NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Unconventional Oil Recovery

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Oil and natural gas are the largest natural energy resources in Alberta and Canada. Currently, Alberta produces**70% of Canada's oil and 80% of its natural gas. The extraction and revenue from oil and natural gas is an**imperative component of the Alberta economy as one-third of the Alberta Government's revenue is generated**from oil and gas. As the demand and use for oil and gas increases globally and furthermore as oil prices**reached its lowest values, efficient recovery and extraction of heavy-oil and bitumen has become a priority for**the government, the oil industry, research centres and universities - especially the University of Alberta.**The proposed NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Unconventional Oil Recovery is a major research initiative**undertaken by the University of Alberta in response to developing ecologically viable technologies for**extracting or tapping unconventional oil reserves and resources. For the most part, the oil industry has been**technologically unprepared to meet the high demands of heavy oil and bitumen production and consumption**needs. With Alberta having the second largest hydrocarbon reserves in the world (after Saudi Arabia's**conventional oil reserves) that are estimated at 1.7 trillion barrels, currently only 10% of these reserves (173**billion barrels) is recoverable using existing technologies.**Heavy-oil and bitumen reserves deposited below minable depths require in-situ recovery techniques. These**lower-lying resources have considerably more potential than extractable oil sands. Only 15% of these oil**reserves can be mined using existing techniques - leaving 85% of oil reserves untouched. While proven**technologies are successfully applied for surface extraction of mined oil sands, in-situ recovery of heavy-oil**and bitumen is still a considerable challenge due to the technological and economic problems. Through**development of advanced and optimal in-situ recovery techniques under this proposed research program, the**potential to recover 85% of these reserves exists.