The Oil Drum: Oh Canada!–Natural Gas and the Future of Tar Sands Production

I was investigating sour gas and it turned out that about 30% of the gas produced in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) is sour. As things do, one thing led to another and I found that this gas can be “sweetened” and used although it contains H2S (hydrogen sulfide), which is toxic at levels as low 10 ppm (parts per million). However, the real path and story became natural gas usage to carry out production of the tar sands.

There turns out to be a worrisome supply issue. However, tar sands production of approximately 1.0/mbd in 2005 also used 0.72/bcf (billion cubic feet) of natural gas as I read in this brief press release. According to the NEB’s [National Energy Board of Canada] 2006 oil sands Energy Market Assessment, the amount of gas used in oil sands production will rise to 2.1 billion cubic feet a day in 2015 from about 700 million cubic feet last year.

“We don’t see any issues on gas availability,” said Bill Wall, oil technical specialist for the NEB.

This story is about why I don’t believe Bill.

Much more after the jump to The Oil Drum.