Canadian Oil Sands Research Articles

Productivity analysis by insulation design of well with vacuum insulated tubing in SAGD process

This study aims to design insulation and demonstrate its performance on the vertical section of a well in a steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) process. Utilizing the reservoir characteristics of the Athabasca oil sands in Canada, we analyzed oil productivity and derived optimal operating conditions through a multi-objective optimization algorithm. For the simulation, the well's vertical section was insulated with 0.006 W/m‧°C, the thermal conductivity of vacuum insulated tubing (VIT), exhibiting high insulation efficiency. The results indicated that cumulative production increased by up to 20.24%, and production efficiency improved. Additionally, sensitivity analysis using response surface methodology (RSM) revealed that the injection bottom-hole pressure (inj_BHP) was the most significant factor in the insulated well design when parameters varied. A multi-objective optimization using particle swarm optimization (PSO) was conducted to determine the optimal operating conditions, aiming to maximize cumulative oil production and minimize the cumulative steam-oil ratio (cSOR). The optimization resulted in a 39.8% improvement in cumulative oil production and an 88.19% reduction in cSOR, compared to the non-insulation scenario. The findings of this study are anticipated to serve as a guideline for wellbore insulation design in SAGD processes.

Photocatalytic treatment of diverse contaminants of potential concern in oil sands process-affected water

Oil sands process-affected water (OSPW), generated by surface mining in Canada's oil sands, require treatment of environmentally persistent dissolved organic compounds before release to the watershed. Conventional chemical and mechanical treatments have not proved suitable for treating the large quantities of stored OSPW, and the biological recalcitrance of some dissolved organics may not be adequately addressed by conventional passive treatment systems. Previous work has evaluated photocatalytic treatment as a passive advanced oxidation process (P-AOP) for OSPW remediation. This work expands upon this prior research to further characterize the effects of water chemistry on the treatment rate and detoxification threshold. Under artificial sunlight, buoyant photocatalysts (BPCs) detoxified all OSPW samples within 1 week of treatment time with simultaneous treatment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, naphthenic acid fraction components (NAFCs), and un-ionized ammonia. Overall, these results further demonstrate passive photocatalysis as an effective method for treatment of OSPW contaminants of potential concern (COPCs).

Can a just transition achieve decarbonization? Explaining fossil fuel community opposition in the Canadian Oil Sands

ABSTRACT Just transition policies are widely viewed as one of the most effective mechanisms for compensating and building support for decarbonization in fossil fuel communities. However, early empirical work suggests that many coal-producing regions remain opposed to decarbonization even when just transition policies are proposed or implemented. In this study, I add to and nuance existing accounts by analyzing data from 18 interviews with oil and gas workers and community members in the Canadian Oil Sands, the world’s third-largest fossil fuel reserve. I show how those living and working in the Oil Sands remain skeptical of renewable energy, optimistic about the long-term viability of fossil fuels, and strongly oppose the proposal for a just transition. These responses are patterned by feelings of fear, exclusion, and resentment towards the motives and actors driving decarbonization, which I argue demonstrates a threatened sense of ontological security. Reframing decarbonization and just transition policies as an issue of ontological security encourages scholars and policy makers to prioritize the social and emotional impacts of decarbonization and reconsider the conditions necessary for a just transition.

Economic Analysis of Canadian Oil Sands Projects at Different Participation Timings Considering the Oil Price Cycle

Economic Analysis of Canadian Oil Sands Projects at Different Participation Timings Considering the Oil Price Cycle

Leveraging the Dominant Pole: How Champions of an Industry-Wide Environmental Alliance Navigate Coopetition Paradoxes

Companies increasingly collaborate with competitors to innovate, minimize risks, and address sustainability crises. However, these alliances often falter or fail due to challenges arising from coopetition paradoxes—contradictory yet interdependent tensions between competition and cooperation. Extant research predominantly focuses on addressing these paradoxes through seeking a stable balance between competition and cooperation; however, we lack in-depth processual understandings of how to navigate these paradoxes as they shift over time. To address this gap in the literature, we analyze longitudinal data over the 3 years it took to establish Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), the unlikely alliance across 13 competitive Canadian oil sands companies to improve their industry’s environmental performance. We noted the role of competition, which we label as the dominant pole—the more powerful of two paradoxical poles—and identify leveraging the dominant pole as a core mechanism for navigating intensifying coopetition paradoxes. Rather than diminishing the dominant competition pole, alliance champions leveraged competition to enable cooperation aided by a paradox mindset. These findings reorient coopetition scholarship away from seeking stability between the two forces, toward a processual understanding of how to navigate the shifting coopetition paradoxes in alliances over time.

Small modular nuclear reactors: A pathway to cost savings and environmental progress in SAGD operations

Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) offer a promising option for environmentally friendly bitumen recovery operations. The extraction of oil sands in Western Canada is vital for the economy, but traditional methods like Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) contribute significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In SAGD, steam generation, primarily fueled by natural gas combustion, is the main source of emissions. Given the imperative to reduce carbon intensity, less emissive recovery methods are needed to sustain production and economic viability in Canadian oil sands. Currently, there are limited non-carbon alternatives for steam generation in oil sands applications. The utilization of SMRs for steam generation presents a clean alternative. In this study, we examine the feasibility of employing SMRs in in-situ oil sands recovery operations. Through standardized economic metrics and sensitivity analysis, we demonstrate that integrating SMRs into SAGD operations eliminates GHG emissions significantly and can potentially outperform conventional natural gas-based steam generation in terms of net present value, under certain operational scenarios. Hence, our findings indicate that SMRs hold promise for decarbonizing oil sands recovery processes.

Technology Focus: Cementing and Zonal Isolation (May 2024)

This past year’s Cementing and Zonal Isolation papers indicated that our industry continues to maintain high levels of innovation and optimization. We saw a healthy mix of both academic and field-specific content. The evident collaboration between operators and service providers continues to propel technical developments at rates otherwise not possible. Geopolymer cementing-systems-development took center stage again, with 11% of the published papers covering this topic, with the ultimate goal of reducing the CO2 footprint of wellbore-sealing materials. Last year’s column described the geopolymer-systems-development timeline and how we had yet to have any case studies published. This year, I invite you to read a paper highlighting the first published field implementation of geopolymer in primary casing cementing, paper OTC 32218. This paper describes techniques that ensure that geopolymer systems are suitable for the downhole application, compatible with existing pumping equipment, and scalable to current operations. Several other papers published this past year describe these specific geopolymer topics in detail. Academic paper SPE 213763 describes the development, testing, and results of a novel resin-cement blend. This innovation stands out because, among other reasons, it presents improved bonding of cement to the casing, which enhances wellbore integrity over the well life cycle. Such materials can provide long-term isolation, especially in environments where conventional cement does not always endure mechanical stresses, vibrations, or shocks. Paper SPE 214768 is a robust case study on the implementation of foamed cements in shallow thermal well applications to mitigate gas migration. This paper showcases best practices for generating solutions to challenging downhole conditions from well design, drilling, and cementing perspectives. While the discussed geology and steam-assisted gravity drainage processes are largely unique to Canadian oil sands operations, I recommend this as an informative read for any operator or service provider facing similar downhole challenges. I hope you gain valuable insight from these selections and am looking forward to what the next year of publications brings to the cementing and zonal isolation space. Some excellent case studies and technological developments are also listed as additional reading. Recommended additional reading at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org. SPE 217797 Cementing: The Good, the Bad, and the Isolated—Techniques To Measure Cement Quality and Its Impact on Well Performance by Kyle Haustveit, Devon Energy, et al. SPE 216911Well Life Extension Through CasingCorrosion Control by A. Yugay, ADNOC, et al. SPE 214538 Using Ultrasonic Flexural Measurements To Validate Casing Standoff Simulations: A Kuwait Case Study by Ahmed Nour, Kuwait Oil Company, et al. SPE 213099 Biomineralization: Surface Injection Eliminates Bradenhead Pressure by Dwight Randy Hiebert, BioSqueeze, et al.

A Grand Challenge: Net-Zero Operations—Changing the Definition of “Business as Usual”

_ This is the second of a series of six articles on SPE’s Grand Challenges in Energy, formulated as the output of a 2023 workshop held by the SPE Research and Development Technical Section in Austin, Texas. Described in a JPT article last year, each of the challenges will be discussed separately in this series: geothermal energy; improving recovery from tight/shale resources; net-zero operations; carbon capture, storage, and utilization; digital transformation; and education and advocacy. The first article, “An SPE Grand Challenge Update on Geothermal Energy,” was published in April 2024. _ At COP28, more than 50 oil and gas companies, many of them national companies, took a historic step toward decarbonization by launching the Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter. The charter represents significant short- and long-term ambitions to reduce emissions, including net-zero operations by 2050 at the latest. This article explores the importance of this effort, the opportunities available to the industry to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and the key technologies needed to achieve the net-zero goal. The Size of the Prize According to the latest data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the production, transport, and processing of oil and gas resulted in 5.1 GtCO2e in 2022. These emissions stem from the production and delivery of oil and gas and the combustion of fossil fuel necessary for operations on-site (Scope 1), and the import of electricity from external sources consumed in oil and gas facilities (Scope 2). These Scope 1 and 2 emissions represent just under 15% of global energy-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is a sizable contribution, nearly equivalent to all energy-related GHG emissions from road transport, highlighting the relative scale of the opportunities associated with implementing operational changes in the industry. The faster and deeper these emissions reductions are, the more significant the impact will be. Sources of Emissions To understand the various paths to net zero an oil and gas company can follow, it is critical to map the sector’s sources of emissions throughout the value chain. It is generally recognized that around 60% of an integrated company’s emissions emanate from upstream operations, predominantly from onshore assets. Refining and distribution are the second main contributors, but of a smaller order of magnitude, notably because of significant efforts already made by companies to reduce emissions from their refining assets and levers of decarbonization potentially easier to implement. However, emissions volumes and intensities differ significantly across regions, countries, and asset types. An asset operating in the Canadian oil sands region will have a very different emissions profile compared to an offshore platform in Western African countries. These differing profiles also call for tailored emission-reduction approaches. This means decarbonization studies must be carried out at the asset level, allowing operators to identify the most cost-effective means of tackling emissions reduction.

Exploring nature's filters: Peat-mineral mix for low and high-strength oilfield produced water reclamation

Nature-based solutions are encouraged for treating oilfield produced water from oil and gas extraction, a crucial undertaking that aligns with the Canadian oil sands industry's ambitious goal of zero waste, and the globally recognized Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) pertaining to water conservation and ecosystem preservation. This study explored the use of peat-mineral mix (PMM), a leftover of inevitable oil sands mining, for treating low and high-strength wastewaters during biofiltration, which contained large molecular weight (44.3 kDa), which include alcohols, aliphatics, aromatics, and ketones, and can impart high toxicity to both fauna and flora (MicroTox: 99 %). The breakthrough curve indicated an effective initial adsorption phase driven by advection within the column dynamics. For complete organics removal and mechanistic insights, the wastewater was re-circulated in a continuous mode for up to 42 days. Here, we found that chemical oxygen demand was reduced from ∼85,000 mg/L to ∼965 mg/L). Kinetics investigations along with physicochemical characterization of PMM and wastewater suggested that chemisorption and anaerobic digestion contributed to the overall removal of contaminants. Chemisorption, led by hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions, was the dominant mechanism, with a limited contribution from physical adsorption (surface area: 2.85 m2/g). The microbial community within the PMM bed was rich/diverse (Shannon > 6.0; Chao1 > 600), with ∼ 50 % unclassified phylotypes representing ‘microbial dark matter’. High electric conductivity (332.1 μS cm−1) of PMM and the presence of Geobacter, syntrophs, and Methanosaeta suggest that direct interspecies electron transfer was likely occurring during anaerobic digestion. Both low and high-strength wastewaters showed effective removal of dissolved organics (e.g., naphthenic acids, acid extractable fraction, oil and grease content), nutrients, and potentially toxic metals. The successful use of PMM in treating oilfield produced water offers promising avenues for embracing nature-based remediation solutions at oil refining sites.

A Light Touch: Solar Photocatalysis Detoxifies Oil Sands Process-Affected Waters Prior to Significant Treatment of Naphthenic Acids.

Environmental reclamation of Canada's oil sands tailings ponds is among the single largest water treatment challenges globally. The toxicity of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) has been associated with its dissolved organics, a complex mixture of naphthenic acid fraction components (NAFCs). Here, we evaluated solar treatment with buoyant photocatalysts (BPCs) as a passive advanced oxidation process (P-AOP) for OSPW remediation. Photocatalysis fully degraded naphthenic acids (NAs) and acid extractable organics (AEO) in 3 different OSPW samples. However, classical NAs and AEO, traditionally considered among the principal toxicants in OSPW, were not correlated with OSPW toxicity herein. Instead, nontarget petroleomic analysis revealed that low-polarity organosulfur compounds, composing <10% of the total AEO, apparently accounted for the majority of waters' toxicity to fish, as described by a model of tissue partitioning. These findings have implications for OSPW release, for which a less extensive but more selective treatment may be required than previously expected.

Matrix decomposition methods for accurate water saturation prediction in Canadian oil-sands by LF-NMR T2 measurements

This article presents a novel method for quantifying water saturation in oil-sand reservoirs by employing 1D low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) spin-spin relaxation and bulk density measurements as indicators of pore volume variations. One of the challenges in accurately determining the volumes of bitumen and water in oil-sands is the effective separation of their overlapping T2 signals, attributed to similar spin-spin relaxation decay times and diffusive coupling. Conventional methods require deconvolution of T2 peaks and or experimentation to determine T2 cutoff values, differentiating between bitumen and water signals, notably capillary and clay-bound water. In contrast, our approach predicts the proportion of water by utilizing matrix decomposition methods to compress the T2 relaxation distribution and extract significant components. These components subsequently train the regression model, facilitating the accurate estimation of relative water saturation percentages.The NMR dataset was obtained by benchtop LF-NMR T2 measurements from 82 oil-sand samples, with preserved bitumen and water saturations at both reservoir and ambient temperatures (6 °C and 25 °C), yielding 164 observations. We examined four matrix decomposition methods, including principal component analysis, its variation integrating a kernel function, canonical correlation analysis, and partial least squares regression. X-ray CT measurements and Dean-Stark extraction ascertained the respective sample bulk densities and fluid-solid volume proportions.The PCA model prediction statistics (RMSE = 0.86%, R2 = 0.84), indicate its application can be extended for saturation prediction from NMR and bulk density well logs. Moreover, we underscore the importance of incorporating bulk density measurements and establish the statistical and physical correlations between these measurements and NMR T2 relaxation, providing insights into the approach's efficacy and causality.

Microbial Community Dynamics in Base Mine Lake, the First End-Pit Lake in the Alberta Oil sands Industry

Oil extraction from bitumen in the Athabasca region of northeastern Alberta, comprises a large segment of the Canadian economy. However, the process of oil extraction from surface mined oil sands ores results in diverse environmental issues including disturbance of land areas and habitats for wildlife, as well as production of large volumes of fluid tailings containing many compounds of concern for the environment. Land reclamation strategies of most oilsands operations propose the construction of end-pit lakes (EPL) to contain and biodegrade tailings, eventually becoming integrated into local watersheds. We used 16S/18S rRNA gene amplicon and metagenome sequencing to monitor prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities in the first full-scale pilot EPL of the Canadian oilsands, Base Mine Lake (BML) Fig. 1, over 6 years from 2015-2021, and compared them with communities from two active tailings ponds, Mildred Lake Setting Basin (MLSB) and Southwest in-Pit (SWIP), as well as with communities from a more natural freshwater body, Beaver Creek Reservoir (BCR). Alpha diversity in BML is intermediate to diversities in active tailings ponds and a natural lake, although highly variable with time, depth, and season. Microbial communities in BML resemble neither freshwater lake nor active tailings communities, although a structural shift of either microbial community occurred every year, and 2021 was a year of the most profound effect. Moreover, metabolic functions in BML also shifted every year, with the most dramatic shift for photosynthesis-related genes. Temporal changes among protists identified in BML were characterized by enrichment of species designated as picophytoplankton: Cryptomonas, Mychonastes, Trebouxiophyceae, and Dinobryon, and among bacterial genera by enrichment of common freshwater lake species or bacterioplankton: Ca. Fonsibacter, Sporichthyaceae, Ca. Planktophila, Microbacteriaceae ML602J-51, Ilumatobacteraceae CL500-29 group. Network analysis identified a potential microbial consortium between newly enriched species of picophytoplankton and bacterioplankton. Heterotrophic bacteria with streamlined genomes may overcome auxotrophic limitations by scavenging metabolites and other compounds produced by phototrophs presumably via chemotaxis behaviour. We propose that the formation of the consortium might serve as a biomarker for reclamation process of an oil sands tailings pond.

Comparing the microbial communities in and End-pit lake, active tailings ponds and freshwater bodies from the Athabasca oil sands region

The Athabasca oil sands region in northern Alberta is home to one of the largest bitumen deposits in the world. Oil sands are mostly recovered via surface mining and the oil extraction is achieved with hot caustic water and diluents, a process that produces liquid tailings waste (CEC 2020, Schramm et al. 2000). It is estimated that 1 m3 of bitumen produces around 4 m3 of tailings, which are contained in large tailings ponds (Mikula et al. 1996). End-pit lakes are a potential strategy to reclaim mining pits created by oil sands mining. They may be formed by filling a mined-out pit with tailings and then capping it with a layer of fresh water. With time, tailings undergo a dewatering process in which they become denser and release water to the cap water (Charette et al. 2012). Base Mine Lake (BML) is the first full-scale demonstration end-pit lake in the Canadian oil sands industry. This former tailings pond was initially capped in 2012 with a 5 m layer of freshwater to allow for consolidation of the tailings and the stimulation of aerobic microbial communities to biodegrade the organic pollutants. Since its establishment, BML has been extensively monitored to assess the improvement in water quality. The present research focused on determining how the eukaryotic and bacterial communities in BML compare to those in local freshwater bodies and active tailings ponds. Eleven reference sites, including freshwater reservoirs, natural lakes, and 9- to 14-year-old excavated pits filled with water, also known as borrow pits, were sampled along with 5 active tailings ponds and BML during the summer of 2022. Microbial communities were assessed via next-generation sequencing of PCR amplicons of the 16S rRNA gene for bacteria and the 18S rRNA gene for eukaryotes. Alpha-diversity analysis of the eukaryotic communities showed that BML has greater species richness and evenness than active tailings ponds, but lower than freshwater systems. The bacterial community in both BML and active tailings ponds is dominated by Proteobacteria, but the relative abundance of Actinobacteriota is similar between BML and freshwater. Beta-diversity analysis revealed that eukaryotic and bacterial communities in BML cluster distinctly from both the freshwater controls and active tailings ponds, however, the composition of the eukaryotic community shows some overlap with certain freshwater systems (Fig. 1). The results of this research suggest that, 10 years after its formation, the microbial communities in BML are intermediate between an active tailings pond and a freshwater lake.

Preparation of Fe‐based magnetic‐core‐supported Co and Ni catalyst: application in viscosity reduction of heavy oil hydrocracking

AbstractBACKGROUNDHeavy oil has the characteristics of high viscosity and low American Petroleum Institute gravity, which makes it difficult to transport and produce. The key to efficiently utilizing heavy oil is reducing viscosity and improving quality. Hydroconversion has the advantages of viscosity reduction and decreased coke production, but it is difficult to separate nonmagnetic catalysts from the reaction system, which affects the industrial application.RESULTSA spherical Fe3O4 (74.71 emu g−1) and a chain FeFe2O3 (110 emu g−1) were prepared as magnetic cores, and coated with SiO2 and Al2O3 layers, respectively. The metal‐supported catalyst modified with Co and Ni show irregular and honeycomb‐shaped surfaces, and the magnetic saturation strength decreases to 24.91 and 14.63 emu g−1, but still possessing superparamagnetic properties, enabling the catalysts to be separated from the reaction mixture. Fe‐Fe2O3@SiO2@Al2O3@CoNi catalyst has the best viscosity reduction effect for Canadian oil sands asphalt residue at about 410 °C and 10 MPa hydrogen pressure. The viscosity of the liquid product decreased significantly from 56 600 to 135 mPa s at 50 °C, with a viscosity reduction of 99.8%.CONCLUSIONMagnetic catalyst prepared from chain‐like Fe‐Fe2O3 has an excellent honeycomb structure, which can provide increased active surfaces and exhibit improved viscosity reduction performance. This work provides a strategy for the recovery of heavy oil hydrogenation catalysts and is expected to play a key role in the practical application of heavy oil hydrogenation catalytic viscosity reduction. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Conflict, Constituent Power and Institutional Legitimacy in the Canadian Oil Sands

Conflict, Constituent Power and Institutional Legitimacy in the Canadian Oil Sands

Slurry-Phase Hydrogenation of Different Asphaltenes to Liquid Fuels on Dispersed MoS2 Nanocatalysts.

Asphaltene, the most complex and recalcitrant fraction of heavy oil, was investigated in this study to gain new insights into its structure and reactivity. Two types of asphaltenes, ECT-As and COB-As, were extracted from ethylene cracking tar (ECT) and Canada's oil sands bitumen (COB), respectively, and used as reactants for slurry-phase hydrogenation. Characterization of ECT-As and COB-As was carried out by a combination of techniques, including XRD, elemental analysis, simulated distillation, SEM, TEM, NMR, and FT-IR, to gain insights into their composition and structure. A dispersed MoS2 nanocatalyst was used to study the reactivity of ECT-As and COB-As under hydrogenation conditions. The results showed that under optimal catalytic conditions, the vacuum residue content of hydrogenation products could be reduced to less than 20%, and the products contained over 50% light components (gasoline and diesel oil), indicating that ECT-As and COB-As were effectively upgraded. The characterization results indicated that ECT-As contained a higher aromatic carbon content, shorter alkyl side chains, fewer heteroatoms, and less highly condensed aromatics than COB-As. The light components (gasoline and diesel oil) of ECT-As hydrogenation products mainly consisted of aromatic compounds with 1-4 rings, with the alkyl chains mainly composed of C1-C2, while light components of COB-As hydrogenation products were mainly composed of aromatic compounds with 1-2 rings and C11-C22 paraffins. The characterization of ECT-As and COB-As and their hydrogenation products revealed that ECT-As was an "archipelago type" asphaltene, composed of multiple small aromatic nuclei interconnected through short alkyl chains, while COB-As was an "island type" asphaltene, with long alkyl chains connected to aromatic nuclei. It is suggested that the structure of asphaltene has a significant impact on both its reactivity and product distribution.

Aircraft and satellite observations reveal historical gap between top-down and bottom-up CO2 emissions from Canadian oil sands.

Measurement-based estimates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from complex industrial operations are challenging to obtain, but serve as an important, independent check on inventory-reported emissions. Such top-down estimates, while important for oil and gas (O&G) emissions globally, are particularly relevant for Canadian oil sands (OS) operations, which represent the largest O&G contributor to national GHG emissions. We present a multifaceted top-down approach for estimating CO2 emissions that combines aircraft-measured CO2/NOx emission ratios (ERs) with inventory and satellite-derived NOx emissions from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and TROPOspheric Ozone Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) and apply it to the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) in Alberta, Canada. Historical CO2 emissions were reconstructed for the surface mining region, and average top-down estimates were found to be >65% higher than facility-reported, bottom-up estimates from 2005 to 2020. Higher top-down vs. bottom-up emissions estimates were also consistently obtained for individual surface mining and in situ extraction facilities, which represent a growing category of energy-intensive OS operations. Although the magnitudes of the measured discrepancies vary between facilities, they combine such that the observed reporting gap for total AOSR emissions is ≥(31 ± 8) Mt for each of the last 3 years (2018-2020). This potential underestimation is large and broadly highlights the importance of continued review and refinement of bottom-up estimation methodologies and inventories. The ER method herein offers a powerful approach for upscaling measured facility-level or regional fossil fuel CO2 emissions by taking advantage of satellite remote sensing observations.

The rise and fall of the Synthetic: The mediatization of Canada's oil sands.

The concept of the Synthetic is developed to trace and trouble the prevailing popular mythology of Alberta's oil sands and place the omnipresence of petro-hegemony into focus in a time of crisis and transition. The Synthetic is theorized as a period of petroculture beginning in the late 1960s with the rise of Alberta's oil sands industry together with a rise in oil sands narratives, docudrama, and the emergence of mediated or synthetic politics reliant upon processed images. Attention focuses on three mediated moments within the Synthetic beginning with the banned 1977 CBC docudrama The Tar Sands and the reaction of Premier Peter Lougheed. This signals the power and grip of oil's hegemony. Second, the short film Synergy produced for Expo 86 captures the thickening of synthetic culture and oil's saturation of the public imagination. Finally, the controversy manufactured by Alberta's Canadian Energy Centre over the animated film Bigfoot Family suggests petro-hegemony's loosening grip.

Estimating the Disaggregated Standard EROI of Canadian Oil Sands Extracted via Open-pit Mining, 1997–2016

Estimating the Disaggregated Standard EROI of Canadian Oil Sands Extracted via Open-pit Mining, 1997–2016

Last Barrel Standing? Confronting the Myth of “High-Cost” Canadian Oil Sands Production

Last Barrel Standing? Confronting the Myth of “High-Cost” Canadian Oil Sands Production