What are oil sands?

Canada has the third-largest oil reserves in the world. With 171 billion barrels of oil that can be recovered economically with today's technology, 165 billion barrels, or 97 per cent of Canada's oil reserves are located in the oil sands. (Source: AER, 2017 and Oil and Gas Journal, 2017). read more

Oil sands, also known as tar sands or crude bitumen, or more technically bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and water, saturated with a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum technically referred to as bitumen. Natural bitumen deposits are reported in many countries, but in particular are found in extremely large quantities in Canada. read more

About Oil Sands The oil sands is a natural geologic formation that contains a mixture of water, clay, sand and heavy, viscous oil called bitumen. These deposits are found in about 70 countries in the world, with the largest reserves located in Canada. read more

Oil sands are found primarily in the Athabasca, Cold Lake and Peace River regions of northern Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, and in areas of Venezuela, Kazakhstan, and Russia. Bitumen is extracted and processed using two methods, mining and in situ. Oil sands trade as part of the crude oil commodities. read more