| Description |
Since the First International Conference on the Future of Heavy Crude and Tar Sands was held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in June 1979, several significant events have occurred bearing upon future development of these resources. Positive factors include the following: (1) a second conference was held in Caracas, Venezuela, in February 1982, insuring continued exchange of knowledge on resources, technology, and economics; (2) the UNITAR/ UNDP Information Centre for Heavy Crude and Tar Sands has been established in New York and staffed with highly competent technical representatives from Canada and Venezuela, assuring a permanent organization for collection, collation, and dissemination of information on heavy crude oil and tar sands (bitumen) throughout the world; (3) draft definitions of heavy oil and tar sands have been written to assure standardization of information reporting; (4) Venezuela is aggressively pursuing the exploitation of its vast extra-heavy oil resources in the Orinoco heavy oil belt; (5) the U.S. Geological Survey, with the financial support of the U.S. Department of Energy, has initiated a study of U.S. heavy oil, tar sands, and shallow oil-field resources, the first such review in more than 15 years; (6) numerous pilot studies on heavy-oil recovery are being conducted in the United States and in most countries possessing heavy-oil or tar-sand deposits; (7) heavy-oil deposits not only have been identified offshore, but locally are being produced by thermal methods; (8) about 175 enhanced oil-recovery projects in heavy-oil reservoirs alone have been identified around the world; and (9) a combination of declining resources of crude oil lighter than 20° gravity AH (.934 g/cm3), high crude oil prices, advances in recovery and upgrading technology, and desire for greater national energy self sufficiency have created incentives for the aggressive exploitation of heavy-oil and bitumen deposits. |
