Resource Development

The deposits of tar-like bitumen in central and northern Alberta are among the world's largest petroleum resources. However, the viscous substance is too thick to flow through rocks, wellbores and pipelines. Many technological and economic challenges have to be overcome in order to produce and transport bitumen and to process it into desirable products, such as gasoline and diesel fuel.

Petroleum Communication Foundation. Our Petroleum Challenge: Exploring Canada's Oil and Gas Industry, Sixth Edition. Calgary: Petroleum Communication Foundation, 1999. With permission from the Centre for Energy.