Oilsand strategies adjust to fuel costs

Record high prices for natural gas aren’t expected to sideswipe oilsands developers as they forge ahead with their multi-billion-dollar projects. But they will drive the group, among industry’s largest consumers of the fuel, to reduce their dependence in favour of other energy forms and to even rethink investment strategies, industry observers said yesterday.

Huge volumes of natural gas are used by oilsands players to generate steam, which is injected underground to soften the oil so it can be pumped to the surface. About 70% of the 174 billion barrels of recoverable oil in northeastern Alberta’s Athabasca region can be produced only using thermal methods, while the rest is accessible through surface mining.

National Post