Canada: Increasing oil sands production

Over the next 10 years, oil production from Canadian oil sands is expected to just about double to nearly 3 million barrels per day.Sustained investment and continuing advances in technology are indicators of exponential growth in the market, said Jeff Collins, director of exploration and production strategies for Cambridge Energy Research Associates, at CERA Week in Houston Tuesday. The need for energy supply security has also driven the oil sands market in Canada despite soaring capital, labor shortages and stress on local communities in Western Canada, Collins said. A 30 percent increase in average capital costs over the last year has challenged the growing market along with major infrastructure issues.
It’s the single-most restrictive step impeding the progress of the oil sands industry, Collins said. New oil sand projects put heavy demand on the local communities in Canada for manpower, housing and schools, among other resources. Major projects in small communities have led to changes in immigration policy.The current production from oil sands in Canada is about 1.3 million barrels per day and Collins said it’s expected to increase to between 2.5 million and 3 million by 2017. More production would allow sale of synthetic crude oil and ultra-low sulfur diesel to the eastern U.S. market and eventually the European market.According the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration, however, oil sand projects require the use of a significant amount of energy. Also, despite efforts to curb the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from extracting oil from the oil sands, if the production were increased, the total amount of emissions would most likely increase.

Earth Times