WHAT PEAK OIL? Alberta’s vast reserves of bitumen are among the world’s largest sources of crude oil. The United States has already become reliant on Canada’s oil ...
... much of which comes from Alberta’s rapidly growing oil-sands production.
Indeed, Canada’s oil reserves are almost entirely in the bitumen deposits.
Top sources of U.S. crude oil imports (thousands of barrels per day in 2010)
Canadian oil sands & conventional production (million barrels per day)
Alberta oil reserves and production, 2010 (billion barrels)
1,972
Canada
ACTUAL FORECAST
At l 1,140
Mexico
a nt
ic
na Ca
da
Oil sands in situ
Bitumen
Annual production Remaining reserves
.17 1.5
.59 169
3
2
1,080
Saudi Arabia
Conventional 4
Oil sands mining 986
Nigeria
Conventional heavy
Conventional light Pentanes
912
Venezuela
1
‘05
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
‘10
‘15
‘20
0 ‘25
Source: Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP)
Source: Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB)
The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would deliver oil from Alberta to refineries in Port Arthur, Texas, adding to an existing network of pipelines to the United States.
Energy used to process oil sands results in large releases of carbon dioxide.
Selected Canadian & U.S. crude oil pipelines
Greenhouse-gas emissions during the production and consumption of gasoline from oil sands and from conventional oil (grams of CO2 equivalent per kilometer)
EDMONTON BURNABY
350
ANACORTES
MONTREAL OTTAWA
PORTLAND
320 320
SARNIA
CASPER
Oil sands, in situ extraction
CHICAGO PATOKA CUSHING
PORT ARTHUR
Proposed pipelines Keystone XL TMX Transmountain Enbridge Gateway
Source: CAPP
58
Feature Story
260 Oil sands, surface mining
250 Conventional oil
Sources: Joule A. Bergerson, Alex D. Charpentier, and Heather L. MacLean; Environmental Research Letters
technology review November/December 2011
TO M MY McCALL/ I N FO G RAP H I C S.C O M
Existing pipelines
280