The Canadian oil sands development: Management of land, air and water resources

Abstract

The Canadian oil sands - the third largest proven reserves of oil afterSaudi Arabia and Venezuela-are located in Northern Alberta, Canada;these deposits of unconventional oil are an attractive investment foroil & gas developers and governments not only because of the size ofthe reserves but also the geopolitical stability of the region.Nevertheless, the development of the projects and current operations arefacing opposition and struggling with a negative campaign around theworld due in part to misinformation of the facts, lack of knowledge ofthe process throughout the projects life cycle, and years of stakeholdermismanagement. Indisputably, the development of the projects carries aseries of impacts (environmental, social, economic, and health);developers and operators may dispute the intensity of the impacts butnot the existence of them. The manuscript discusses the impacts on land,water and air resources based on indicators included in sustainabilityreports presented by oil sands developing and operating organizations.These reported statistics give a broader understanding of the currentstate of the Canadian oil sands and their development. The aim of themanuscript is to present these statistics four most common environmentalimpacts from oil sands development: greenhouse gas emissions, land use,water use, and tailing ponds.