Oil Sands

In the paper physical and chemical properties of natural bitumen of oil sands were investigated. For the determination of organic part (natural bitumen) of oil sands the extraction methods was used in Soxhlet apparatus by solvent. Physical and mechanical characteristics of natural bitumen (NB) are established by standard methods: softening temperature was determined by the method Ring and Ball, depth of needle penetration was determined at apparatus Penetrometer, extensibility was determined by apparatus Ductilometer.

The risk of soil acidification is high in the Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR) in Alberta, Canada, due to elevated SO2 emission and the resultant acid deposition to sensitive, coarse-textured soils. Understanding the sulfate adsorption characteristics of soils sensitive to acidification will help establish critical loads of acid deposition in AOSR. Sulfate adsorption properties were evaluated and relationships between sulfate

The article seeks to highlight the steady process of offshorization of Albertan legislation and the general wholesale of decision-making processes to the oily hands of multinational businesses involved in the extraction of tar sands oil.

To be published in the English version of A. Deneault, Paradis fiscaux: la filière canadienne, édition Écosociété, 2014.

This study fills a gap in assessing the potential of emerging technologies and processes to improve economic competitiveness and reduce emissions of oil sands operations. It provides a detailed quantitative analysis of supply cost and emission reduction opportunities for technological innovation in the oil sands in situ process over the short and medium terms. The assessment is performed at the production field level breaking down oil sands in situ process into seven segments: 1) Reservoir, 2) Wells and well pads, 3) Business management and data analytics, 4) Steam generation, 5) Waste and water treatment, 6) Pipelines and transport, and 7) Upgrading. More so, the technology configurations that meet minimum costs and emissions objectives can achieve potential reduction of bitumen supply cost by 34-40% and reduce fuel-derived emissions from in situ oil sands production by more than 80%.

Syncrude Canada Ltd. operates the world's largest oil sand mining and extraction operation near the Athabasca River in northern Alberta. Ongoing site development has necessitated relocation and reconstruction of drainage works including construction of more than 8 km of interceptor ditch system to divert natural runoff around the site and safely discharge it through receiving streams tributary to the Athabasca River. The design of the interceptor ditch system is based on limiting the impact of discharges on the receiving stream system by diverting some flood flows in excess of the 3 year flood peak to spread and dissipate over relatively flat bush-covered areas and diverting additional flood flows (in excess of the 20 year peak) to Syncrude's site drainage and detention system. Flow control is achieved by using culverts to throttle the flow and spilling diversion flows over weirs in the channel banks and into overflow channels. Erosion control is achieved by limiting ditch gradients so that velocities at design flows do not
exceed 0.6 m/s, and by the use of drop structures. The selected arrangement involved nine drop structures with a total drop of 37 m. Alternative designs for drop structures studied included concrete chutes, corrugated steel pipe drops, and gabion drops; gabion drops were selected as most suitable. Design considerations for gabion structures included hydraulic performance, structural stability and durability. Construction was carried out during winter and required special
precautions.

The Alberta tar sands are examined in the context of Jacques Ellul's analysis of the technological society.  Ellul's theory of technology as a social rather than technical phenomenon illuminates the rhetoric of economic necessity and inevitability used to justify the particular case of the Alberta tar sands industry. Other social values -- including moral goods, future generations, and environmental sustainability -- are subsumed within the efficient mastery of nature. This techno-logic recognizes no logic but its own and thus assumes for itself a sacred character. Applying Ellul's hermeneutic provides grounding for the examination of tensions surrounding the Alberta tar sands.

We present a methodology for estimating uncertainties and mapping probabilities of occurrence of different lithofacies and pore fluids from seismic amplitudes, and apply it to a North Sea turbidite system. The methodology combines well log facies analysis, statistical rock physics, and prestack seismic inversion. The probability maps can be used as input data in exploration risk assessment and as constraints in reservoir modeling and performance forecasting. First, we define seismic‐scale sedimentary units which we refer to as seismic lithofacies. These facies represent populations of data (clusters) that have characteristic geologic and seismic properties. In the North Sea field presented in this paper, we find that unconsolidated thick‐bedded clean sands with water, plane laminated thick‐bedded sands with oil, and pure shales have very similar acoustic impedance distributions. However, the [Formula: see text] ratio helps resolve these ambiguities. We establish a statistically repr...

SUMMARY
Balancing peatland conservation with appropriate economic development is a significant challenge in Alberta, Canada. Wetlands are extensive in areas where the scale of industrial activity is large. This includes extraction of significant petroleum reserves in the form of oil sands. Little is known of potential cumulative impacts on peatlands, but the effects will potentially be high. This includes climate change impacts. While novel wetland restoration and construction initiatives are being developed, wetland policy and management initiatives have not kept pace with peatland loss and alteration. Peatland conservation could be enhanced through the recognition of wetlands as Alberta’s keystone ecosystem, two distinct provincial wetland zones, identification of wetland function and value, and establishment of no-net-loss policy.

In the paper separation methods of organic part from oil sands were investigated at experimantally. For the determination of organic part (liquid fraction) of oil sands the extraction methods was used in Soxhlet apparatus by solvent. Thermal processing was carried out with a monotonic heating of oil sands from room temperature to 560 0C. As showing results, organic part of Beke oil sands studied by extraction method were 12.0 wt.%. Thermal processing results showed, that the organic part of Beke oil sands were 9.6 wt.%. Physical and mechanical characteristics of liquid fraction are established by standard methods.

The Alberta tar sands are examined in the context of Jacques Ellul's analysis of the technological society. Ellul's theory of technology as a social rather than technical phenomenon illuminates the rhetoric of economic necessity and inevitability used to justify the particular case of the Alberta tar sands industry. Other social values -- including moral goods, future generations, and environmental sustainability -- are subsumed within the efficient mastery of nature. This techno-logic recognizes no logic but its own and thus assumes for itself a sacred character. Applying Ellul's hermeneutic provides grounding for the examination of tensions surrounding the Alberta tar sands.

Naphthenic acids (NAs) have been identified as harmful environmental contaminants that influence survival, growth and development of wildlife. Amphibian larvae are particularly susceptible to waterborne contaminants, but little information exists regarding exposure of amphibian embryos or tadpoles to NAs. Our results demonstrate that embryos of Lithobates pipiens and Silurana tropicalis exposed to 2 - 4 mg/l of a commercial NA blend suffer significant reductions (32% and 25%, respectively) in growth and development upon hatching. Increased incidences of deformities were observed in exposed individuals of both species, but were only significant in L. pipiens. Embryos suffered 100% mortality following exposure to 6 mg/l NAs, and narcosis at lower concentrations. LC50 estimates were 4.10 mg/l for 72-hrs exposure in L. pipiens and 4.13, 3.51, and 2.95 mg/l for 24-, 48-, and 72-hrs exposure in S. tropicalis. These data suggest that exposure to NAs at environmentally realized concentrations may negatively affect tadpole populations.

One of the unanswered issues with steam applications is the wettability state during the process. Removal of polar groups from the rock surface with increasing temperature improves water wettability; however, other factors, including phase change, play a reverse role on it. In other words, hot water or steam will show different wettability characteristics, eventually affecting the recovery. On the other hand, wettability can be altered using steam additives. The mechanism of these phenomena is not yet clear. The objective of this work is to quantitatively evaluate the steam-induced wettability alteration in different rock systems and analyze the mechanism of wettability change caused by the change of the phase of water and chemical additives. Heavy-oil from a field in Alberta (27,780 cP at 25°C) was used in contact angle measurements conducted on mica, calcite plates, and rock pieces obtained from a bitumen containing carbonate reservoir (Grosmont). All measurements were conducted a...