Alberta Oil Sands Productions
Who are the players in the Alberta oil sands? If you are considering investing in this region and the oil sand production here, you may want to learn a bit more about the players involved. There are several and each one has an opportunity to offer a range of benefits. The Canadian oil sands are an ideal investment because of the large size of oil fields located here and the amount of bitumen that is located in the region. There is no doubt that the product you want to invest in is located here, but knowing the players in the oil sands production will help you make better decisions in investment here.
Historically Forward
In 1967, the first commercial organization to open a plant in the region did so. It was the Great Canadian Oil Sands Limited Company, which later became Suncor Energy. At that time, it produced just 30,000 barrels per day, a fraction of what it produces today. Nevertheless, the synthetic crude oil began flowing. Unbelievably, the decline in world oil prices just after this hit hard and kept the area from being fully under development for some time. In 1978, the second company got to business after the oil crisis that happened in 1973. Syncrude is still a powerful player in the Canadian oil sands region.
Oil prices peaked in 1979, which caused the National Energy Program to hold up any foreign investments into this industry, a devastating blow to many would be investors. Because prices began to fall again and would hit very low levels in the 1980′s, a third mine was opened at a delayed rate. It was under operation by Shell Canada, but did not official get into business until 2003.
Since this time, though, the demand for oil has grown incredibly, and oil prices are at an all time high. Each of the mines that are operational have increased the amount of crude oil they are producing, which is an effort to improve the skyrocketing demand shortage. New mines are also in the works to help improve the amount available.
In 2005, the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board provided production as follows:
• Syncrude Mine: Production at 262,000 barrels per day
• Suncor Mine: 195,000 barrels per day
• Shell Canada Mine: 169,000 barrels per day
A year later, the amount of oil produced has increased from 760,000 barrels per day (in total including the In Situ Projects) to 1.126 million barrels per day. Increases for mining are likely to continue.
When you look at all oil produced by Canada, this is 47 percent of it. The oil sands are the source of 62 percent of Alberta’s total oil production as well. What’s more, the Canadian oil sands not nearly tapped yet and the government in Alberta believes these levels can rise significantly into the future.
A Look At The Canadian Oil Sands Projects In The Works
The Canadian oil sands project is a large one. With millions of barrels of crude oil under this surface, which is larger than the size of Florida, there are more than a few projects happening in the region. Located in Alberta Canada, there are many opportunities for producers and investors here. There are several projects happening, but knowing who is working for who can become quite confusing. Here is a closer look.
Oil Sand Companies Explored
Three larger oil sands operations are engaged in mining in the region of the Alberta Oil Sands. Other mining locations for oil in Canada do exist, though the Alberta region is the largest oil sands production in play. The three operations include the Syncrude Canada Limited operation, the Suncor Energy operation and the Albian Sands operation. Albian Sands is under the ownership of Shell Canada, Western Oil Sands Ltd and Chevron.
A number of projects are in the works or are in operation here. One of them is the Suncor Energy’s operation called Steepbank. They also have millennium mines in operation. These operations produce about 263,000 barrels of crude oil from the oil sands each day in surface mining. They also have an operation of in-situ projects (which is the deep underground excavation of the bitumen.) This method produces another 140,000 barrels per day of crude oil, with increases happening yearly.
One of the largest producers in the region is Syncrude. It offers two mines currently. The Mildred Lake and the Aurora mines are in play for Syncrude. Together, they produce up to 360,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Nexen is another large operation. This company’s production is in the form of in-situ methods. Currently, it is producing about 70,000 barrels per day in crude oil, but over the next 10 years, they plan to increase production to some 240,000 barrels per day.
Shell Canada has an operation here as well. The Muskeg River Mine is one of the largest and is well known. It produces about 155,000 barrels per day of crude oil. Shell Canada also has another mine located in the Fort Saskatchewan part of the province called Scotford Upgrader. The company also has another mine, called Jackpine, which is set to become operation in the next few years. This company’s goals include production of a total of 500,000 barrels per day when all three units are up and running.
The Canadian oil sands projects are large and they are full with exciting opportunities for newer companies. In fact, there are other projects in the works. The Alberta Oil Sands industry has planned to be producing 4 million barrels of crude oil per day in the next decade.