Petroleum hydrocarbons Alberta

Bright DA, Sanborn M, Sawatsky N. 2006. Relative sensitivity of different soil-associated flora and fauna to petroleum hydrocarbon releases current state of the knowledge and implications for environmental protection goals [draft]. Edmonton (Alberta) Alberta Environment. 

Visser S. 2005. Toxicity of petroleum hydrocarbons to soil organisms and the effects on soil quality, phase 3 long-term field studies. Report prepared for Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC). Calgory (Alberta, CN). www.ptac.org. 

Tar sands are normally a mixture of sand grains, water, and a high-viscosity crude hydrocarbon called bitumen. Unlike kerogen, bitumen is a member of the petroleum family and dissolves in organic solvents. At room temperatures the bitumen is semisolid and cannot be pumped, but at temperatures of about 150°C it will become a thick fluid. In the Alberta deposits of Canada, the bitumen is present in a porous sand matrix in a range up to about 18 mass%, although the sum of bitumen and water generally totals about 17%. 

Hitchon, B., 1984. Geothermal gradients, hydrodynamics, and hydrocarbon occurrences, Alberta, Canada. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, Vol. 68, no. 6, pp. 713-743... 

Michael, K. Bachu, S. 2001. Fluids and pressure distributions in the foreland-basin succession in the west-central part of the Alberta basin, Canada Evidence for permeability barriers and hydrocarbon generation and migration. Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 85, 1231-1252. 

Two countries, Canada and Venezuela, hold over 40% each of the total extraheavy hydrocarbon reserves. Alberta tar-sands fields in western Canada, particularly the mammoth Athabasca deposit, contain over 250 billions tons of bitumen which has to be produced by surface mining because it is not fluid under reservoir conditions, owing to the cold climate and the low depth (100—150m). Because of relatively adverse conditions, only 40 billion tons can be recovered by current technology. The Orinoco Oil Belt in eastern Venezuela contains a staggering 200 billion tons of extraheavy crude oils, from which 40 billion ton reserves can be tapped by widespread oilfield teehniques. Other reserves are found in countries of the former USSR, USA, and China. These figures are to be eompared with Saudia Arabia s 36 billion tons of eonventional erude oil reserves and South Afriea s eoal reserves whieh are equivalent to 37 billion tons of petroleum. 

In addition to traditional deposits of petroleum, significant amounts of hydrocarbons are found in the form of oil sands. This material is a mixture of about 85% sand, clay, and water and 15% of a form of crude oil called bitumen. Oil sand deposits occur in many parts of the world, but the largest deposits are located in Alberta, Canada, and Venezuela. Only those located in Alberta have been developed for profit. 

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