Peace River deposit

The Athabasca deposit, along with the neighboring Wabasca, Peace River, and Cold Lake heavy oil deposits, have together been estimated to contain 1.86 X 10 m (>1.17 X 10 bbl) of bitumen. The Vene2uelan deposits may at least contain >1.60 X 10 m (1.0 X 10 bbl) bitumen (2). Deposits of tar sand, each containing >3 x 10 m (20 x 10 bbl) of bitumen, have also been located in the United States, Albania, Italy, Madagascar,... 

Canada s bitumen resources are situated almost entirely within the western province of Alberta (see Fig. 3.13). These deposits are distributed among three regions Athabasca, Cold Lake and Peace River. Approximately 76% of crude bitumen is produced in the Athabasca region, 22% in the Cold Lake region and 2% in the Peace River region. 

Fig. 1. Location of major tar (oil) sand deposits in Alberta, Canada (1) Athabasca, (2) Cold Lake, (3) Wabasca, and (4) Peace River, N.W.T. (Northwest Territories)...

Sulfur isotopes are more fruitful in resolving the relative contributions of reduction or oxidation processes. For example, in the Peace River area of Alberta, Canada, sulfur and sulfate are deposited on the tops of peat occurrences. At depths of 80 cm and lower, pyrites are found with 6 S values typically around —24%o. Above 80 cm depth, elemental sulfur begins to dominate and has values in the range —28 to —30%o. The sulfate deposits very close to the smrface have values near —33%o. The isotopic data are consistent with the preferential reaction of S during sulfide oxidation. This, coupled with the occurrence of the more oxidised species near the surface, leads to the conclusion that the elemental sulfur originated from deeper sulfide sources (Krouse, 1979). 

Fig. 27.1 The oil sands of Alberta, Canada. The three areas - Athabasca, Cold Lake, and Peace River - comprise the largest oil-sand deposits in the world. The amounts of recoverable oil in the deposits place Canada second only to Saudi Arabia in reserves. (Cartography by Barbara Trapido-Lurie, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University)...

Deposits are found in Northern Alberta, at Athabasca (near Fort McMurray, includes Wabasca deposits). Cold Lake (NE of Edmonton), and Peace River (NE of Grand Prairie). The massive proven reserves of the oil sands are 175 billion barrels, with potential reserves exceeding 310 billion barrels. Among proven reserves, the oil sands are only third to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. 

---