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U Calgary study finds oil shale most energy intensive upgraded fuel followed by in-situ-produced bitumen from oil sands

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A team at the University of Calgary (Canada) has compared the energy intensities and lifecycle GHG emissions of unconventional oils (oil sands and oil shale) alongside shale gas, coal, lignite, wood and conventional oil and gas. This is not the same as crude oil occurring naturally in shales, as in the Bakken.

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Understanding the variability of GHG life cycle studies of oil sands production

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In a paper published in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology , Stanford University assistant professor Adam Brandt reviews a number of recent life cycle assessment (LCA) studies calculating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from oil sands extraction, upgrading, and refining pathways—the results of which vary considerably.

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Building materials recycler switches fleet to Neste renewable diesel

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Since forming in 2013, Argent Materials, a San Francisco Bay Area recycler of concrete and asphalt, and supplier of aggregate such as crushed rock, entry, cutback, sand, backfill and base rock for construction projects, has diverted more than a billion pounds of waste from local landfills. —Bill Crotinger.

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Shell Starts Up 100K Barrel per Day Expansion in the Canadian Oil Sands

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Shell, as operator of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP), announced the successful start of production of a 100,000 barrels per day expansion of its oil sands operations in Canada. — Marvin Odum, Shell Upstream Americas Director and President of Shell Oil Company.

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Researchers Suggest That Although CCS and Other Technologies Could Reduce Oil Sands GHG Emissions to Near Zero, That Strategy May Not Make Sense

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Examples of emerging oil sands related technologies and trade-offs. The paper is an examination of how various choices about the scale of the life cycle analysis applied to oil sands (i.e., The source material is neither oil nor tar but bitumen, but is most generally described as an example of ultraheavy oil.”.

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Alberta publishes report assessing non-combustion uses for bitumen, opens $2M call for projects

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Following a 2017 report that identified potential products that could be made from Alberta oil sands bitumen, this new study identifies the top potential uses to help Alberta diversify its economy outside of conventional fuels and chemical feedstocks. Vanadium is contained within oil sands bitumen in significant quantities (200 ppmw).

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Rice University to Collaborate with nanoAlberta on Oil Sands Research

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The collaboration will tackle issues surrounding the production of petrochemicals from Alberta’s oil sands. During these missions, the premier discussed Alberta’s commitment to technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration and the role other technologies, such as nanotechnology, can play in the greater energy equation.

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