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Researchers develop large-scale, economical method to extract hydrogen from oil sands and oil fields

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Canadian researchers have developed a large-scale economical method to extract hydrogen from oil sands (natural bitumen) and oil fields. The process can extract hydrogen from existing oil sands reservoirs, with huge existing supplies found in Canada and Venezuela. Proton Technologies is commercializing the process.

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Univ. of Calgary team developing nanocatalysts for underground upgrading of heavy oil and bitumen; possible “next generation” of oil sands production

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Researchers at the University of Calgary are developing ultra-dispersed (UD) nanocatalysts for the in situ upgrading of heavy oil and bitumen from deep reservoirs. One of the challenges of such an approach is the placement of the catalyst deep into the heavy oil plume by transporting a catalyst suspension through the sand medium.

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China’s CNOOC to acquire Canada-based Nexen for $15.1B; offshore oil and gas, oil sands, and shale gas

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CNOOC Limited—China’s largest producer of offshore crude oil and natural gas and one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the world—is acquiring all of the Common Shares of Canada-based energy company Nexen Inc. It is the second-largest oil producer in the UK North Sea.

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New research chair at University of Saskatchewan to help reclaim oil sands land

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University of Saskatchewan geoscientist Lee Barbour has been awarded a $2.6-million Syncrude will provide half the funding for Barbour’s Chair in Hydrogeological Characterization of Oil Sands Mine Closure Landforms, investing more than $1.3-million million over the five-year research project, with another $1.3-million

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Oil sands GHG lifecycle study using operating data finds lower emitting oil sands cases outperform higher emitting conventional crude cases; a call for more sophisticated tools and reporting

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Well-to-wheel (WTW) greenhouse gas emissions for in situ SAGD and surface mining pathways generated employing GHOST/TIAX/ GHGenius combination and comparison with SAGD, mining and conventional crude oil literature pathways (all results are on a HHV basis). 74% of WTW emissions in our oil sands pathways. Click to enlarge.

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Study concludes permanent loss of peatlands in open-pit oil sands mining adds significantly to carbon burden of oil sands production

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Researchers at the University of Alberta (Canada) have quantified the transformation of the boreal landscape by open-pit oil sands mining in Alberta, Canada to evaluate its effect on carbon storage and sequestration. Oil sands mining and reclamation cause massive loss of peatland and stored carbon.

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New study suggests reported PAH emissions in oil sands region greatly underestimated

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Results from a new modeling assessment of contamination in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) suggest that officially reported emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in that region have been greatly underestimated. Average emissions densities from Shen et al. are represented by the dashed black line. Click to enlarge.

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