Oil Sands Ltd.

Lloyd R. Champion was, first and foremost, an investor. Like Robert Fitzsimmons before him, he did not have a background in the oil industry, and was not trained in any related technical area. Unlike Fitzsimmons, he did not involve himself directly in the application or development of the separation process. For him, Bitumount was purely a business opportunity.

In 1942 and 1943, Champion corresponded with the U.S. Office of Petroleum Coordinator for War in Washington, D.C. He also communicated with the Oil Controller of Canada. Champion’s plan was to construct a separation plant and refinery on the Athabasca River, and then ship the petroleum products, via pipeline, to a terminal on the Pacific coast at Bella Coola, British Columbia. He believed that the oil sands could make a significant contribution to the war effort.

Initially, Champion was content to work with Fitzsimmons, but he soon took control of all aspects of the International Bitumen Company Ltd.’s (IBC) operations. With his other plans leading nowhere, Champion decided that the best way to launch an oil sands separation plant was to cooperate with the provincial government.

Unlike Fitzsimmons, Champion did not have a personal attachment to the existing plant and process. He had no problem in scrapping the IBC operation and starting an entirely new one. This was an enormous blow to Fitzsimmons, but was just good business to Champion. In exchange for funding from the provincial government, Champion agreed to build and operate an oil sands separation plant at Bitumount. In return, he could keep any profits, but would have to pay back the government money within ten years.

What Champion did not foresee was that the new plant would cost almost three times the amount initially projected. As plans moved ahead for the plant’s design and construction, the conditions of the deal between Champion’s new company, Oil Sands Ltd., and the provincial government were renegotiated several times to take the rising costs into account.

It became apparent that Champion would need to find investors if he was to avoid defaulting on his part of the bargain. So, he set out to raise the additional capital, much in the way that Fitzsimmons had. He headed east, in search of significant sums of money. For a while it appeared that he might be successful. The March 23, 1948, issue of the Edmonton Bulletin trumpeted that “Gene Tunney, ex-heavyweight boxing champion of the world, and his New York financial associates may take an active part in development of Alberta’s fabulous oil sands deposits.”

Champion took Tunney to view the Bitumount plant, and they were photographed meeting with top government officials in Edmonton. Unfortunately for Champion, this scheme did not pan out. Tunney did not invest, and, by November of that year, Champion was forced to back out of the project.

Even though he lost his stake in Bitumount, Champion held onto his interest in the vast oil sands leases he had first acquired with the International Bitumen Company and then added to in 1947. This stood him in good stead when he formed Great Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. in 1953. In 1955, when he sold GCOS, he used his leases and the patents he bought from Fitzsimmons as selling points. Champion retained shares in the new company and did eventually profit from his oil sands investments.