User:Arturo at BP/Canadian oil sands

Canadian oil sands

BP holds an interest in three oil sands properties in Alberta, Canada. The oil sand reserves in the province as a whole total approximately 170 billion barrels of recoverable oil, making them the third largest oil reserves in the world, according to BP's website. In Canada, BP is not involved in oil sands mining, and instead is investing in oil sand resources that can be developed through in-situ drilling technologies such as Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD).The SAGD method involves pumping steam into oil sands through an injection well to heat the bitumen, which allows it to flow into the production well and up to the surface. According to an analysis published by the Canadian government in 2011, in situ drilling is less disruptive to the land than traditional oil sands mining because in situ drilling does not create tailings ponds, a byproduct of other oil sands extraction methods. Proponents of in situ drilling state that using recycled groundwater makes it the more environmentally friendly option compared to oil sands mining. However, members of the Cree Nation have criticized BP's involvement in the Canadian oil sands for the impacts that oil extraction is said to have on the local environment. Environmentalists have also inveighed against in situ oil sands operations because of the volume of water required by the method and the effect in situ drilling has on natural habitats, species and water sources. In addition to using more water than oil sands mining, in situ drilling also results in higher carbon dioxide emissions. In 2012, BP joined 11 other oil sands producing companies in forming Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance. Members of the organization have agreed to jointly fund environmental research to improve the oil sand extraction process to enable faster land reclamation and reduce the use of waste ponds.