MIT Tech Review

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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


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