Innovation Anthology #202:
Not all bitumen comes from oil sands.
About one quarter of Alberta’s bitumen is actually trapped in rocks called carbonate formations.
These were formed from reefs and fossils in prehistoric times. In fact, much of our conventional oil is contained in the carbonate formations that cover most of Alberta.
According to Dr. Ernie Perkins, a carbonate scientist at the Alberta Research Council, a significant deposit of bitumen is located in northern Alberta in what’s called the Grosmont Formation.
DR, ERNIE PERKINS: It is certainly the biggest single reservoir of bitumen or heavy oil in carbonate rocks. It is literally a factor of 10 to a factor of 50 bigger to the next biggest reservoir in the world. So it’s a very large reservoir, it spans quite a big distance, situated more or less in the Peace River area and McMurray sort of in the middle. And its really one we have not developed or develoedp the knowledge yet because there hasn’t been the drive or the push to work on such a difficult reservoir.
While there is no current technology to extract this bitumen from carbonate, the Alberta Research Council and a consortium of oil companies hope to change that situation soon.
Thanks today to the Alberta Research Council.
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I’M CHERYL CROUCHER
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Alberta Research Council
Established as the first provincial research organization in Canada, the Alberta Research Council is 85 years old. The Alberta Research Council (ARC) develops and commercializes technologies to give customers a competitive advantage. A leader in innovation, ARC provides solutions globally to the energy, life sciences, agriculture, environment, forestry and manufacturing sectors.
ARC performs about five per cent of the roughly $1.5 billion in R&D done in Alberta each year, and generates revenues of approximately $84 million per year. ARC operates from five sites across the province in Edmonton, Calgary, Vegreville and Devon and employs more than 600 highly-skilled people.
In January 2010, under the new Alberta Innovation Framework, the Alberta Research Council was restructured and incorporated into the new provincial agency Alberta Innovates Technology Futures.
Program Date: 2009-02-12