A brief overview of the geology of heavy oil, bitumen and oil sand deposits
نویسندگان
چکیده
Introduction There are three major oil sand areas in Canada, all in Alberta. There is also an oil sand deposit on Melville Island in the Arctic. The three major oil sand areas are from highest to lowest volume of reserves-in-place (AEUB 2003) Athabasca, Cold Lake and Peace River oil sand areas notwithstanding that bitumen reserves are also evident in subcropping carbonate rocks in Athabasca and Peace River. The oil sands reserves occur primarily in the Cretaceous upper and lower Mannville (73%) Formation, with lesser amounts in the Devonian Grosmont (19%) and Nisku (4%) Formations, the Carboniferous Debolt (3%) and Shunda (1%), and the Belloy (trace). The surface mineable area in Athabasca of Wabiskaw McMurray oil sand is defined by the AEUB (2003) as about 37 contiguous townships north of Fort McMurray where the overburden does not exceed 75 metres. Volume–in-place reserves is about 18 x 10 m, which are about one-tenth the estimated volume-in-place reserves for in-situ Wabiskaw McMurray recovery. Production from all other oil sand and heavy oil areas is by in-situ methods. Here, we will briefly review the geology of the oil sand and heavy oil areas with a slightly higher concentration of effort in the Athabasca area, as it has been the main economic focus of recent activity. Note that in all the areas, deposition and trapping in the Lower Cretaceous is substantially influenced by the topography of the Pre-Cretaceous unconformity and, depending on the area, Devonian salt solution, tectonic subsidence and fault re-activation.
منابع مشابه
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