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The majority of the growth would likely occur in the in-situ category, as in-situ projects usually have better economics than mining projects. Also, 80% of Canada's oil sands reserves are well-suited to in-situ extraction, versus 20% for mining methods.
In-situ processing involves heating the oil shale underground. Such technologies can potentially extract more oil from a given area of land than ex-situ processes, since they can access the material at greater depths than surface mines can. Several companies have patented methods for in-situ retorting. However, most of these methods remain in ...
For ex situ processing, oil shale is crushed into smaller pieces, increasing surface area for better extraction. The temperature at which decomposition of oil shale occurs depends on the time-scale of the process. In ex situ retorting processes, it begins at 300 °C (570 °F) and proceeds more rapidly and completely at higher temperatures. The ...
"Roughly 35 per cent of all in situ production in the Alberta oil sands uses a technique called high pressure cyclic steam stimulation (HPCSS), which cycles between two phases: first, steam is injected into an underground oil sands deposit to fracture and heat the formation to soften the bitumen just like CSS does, excepting at even higher ...
The two main methods of extracting oil from shale are ex-situ and in-situ. In ex-situ method, the oil shale is mined and transported to the retort facility in order to extract the oil. The in-situ method converts the kerogen while it is still in the form of an oil shale deposit, and then extracts it via a well, where it rises up as normal ...
However, in-situ processes do involve possible significant environmental costs to aquifers, especially since in-situ methods may require ice-capping or some other form of barrier to restrict the flow of the newly gained oil into the groundwater aquifers. However, after the removal of the freeze wall these methods can still cause groundwater ...
In situ refers to recovery techniques which apply heat or solvents to heavy crude oil or bitumen reservoirs beneath the Earth's crust. There are several varieties of in situ techniques, but the ones which work best in the oil sands use heat (steam).
Bitumen also occurs in unconsolidated sandstones known as "oil sands" in Alberta, Canada, and the similar "tar sands" in Utah, US. The Canadian province of Alberta has most of the world's reserves, in three huge deposits covering 142,000 square kilometres (55,000 sq mi), an area larger than England or New York state .