The oil sands are located in northeastern Alberta
Diagram showing composition of oil sands
Bitumen seeping from limestone banks
  • 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

The Composition of Oil Sands

Oil sand is composed of quartz sand that is completely enveloped within bitumen, which is the heaviest form of petroleum. Each grain of sand is surrounded by a film of water that is in turn covered by the heavy bitumen oil. The angular shapes of the grains of sand and the way they stick to one another make oil sand very abrasive and difficult to handle with machinery. During the warmer temperatures of summer, oil sand is as soft as molasses, while during the winter, it will freeze due to its water content.

Although the term “oil sands” is now favoured by industry and government in Canada, over time, this substance has been referred to by various names. Early explorers often called it “tar sands” because the heavy oil is thick, black and sticky like tar. Tar, however, is a manufactured substance whereas the

bitumen of oil sands is naturally occurring. “Bituminous sands” was also widely used, but today is considered too general a term to be useful.

Because it is a hydrocarbon, the bitumen is what makes the oil sands a valuable energy resource. The bitumen content can vary within a deposit, being anywhere from 18% to 1% although anything less than 6% is considered not worth mining. Once it is extracted from the sands, bitumen can be upgraded into crude oil and then refined into common petroleum products such as gasoline, kerosene or gas oil. Discovering an economical system to separate the bitumen from the sand was a challenge that occupied scientists and entrepreneurs throughout the first half of the twentieth century.

Coal Conventional Oil Turner Valley Gas Plant Natural Gas Oil Sands Bitumount Electricity & Alternative Energy