Syncrude’s Mildred Lake operations (seen here from the north) spread west from the Athabasca River about 40 km north of Fort McMurray. Photo: David Dodge, The Pembina Institute

Oilsands are found in several places around the world. Canada and Venezuela have the largest of these petroleum deposits, and Alberta’s oilsands are the most developed.1

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Source: Richard F. Meyer, Emil D. Attanasi and Philip A. Freeman, “Map of Sedimentary Provinces Reporting Natural Bitumen,” plate 3 from Heavy Oil and Natural Bitumen Resources in Geological Basins of the World, U.S. Geological Survey, 2007.

Oilsand is a naturally occurring mixture of sand or clay, water and tar-like bitumen.

• In an oilsand deposit, each grain of sand is covered by a thin layer of water and then by a layer of the highly viscous bitumen.2
• Bitumen is a heavy form of crude oil. Like Alberta’s conventional crude oil, the bitumen probably formed millions of years ago from the remains of tiny sea creatures that lived in an ancient ocean that once covered Alberta. In the case of the oilsands, the petroleum moved upwards from where it formed and saturated large areas of sand closer to the surface. Bacteria then fed on the lighter petroleum chemicals in the oil, leaving behind only the molasses-like bitumen.3
• Unlike conventional crude oil, bitumen is too thick and viscous to flow naturally or to be pumped out of the ground unless it is heated or diluted with a solvent.4
• Before it can be refined like conventional crude oil, bitumen must be upgraded into synthetic crude oil.5

Oilsands and tar sands are the same thing.

• While technically called “bituminous sands,” Alberta’s deposits were originally called “tar sands” because of their thick, sticky properties.
• The term “oilsands” gained popularity in the mid-1990s after government and industry efforts to improve public perception of the dirty-sounding tar sands.6

Dig deeper into the oilsands:

• 1. Alberta Energy, “What is Oilsands,” revised June 11, 2009.
• 2. Energy Resources Conservation Board, “Oilsands” (accessed May 14, 2009).
• 3. Energy Resources Conservation Board, “Oilsands” (accessed May 14, 2009).
• 4. Alberta Energy, “What is Oilsands,” revised June 11, 2009.
• 5. Alberta Energy, “What is Oilsands,” revised June 11, 2009.
• 6. National Task Force on Oilsands Strategy, The Oilsands: A New Energy Vision for Canada (Edmonton: Alberta Chamber of Resources, 1995), 5.