Oil Sands Development

Oil sands development involves extracting crude oil from a mixture of sand, clay, water, and bitumen, a thick, sticky form of oil. Found primarily in Canada, this process requires significant energy and water, often leading to environmental concerns such as habitat destruction and greenhouse gas emissions. The extraction methods include open-pit mining and in-situ techniques, which involve injecting steam underground to liquefy the bitumen. While oil sands are a substantial energy resource, balancing economic benefits with environmental impacts is a key challenge in their development and use.