Sidney Ells at Fort McMurray
Dr. Karl Clark in his oil sands lab
Bitumen separated at the International Bitumen Company Ltd.
  • Tar Sands, Athabasca River, Alberta, n.d. Source: Geological Survey of Canada/Library and Archives Canada, PA-038166

    The Geological Survey of Canada initiates exploration of the oil sands of the Athabasca region on the part of the federal government.

    Tar Sands, Athabasca River, Alberta, n.d.
    Source: Geological Survey of Canada/Library and Archives Canada, PA-038166

  • Drilling plant at Victoria, Alberta, 1898. Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-302-11

    Drilling in search of a basement reservoir of oil is the initial focus of development in Alberta’s oil sands.

    Drilling plant at Victoria, Alberta, 1898
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-302-11

  • Alfred von Hammerstein on horseback, ca. 1900. Source: Glenbow Archives, PA-3920-1

    Alfred von Hammerstein is the first independent entrepreneur to attempt to capitalize on the petroleum riches of the oil sands.

    Alfred von Hammerstein on horseback, ca. 1900
    Source: Glenbow Archives, PA-3920-1

  • Sidney Ells at Clearwater River tar sands plant, August 1931. Source: Canada. Dept. of Mines and Technical Surveys/Library and Archives Canada, PA-014454

    The federal government renews its investigation of the oil sands by sending Sidney Ells to Athabasca to conduct field and survey work.

    Sidney Ells at Clearwater River tar sands plant, August 1931
    Source: Canada. Dept. of Mines and Technical Surveys/Library and Archives Canada, PA-014454

  • View of demonstration experimental pavement laid in Edmonton, Alberta, 1915. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3399

    Throughout the 1920s, efforts to commercially develop the oil sands focused upon its possible use as a paving surface for roads and sidewalks.

    View of demonstration experimental pavement laid in Edmonton, Alberta, 1915
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3399

  • Henry Marshall Tory, the first president of the University of Alberta, was instrumental in founding the Scientific and Industrial Research Council of Alberta, n.d. Source: University of Alberta Archives, 69-152-003

    The Scientific and Industrial Research Council of Alberta is founded.

    Henry Marshall Tory, the first president of the University of Alberta, was instrumental in founding the Scientific and Industrial Research Council of Alberta, n.d.
    Source: University of Alberta Archives, 69-152-003

  • Karl Clark and Sidney Blair built a model oil sands separation plant in the basement of the University of Alberta power plant. Source: University of Alberta Archives, 69-97-457

    Karl Clark builds his first model hot-water separation plant.

    Karl Clark and Sidney Blair built a model oil sands separation plant in the basement of the University of Alberta power plant.
    Source: University of Alberta Archives, 69-97-457

  • Absher’s set-up on Saline Creek, near Fort McMurray, 1929. Source: University of Alberta Archives, 77-128-27

    Jacob Absher attempts in situ extraction of oil from oil sands.

    Absher’s set-up on Saline Creek, near Fort McMurray, 1929
    Source: University of Alberta Archives, 77-128-27

  • Prospectus for the International Bitumen Company Ltd., n.d. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1971.0356.544a,b.ProspectusOf.IBC.1

    Robert Fitzsimmons founds the International Bitumen Company Ltd.

    Prospectus for the International Bitumen Company Ltd., n.d.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1971.0356.544a,b.ProspectusOf.IBC.1

  • Karl Clark’s third model plant is relocated to the Clearwater River. Sidney Ells is placed in charge of mining operations. Source: University of Alberta Archives, 77-128-13

    Federal and provincial governments cooperate to develop Clearwater River oil sands separation plant.

    Karl Clark’s third model plant is relocated to the Clearwater River. Sidney Ells is placed in charge of mining operations.
    Source: University of Alberta Archives, 77-128-13

  • Max Ball, ca. 1940. Source: University of Alberta Archives, 89-120-008

    Max Ball, J.M. McClave and B.O. Jones of Denver, Colorado, organize Abasand Oils Ltd.

    Max Ball, ca. 1940
    Source: University of Alberta Archives, 89-120-008

  • Abasand Oils Ltd. plant, ca. 1941. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1985.0333.DevelopmentofAthabaska.O.S.DeskCopy.021 - detail

    Construction of Abasand Oils Ltd. oil sands separation plant on Horse River is completed.

    Abasand Oils Ltd. plant, ca. 1941
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1985.0333.DevelopmentofAthabaska.O.S.DeskCopy.021 - detail

  • Little was left of the Abasand plant after the fire. Source: University of Alberta, 84-25-132

    Abasand Oils Ltd. oil sands separation plant burns down.

    Little was left of the Abasand plant after the fire.
    Source: University of Alberta, 84-25-132

  • The completed Alberta Government Oil Sands Project plant, ca. 1950. Source: University of Alberta, 91-137-070 - detail

    Alberta Government Oil Sands Project Plant at Bitumount succeeds in separating crude oil from oil sands.

    The completed Alberta Government Oil Sands Project plant, ca. 1950
    Source: University of Alberta, 91-137-070 - detail

  • Cover of Sidney Blair’s Report on the Alberta Bituminous Sands commissioned by the Government of Alberta, 1950. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1971.0345.box24.503

    Alberta government issues report on oil sands potential.

    Cover of Sidney Blair’s Report on the Alberta Bituminous Sands commissioned by the Government of Alberta, 1950
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1971.0345.box24.503

  • Sidney Kidder, Sidney Blair, George Hume, and Elmer Adkins (l to r) at the Edmonton portion of the Athabasca Oil Sands Conference at the University of Alberta, 1951. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PA3152

    Athabasca Oil Sands Conference establishes an Alberta oil sands policy and stimulates commercial interest in the resource.

    Sidney Kidder, Sidney Blair, George Hume, and Elmer Adkins (l to r) at the Edmonton portion of the Athabasca Oil Sands Conference at the University of Alberta, 1951
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PA3152

  • Montreal-businessman Lloyd Champion incorporates Great Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. (GCOS) in 1953. Champion later sells most of his shares in the company before the GCOS plant opens under Sun Oil Company’s financing and leadership. Source: Courtesy of University of Alberta Archives, #83-160

    Great Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. incorporates.

    Montreal-businessman Lloyd Champion incorporates Great Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. (GCOS) in 1953. Champion, shown here ca. 1960s, later sells most of his shares in the company before the GCOS plant opens under Sun Oil Company’s financing and leadership.
    Source: University of Alberta Archives, #83-160

  • A cross-section of the Cold Lake area deposit shows the depth of the oil sands layer that makes the bitumen in this deposit recoverable only through in situ extraction methods. Source: Courtesy of Alberta Innovates

    Early in situ pilot tests begin on the Peace River and Cold Lake area oil sands deposits; underground experiments along the Cold Lake deposit lead to the development of the Cyclical Steam Stimulation (CCS) bitumen recovery method.

    A cross-section of the Cold Lake area deposit shows the depth of the oil sands layer that makes the bitumen in this deposit recoverable only through in situ extraction methods.
    Source: Courtesy of Alberta Innovates

  • Great Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. plant during its first week of operation, north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, 1967. Source: Courtesy of Suncor

    Great Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. begins production.

    Great Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. plant during its first week of operation, north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, 1967
    Source: Courtesy of Suncor

  • Canada’s Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed, November 1, 1977; Trudeau and Lougheed clash over oil sands ownership, export taxation and natural resource revenue sharing arrangements. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, J3672.2

    Global oil crisis heightens conflict between Alberta and Ottawa.

    Canada’s Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed, November 1, 1977; Trudeau and Lougheed clash over oil sands ownership, export taxation and natural resource revenue sharing arrangements.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, J3672.2

  • A map of Alberta shows AOSTRA/industry <em>in situ</em> pilot projects that emerge in the 1970s and 1980s.<br/> Source: Courtesy of Alberta Innovates

    Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA) forms as a Crown corporation.

    A map of Alberta shows AOSTRA/industry in situ pilot projects that emerge in the 1970s and 1980s
    Source: Courtesy of Alberta Innovates

  • A news story published in the Winnipeg Tribune on February 4, 1975, reports the anticipated agreement that enables completion of the Syncrude consortium’s mega-project. Source: The Winnipeg Tribune

    Historic Winnipeg meeting between government and industry leads to agreement on Syncrude consortium mega-project.

    A news story published in the Winnipeg Tribune on February 4, 1975, reports the anticipated agreement that enables completion of the Syncrude consortium’s mega-project.
    Source: The Winnipeg Tribune

  • Syncrude operations near Mildred Lake north of Fort McMurray, late 1970s. Source: Courtesy of Syncrude Canada Ltd.

    Syncrude opens oil sands mining and bitumen upgrading mega-project in northeastern Alberta.

    Syncrude operations near Mildred Lake north of Fort McMurray, late 1970s
    Source: Courtesy of Syncrude Canada Ltd.

  • AOSTRA-sponsored technology develops through the late 1970s and early 1980s; the Cyclical Steam Stimulation (CCS) bitumen recovery process along the Peace River deposit injects steam through one well below the base of the oil sands atop the water-sand layer, resulting in a heat zone that mobilizes the overlying bitumen so that it can be pumped to the surface through a second production well. Source: Courtesy of Alberta Innovates

    Partnership between industry and the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA) leads to commercialization of in situ recovery methods.

    AOSTRA-sponsored technology develops through the late 1970s and early 1980s; the Cyclic Steam Stimulation bitumen recovery process injects steam through one well below the base of the oil sands, resulting in a heat zone that mobilizes the bitumen so that it can be pumped to the surface through a second production well.
    Source: Courtesy of Alberta Innovates

  • A diagram of AOSTRA’s Underground Test Facility operations. Source: Courtesy of Alberta Innovates

    Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA) formally opens its Underground Test Facility to field test in situ oil sands mining theory including the industry-changing Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage method (SAGD).

    A diagram of AOSTRA’s Underground Test Facility operations
    Source: Courtesy of Alberta Innovates

Play Timeline

Sidney Ells

The federal government returned to the oil sands in the person of Sidney Clarke Ells (ca. 1880-1969), a young mining engineer sent to the Athabasca River by the federal Department of Mines. His assignment was to undertake a complete survey of the oil sands in order to evaluate their commercial potential. This mission blossomed into a passion, and, as Ells later recounted, he became “so enthralled with the possibilities of the oil sands that [he] preferred resigning [his] position rather than being deprived of making an investigation.” Investigation of the stubborn resource occupied the next thirty-two years of Ells’s life and work.

To a certain extent, Sidney followed in the footsteps of his father, Robert W. Ells, a scientist who had taken his son with him as his assistant to study the New Brunswick oil shales in 1902. The two had also examined Trinidad’s famous Pitch Lake. Sidney graduated from McGill University, Montreal, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1900 and a Bachelor of Science in 1908. He gained mining experience by working in the Nova Scotia

coal mines first as a miner and later as a surveyor. He then worked as an engineer for several railways before joining the federal Mines Branch in 1912.

Ells’s interest in Alberta’s oil sands was piqued when he found himself unable to respond satisfactorily to an inquiry using the official reports available to him. He was given authorization to travel there himself to investigate the resource first hand and initially ventured into the Athabasca region in 1913. Over the course of three months, he surveyed 298 km (185 mi.) of the Athabasca River’s banks and recorded observations of 257 outcrops of oil sands. It was on this voyage that, according to Karl Clark, he “pioneered the exploration and sampling of the oil sand beds by drill holes.” He drew more than 200 core samples from depths of 1.5 to 5.2 m (5 to 17 ft.) by hand-auger. Approximately nine tons of such samples were carefully packaged in barrels and hauled upriver, out of the northern wilderness, by a crew of Métis and Dene rivermen.

Among the conclusions Ells drew as a result of his initial exploration is that, contrary to long-held belief, there was no underlying pool of free oil. Thus, he recommended that a method of extracting oil from the sands mixture should be pursued. He also proposed that the most promising commercial application of the oil sands was as a paving material. Paving experiments dominated his subsequent research, especially in 1927 and 1928. A final conclusion Ells drew from his season spent in the remote Athabasca region is that development of the oil sands would only occur after the creation of adequate transportation infrastructure leading to national markets.

Ells made a couple of recommendations that he then spent the remainder of his career following up. He believed that the only way to accurately assess the value of the resource was through an extensive survey based upon systemic core-drilling. He also believed it necessary to undertake an intense investigation of the properties of the oil sands. Working with the National Parks Branch (now Parks

Canada), Ells was able to have 580 acres of land just outside Fort McMurray designated the Horse River Reserve. This was the location of much of his subsequent research.

Ambitious to increase his understanding of the properties of the bituminous sands, Ells traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to study with the engineers and chemists at the Mellon Institute (later incorporated into Carnegie Mellon University). What resulted was a massive two-volume report on the oil sands and their location, chemical composition, commercial use and possible refinement. Perhaps Ells’s most important conclusion was that there are three methods that make it possible to extract bitumen from the oil sands, and the one yielding the most satisfactory results, he claimed, used hot water separation. This method eventually became the basis for successful commercial extraction operations. Another important point made by his report is that the most likely means for achieving commercial success would be through government sponsorship.

Ells’s investigations were interrupted at this point by the First World War. In 1917, he was sent to Europe as a member of the “Khaki University,” established to teach demobilizing troops; he did not return until 1919. In his absence, two men, Karl Clark and Joseph Keele, were called in to review Ells’s report. Their evaluation of his work was highly critical, characterizing it as illogical and incoherent. Upon his return, Ells found himself effectively shut out of the research community at the University of Alberta and the Scientific and Industrial Research Council of Alberta, which by then was spearheading oil sands research. Karl Clark’s name eventually became synonymous with oil sands research.

Sidney Ells nevertheless remained devoted to his research under the auspices of the federal government’s Department of Mines even beyond his official retirement in 1945. He wrote numerous articles for both professional and popular audiences and thus was

responsible for directing not only the attention of the Dominion government but also the ambitions of private speculators to the potential of this resource. Above all, Ells must be remembered for having been an advocate for the place of the oil sands within the larger petroleum industry that already seemed destined to play a significant role in Alberta’s future.

Sidney Ells later recalled that at the time he had received the inquiry that sparked his interest, there had been only a single official report about the oil sands, dated to 1883, in the records of the federal government. The twenty-six official reports and fifteen maps he produced by the end of his career clearly rectified this situation. His presence among the guests at the 1967 dedication of the Great Canadian Oil Sands plant, the world’s first large-scale commercial oil sands surface mining and refining plant, is a testament to his pioneering role in the development of this industry.

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