OIL SANDS

Sand and rock material that have crude bitumen. Oil sands are mainly found in the Athabasca region of northern Alberta, Canada, and in areas of Venezuela. It is processed and extracted through the following method:

1. Mining – Land areas are cleared of trees and brush, and then the top clay and soil will be removed to expose the oil sand. Large trucks and shovels are used to eliminate the sand, which may have a volume from 1-20% of real bitumen. After this process, the outcome is sent to refineries, where it is made into jet fuel, gasoline, and other petroleum products.
2. In Situ - This pretty new method is primarily used to get bitumen in oil sand that is suppressed too deep below the ground's surface to be recovered using a truck and shovel. In situ technology injects steam deep beneath to separate the sticky bitumen from the sand and then pump it up to the surface, and then the bitumen goes over the same upgrading process as it would in the mining method.

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