Quote:
Originally Posted by Chadillaccc
 Absolutely... but what about with new methods being developed, such as Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage? Apparently that will not only reduce production costs significantly, but will also allow us to tap into the majority of our 1.7 trillion barrels of oil reserves, rather than just the current 10% that we have access to. |
That "10%" is the sort of nameplate number for what is economically recoverable through surface mining, and is the basis of Canada's/Alberta's official oil reserves. However,
in situ methods like SAGD have been in use for decades (for SAGD, the first research well was drilled in Alberta in the mid 80s). SAGD and CSS represented about a fifth of oil sands production back in 2005, and has been growing pretty consistently representing the majority (in terms of bbl/day) of projects approved or under construction.