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.
A Look At Some Of The Canadian Oil Sands Producers
The Canadian oil sands and the oil industry in Canada in general is rather large. There are a number of producers operating mines throughout the region, mostly in the Alberta oil sands region and as well in the Saskatchewan region of the country. Each of these companies is working to extract usable oil from the mines and bring it through to the consumer through extraction, refining and further refinement. Some of the companies involved in this practice are in a list here.
Albian Sands Energy Inc
This company is operating the Muskeg River Mine, which is located about 75 kilometers north of Fort Mc Murray, in the heart of the Alberta oil sands region. The company works on surfacing mining of bitumen, the thick oil product. The mine removes about 155,000 barrels of crude oil from the mines each day. The company is part of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project
Canadian Natural Resources Limited
This company is another producer in the region. It works on mostly the Western portion of Canada in the North Sea and has mining methods just off shore of West Africa. It helps to produce natural gas, heavy oil as well as light oil.
The Canadian Oil Sands Trust
The Canadian Oil Sands Trust is located in the Alberta oil sands region and has a nearly 37 percent interest in Syncrude Project. The company works to produce light crude oil and is an open-ended investment trust.
Chevron Canada Resources
This company is part of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project in the Muskeg River Mine area. It has a 20 percent interest in the project as a whole. It also is present in the Ells River Project, which is located about 26 miles southwest of the oil sands, which is a producer of deeper bitumen product. The company is working heavily on developing methods of extraction of these deep bitumen resources.
Conoco Phillips Canada
This company is one of the larger of the oil and natural gas producers in the country. It has a large amount of assets throughout the western Canadian region that including natural gas as well as oil sands. In addition, the company has oil development and mines located in the Arctic and the Atlantic Canadian region.
Other Companies
There are a range of other companies located in the Canadian oil sands and oil producing areas.
• Connacher Oil and Gas Limited
• Devon Canada Corporation
• EnCana Corporation
• Husky Energy Inc
• Imperial Oil Resources Limited
• Japan Canada Oil Sands Limited
• Marathon Oil Canada Corporation
• Murphy Oil Company Ltd
• Nexen Inc
• OPTI Canada Inc
• Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd
• Petro Canada
• Shell Canada Limited
• Suncor Energy Inc
• Total E & P Canada Ltd
• UTS Energy Corporation