Abstract
Bituminous sand is an energy resource that is receiving increasing attention and there is a strong interest by the international community in co-operating in the development of new methods of exploration, and in the solution of common technological problems to reduce the time when oil from this enormous energy source is available. A detailed knowledge of the geological setting and the reservoir is of paramount importance to the assessment of the magnitude of the resource, its successful exploitation and to facilitate the transfer of the highly complicated recovery technology from one deposit to another. Much research also remains to be done to improve our understanding of the origin of the bitumen and the factors controlling the location of its accumulation. Based on the scant information we have, it is estimated that bituminous sand deposits contain from 5 to 10 x 10. 12 (trillion) barrels of crude bitumen and are surely large enough to make a significant contribution to extending the petroleum era until alternative energy sources are developed. However, great amounts of synthetic oil from this source will probably not be brought onto the market until after the year 2000 A. D. because of the high capital cost, and large numbers of skilled technicians required to bring them into production. In the more industrialized nations where the demand for portable liquid fuel is strongest, notably Canada, Venezuela, and USA, billions of dollars are being spent on exploring and exploiting their bituminous sand resources. It is, however, in those undeveloped nations, who cannot afford to buy light crude oil, and who have bituminous deposits, where exploitation of this resource should have its greatest impact. It is therefore imperative that all geologists be aware of the new technologies that are now available to turn these low-grade hydrocarbons into high-grade products.
Published Version
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