Current activity in oil production from U.S. tar sands

In a 1978 paper "Important for the Future" issued by UNITAR, reference was made to a quotation from a study by Resources for the Future, entitled "Energy in the American Economy: 1850-1975," by Messrs. Schurr and Netschert. The quotation is: "Relatively simple calculations of the volume of oil shale in the Piceance Basin, tar like substances in Utah, and methane in coal beds or other geological settings yield vast quantities of energy that physically exist. However, like exotic rocks on the moon, the fact of their existence should not be confused with economic and technological accessibility." The author of the UNITAR article took this quotation gently to task as a: " . . . disturbing tone of analysis. Comparing heavy crude with exotic rocks on the moon indicates serious disregard for the heavy crude production going on in California since the 1960s. California indeed developed the modern technology of steaming heavy crude and recent developments in Alberta Canada, indicate that heavy crude can be profitably produced today, provided it can be sold at world market prices." Any study of energy resources should be objective in identifying all sources of energy and not just those that are economically producible today. The latter, of course, represent the energy reserve, but the much larger resource base, which includes oil shales, tar sands, heavy oil, gas locked in tight sandstones and coal beds, is where scientific attention and activity must be drawn to insure available energy reserves for the future. The tar sands in the United States represent an important source of hydrocarbon material which, if producible economically, could contribute significantly to growing energy demand. Although no oil production is now coming from these tar sands, there is hope in the steam and in situ combustion technologies that are proving successful for the production of the very viscous crudes in California. Continued research and field testing of these and new recovery technologies are providing the base knowledge and experience needed for the eventual economic exploitation of the energy resource held in the U.S. tar sand deposits. To encourage and assist in developing greater activity toward exploitation of tar sands, the United States and Canadian governments have initiated discussions toward the development of cooperative efforts which might save time, reduce costs, reduce technology risks, and improve R&D programs of the two countries in tar sands and heavy oils. An Ad Hoc Working Group composed of members from the two countries met in Washington, D.C., January 25, 1979 and again in Ottawa, April 10, 1979, to identify possible areas of cooperation and specific priority problem areas for drafting of research proposals. Although preliminary, this activity presages possibly greater activity toward development of oil production from tar sands and heavy oils. The United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics also have established a working group to explore areas of mutual interest and possible future cooperation in joint research and field testing, relating to enhanced oil recovery and including tar sands. The present report has been prepared to identify all activities that currently relate to the production and recovery of oil from U.S. tar sands. These activities fall into four categories: 1. Active field pilot and production operations to develop and test processes for the recovery of oil from tar sands and heavy oils, 2. Efforts to develop field tests in particular tar sand deposits or tests of new recovery technologies that have been developed and laboratory tested, 3. Laboratory and related research pertaining to development of recovery technologies and solutions to related problems, and 4. Analysis and evaluation of the oil resource in tar sands. For the first category, descriptive information and status is given for seven field projects with objectives to test selected methods to recover oil from tar sand or very viscous oil deposits. In the second category, two new recovery processes and a tar sand deposit in New Mexico are described, where specific activity hopes to develop field tests for the recovery of oil from tar sand. In the third category, nine research projects with specific objectives to develop recovery technologies or solutions to problems affecting oil recovery from tar sands and heavy oils are described. And, in the fourth category, four active projects are identified which involve the evaluation of the tar sand resource in the United States. Other activities of a proprietary nature are known to be going on in various areas for which no specific information has been released. For instance, in the Uvalde, Texas, area one company is preparing for a tar sand oil recovery test for which no details are available; in Utah, a group of investors have obtained property in the Sunnyside tar sand deposit and are actively pursuing the possible future exploitation of the property, but no details are available; another company is doing proprietary research toward development of recovery technology for property in the Edna deposit in California; still other companies have, over the past several years, proposed various tar sand mining or processing schemes for which details have not been divulged or development plans have been discontinued due to unfavorable economics or insufficient interest of potential investors. Undoubtedly, other similar activities are going on which are not known outside the companies or groups involved. In time, as success of development is realized and as economic conditions become more favorable, such activities will become known, adding to the developing technology base for the recovery of oil from U.S. tar sands. The source of information for much of this report has been personal contacts with those responsible for projects or indirectly interested and knowledgeable of the activites. Specific data for most of the projects have been taken from the following publications: Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery and Improved Drilling Methods: Quarterly Progress Reviews. Published by U.S. Department of Energy, Division of Fossil Fuel Extraction. Progress Review Nos. 10-17. Improved Oil-Recovery Field Reports: Published by the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME. Vol. 2, No. 3 (December 1976) and Vol. 3, No. 1 (June 1977).