: 767 km2. In 2017, In Situ Water Use [Tableau] projects used almost 18 million cubic metres of nonsaline water (26 per cent of all water allocated for in situ oil sands projects) to produce over 546 million BOE—meaning that for every BOE produced, 0.20 barrels of nonsaline water was used. In situ methods are used to recover bitumen that lies too deep beneath the surface for mining (about 80% of the oil sands in Alberta). The success of in situ methods depends on the resolution of two major issues: 1) reducing the viscosity of bitumen so that it will flow, and 2) recovering the bitumen from deep within the earth (OSDC 2008c). Overcoming these challenges requires substantial energy and water, and in situ methods are expensive compared to mining. There are two different methods of producing oil from oil sands: open-pit mining and in situ. Bitumen that is close to the surface (less than 75 metres) is mined. Approximately 20% of oil sands are recoverable through open-pit mining.
9 Nov 2019 Advanced extraction techniques, such as oil sands mining and in situ development, are used to recover heavier oil that does not flow on its own
4 Jul 2014 4.1 Fresh Water Usage by Oil Sands Mining Operations, 2005-2013.. 43. 4.2 Fresh and Brackish Water Use by In Situ Oil Sands Producers . All oil sands vs. total. 0.03%. 0.05% 0.16% 8.69% 2.40% 2.26%. 29 Aug 2016 In-situ extraction doesn't leave behind large tailings ponds or vast landscape disturbances as do open-pit mines, so it's often described as more 2 Jan 2013 In 2011, for the first time, oil production from such in situ operations surpassed that of mining for oil in the tar sands—a trend that is only likely to
The resource potential for in situ oil sands extraction is huge. Surface mining is only feasible for the shallow oil sands deposits found north of Fort McMurray, which means that 80 percent of the
2 Jan 2013 In 2011, for the first time, oil production from such in situ operations surpassed that of mining for oil in the tar sands—a trend that is only likely to 3 Jun 2016 Instead of selecting a picture of an open tar sand pit, the creator of this image chose a “cleaner” photograph showing an in situ oil sands facility 2 Feb 2016 Ratio that describes the total volume of oil sands removed versus the oil sands mines require approximately 13–14 barrels of water (in-situ 25 Sep 2014 Most of the current extraction process takes place in open-pit mines, with massive machinery scraping up the tarry sandstone and moving it to There are two different methods of producing oil from oilsands: open-pit mining and in situ (latin, meaning “in place”) technology. Bitumen close to the surface is
In situ operations require more energy than oil sands mining to produce a barrel of bitumen. As a result, in situ operations generate two and half times as much greenhouse gas per barrel of bitumen as oil sands mines (91 kg/barrel vs. 36 kg/ barrel, excluding the emissions associated with bitumen upgrading). In situ oil sands mining. Oil sands deposits that are greater than 75 meters below the ground surface are usually extracted without removing the overlying rock and dirt. This is known as in situ oil sands mining. Oil sands deposits are usually split into two types of deposits. Only 20% of the Alberta oil sands is mineable (by surface area) The remaining 80% of oil is too deep and can only be extracted using in-situ methods with minimal land disturbance. Oil sands surface area: 142,000 km2. Mineable oil sands area cleared or disturbed: 767 km2.