H. Muhammad Ridha Adhari, S.T., M.

Sc

Dept. of Geological Engineering

Faculty of Engineering
Syiah Kuala University
Darussalam, Banda Aceh
2017
 What Are Tar Sands?
Tar sands (also referred to as oil sands) are a combination
of clay, sand, water, and bitumen, a heavy black viscous
oil.
Tar sands can be mined and processed to extract the oil-
rich bitumen, which is then refined into oil.
The bitumen in tar sands cannot be pumped from the
ground in its natural state; instead tar sand deposits are
mined.
Tar Sands

Tar Sands Open Pit Mining,

Alberta, Canada

Tar Sands Open Pit

Mining, Alberta, Canada
 Extracting oil from tar sands is more complex than
conventional oil recovery.
Oil sands recovery processes include extraction and
separation systems to separate the bitumen from the
clay, sand, and water that make up the tar sands.
Tar sands is very different to conventional oil. It is not a
liquid. It is semi-solid. Tar sands are, in effect, carbon
rich and hydrogen poor.
The spectrum of fossil fuels, their carbon content and value
Tar Sands Resources
Much of the world's oil (more than 2 trillion barrels) is in
the form of tar sands, although it is not all recoverable.
Tar sands are found in many places worldwide, the
largest deposits in the world are found in Canada
(Alberta) and Venezuela, and much of the rest is found
in various countries in the Middle East.
The Tar Sands Industry
Currently, oil is not produced from tar sands on a
significant commercial level.
Only Canada has a large-scale commercial tar sands
industry (about 40% of Canada's oil production).
The higher carbon content in bitumen is a large part
of the reason it takes more energy to extract and
process.
 Tar Sands Extraction and Processing
Tar sands deposits near the surface can be recovered by
open pit mining techniques.
After mining, the tar sands are transported to an extraction
plant, where a hot water process separates the bitumen
from sand, water, and minerals.
About two tons of tar sands are required to produce one
barrel of oil.
Tar sands extraction and processing require several
barrels of water for each barrel of oil produced
After oil extraction, the spent sand and other materials are
then returned to the mine, which is eventually reclaimed.
 Tar Sand Extraction
Open-pit mining
Uses massive excavators to load oily dirt into dump
trucks the size of houses. The tar sands oil is then
hauled to plants for initial processing.
In-situ drilling
The in-situ process involves burning natural gas above
ground to generate steam which is then forced into pipes
drilled deep beneath the forest floor. Heat emanating
from these pipes melts bitumen, which gathers in wells
before being pumped up to the surface.
in situ production : the bitumen needs to be heated with
steam for weeks to enable it to flow into a production
well.
Tar Sand Processes
In-situ drilling
Tar Sands Bitumen freshly extracted from an in situ well
Canada Tar Sand extraction.
Canada Tar Sand extraction.
Syncrude Aurora tar sands mine, Alberta, Canada
Canadian tar sands projects vs. IEA scenarios.
Canadian Natural Resources Limiteds SAGD (in situ tar sands)
operation, Alberta, Canada.
Canada
 What is Petcoke?

The carbon removed during extracting process does

not simply disappear. In most cases it remains behind
as a byproduct of the refining process. This byproduct
is petcoke.
15 to 30 percent of a barrel of bitumen can end up as
petcoke, depending on the upgrading and refining
process used.
The increasing production of tar sands bitumen and
other heavy oils is leading to a boom in petcoke
production.
Keystone XL refineries (USA) are among the biggest
petcoke factories in the world.
The growth in petcoke production capacity at U.S. refineries
Canadian petcoke production at upgraders in Alberta and Saskatchewan
alone, (excluding petcoke produced at Canadian refineries) was nearly 10
million tons (9 million metric tons) in 2011.
Canadian petcoke exports short tons.
The economics of blending petcoke with coal.
END OF LECTURE