Oil Sands

Liquid petroleum pipelines carry crude oil and refined petroleum products (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, etc.) across state and even country borders (interstate & international) as well as within states (intrastate). Pipelines are widely acknowledged to be the safest and most efficient way to move energy products overland for long distances; crude oil and natural gas from production areas to processing plants and refineries, and consumer-ready products to markets.

Bitumen is a mixture of heavy oil, sand, clay and water. It is separated from the sand and water in a centrifuge prior to dilution for transportation.

Find out what the Oil Sands Fact Check website is all about.

The United States imports 8.4 million barrels of oil and petroleum products a day to help meet its energy needs. Canada is the largest supplier to the U.S., providing more than 2.4 million barrels a day – more than 1/4 – of these imports.

The Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) has completed a study of the impact of developing Alberta’s oil sands in a staged manner according to the capacity and in-service date of existing and proposed pipelines.

Advanced technologies developed over many years are used to produce oil from oil sands.

Most Americans strongly value Canada’s role as a secure, stable and friendly supplier of oil for U.S. families and businesses, according to a poll by Harris Interactive for API and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP).

Two different methods are used to produce oil from the oil sands – surface mining and in-situ – or producing in place.

Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA’s) new report Growth in Canadian Oil Sands: Finding a New Balance was designed as a balanced study (participants include Canadian government, oil companies and NGOs) to address various aspects associated with oil sands development and processing.

The objective of this report is to provide an independent perspective on the life-cycle GHG emissions of oil sands compared with other crudes; on the evolving discipline of estimating life-cycle GHG emissions, particularly for oil sands; and on the growing trend of using life-cycle GHG analysis in policy.