February

Alberta's Oil Sands, The Emergence of an Industry

Organization
Government of Alberta

Author
GIS Mapping and Data Services, Resource Land Access

ESRI Software
ArcGIS 9, 3D Analyst

Data Sources
Department of Energy, Travel Alberta, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Suncor, Syncrude, Petroleum Communication Foundation, Oil Sands Discovery Ventre and Bill Marsh

Description
Second only to the Saudi Arabia reserves, Alberta's oil sands deposits were described by Time Magazine as "Canada's greatest buried energy treasure", and "could satisfy the world's demand for petroleum for the next century". The oil sands are contained in three major areas beneath 140,800 square kilometres of north-eastern Alberta. There are 174 billion barrels of proven oil reserves that can be recovered using current technology. Alberta Energy encourages the responsible development of these extensive deposits through planning and partnership between government and industry. Appropriate regulations and environmental protection are in place to minimize the footprint on the landscape.

Acknowledgements
The Department of Energy staff who provided their expertise and assistance in the creation of this map.