Oil Mining - Tar Sands Production
- Date: 2010-08-23 - Word Count: 392
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One odd, but commonly used term is oil mining. Turns out there is one type of oil resource that is literally mined: tar sands. The Canadian tar sands of Alberta are the largest deposits in North America. Of all the oil Canada produces each year, over 40% of it comes from tar sands. Consequently, Canada has many petroleum jobs.
Tar sands form when oil collects large, sandy layers in the Earth's crust. Deep underground, sandstone is a common reservoir for oil. But tar sands occur near the surface. Unconsolidated, sandy deposits are very porous and can hold great quantities of oil. Because it is located at the surface, the oil turns into tar. What happens is that the lighter, short chain molecules evaporate. Some light oils include gasoline and naptha.
Long-chain hydrocarbons are heavy and evaporate slowly. Long-chains also tangle easily. This reduces evaporation among the heavier chains. After many years, the result is a sticky, thick tar.
Canada is the only high-volume producer of tar sands. This is true because their sands are located in convenient places right on the surface. Extraction just involves mining the sand. Mining operations include dragline shovels, hauling, extracting, pipeline operations and numerous construction jobs.
To mine tar sands, big shovels extract the tar sands. The material is mixed with hot water and a special skimming machine separates the lighter oil from the clay, sand and other minerals mixed in. The oil may be refined on-site or transported to a refinery. In many cases, solvents are added to keep the tar liquid during transport.
Tar sands occur globally. Large deposits are located in Canada, Venezuela, USA and the Middle East. So far, only Canada is actively producing oil from tar sands. In the US, the Utah deposits have the greatest commercial value, and if the price of oil gets high enough, they will be viable resources.
The biggest problems with tar sands are the environmental damage and the economics. Tar sands are usually mined using strip-mining techniques. Because the deposits are in sandy areas, contamination of local streams and aquifers is common. Oil from tar sands costs much more than oil extracted by drilling. Energy from tar sands has a net energy efficiency of about 50 percent. That means one barrel of oil is consumed for every two barrels extracted from the tar sands. This is far less efficient than drilling.
Tar sands form when oil collects large, sandy layers in the Earth's crust. Deep underground, sandstone is a common reservoir for oil. But tar sands occur near the surface. Unconsolidated, sandy deposits are very porous and can hold great quantities of oil. Because it is located at the surface, the oil turns into tar. What happens is that the lighter, short chain molecules evaporate. Some light oils include gasoline and naptha.
Long-chain hydrocarbons are heavy and evaporate slowly. Long-chains also tangle easily. This reduces evaporation among the heavier chains. After many years, the result is a sticky, thick tar.
Canada is the only high-volume producer of tar sands. This is true because their sands are located in convenient places right on the surface. Extraction just involves mining the sand. Mining operations include dragline shovels, hauling, extracting, pipeline operations and numerous construction jobs.
To mine tar sands, big shovels extract the tar sands. The material is mixed with hot water and a special skimming machine separates the lighter oil from the clay, sand and other minerals mixed in. The oil may be refined on-site or transported to a refinery. In many cases, solvents are added to keep the tar liquid during transport.
Tar sands occur globally. Large deposits are located in Canada, Venezuela, USA and the Middle East. So far, only Canada is actively producing oil from tar sands. In the US, the Utah deposits have the greatest commercial value, and if the price of oil gets high enough, they will be viable resources.
The biggest problems with tar sands are the environmental damage and the economics. Tar sands are usually mined using strip-mining techniques. Because the deposits are in sandy areas, contamination of local streams and aquifers is common. Oil from tar sands costs much more than oil extracted by drilling. Energy from tar sands has a net energy efficiency of about 50 percent. That means one barrel of oil is consumed for every two barrels extracted from the tar sands. This is far less efficient than drilling.
Related Tags: jobs, career, canada, oil, petroleum, tar sand
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