Black Bonanza: Canada's Oil Sands and the Race to Secure North America's Energy Future

274 Pages·2010·0.815 MB·English

by  Alastair Sweeny

Black Bonanza

Black Bonanza
Alberta’s Oil Sands and the
Race to Secure North America’s
Energy Future
Alastair Sweeny
Copyright © 2010 Alastair Sweeny
All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be
reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic or mechanical
without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any request for photocopying,
recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems of any part of this
book shall be directed in writing to The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency
(Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright license, visit www.accesscopyright.ca
or call toll free 1-800-893-5777.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Sweeny, Alastair
Black bonanza : Alberta’s oil sands and the race to secure North America’s
energy future / Alastair Sweeny.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-470-16138-8
1. Oil sands—Government policy—Alberta. 2. Oil sands—Economic
aspects—Alberta. 3. Oil sands—Environmental aspects—Alberta. 4. Oil
sands industry—Technological innovations—Alberta. 5. Athabasca Tar
Sands (Alta.). I. Title.
HD9574.C23A54 2010 333.8'232097123 C2009-906379-4
Production Credits
Cover design: Natalia Burobina
Interior design: Adrian So
Typesetter: Thomson Digital
Cover Printing: Lehigh Phoenix
Printing and Binding: Friesens Printing Ltd.
Editorial Credits
Executive Editor: Karen Milner
Project Coordinator: Pauline Ricablanca
John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
6045 Freemont Blvd.
Mississauga, Ontario
L5R 4J3
Printed in Canada
1 2 3 4 5 FP 14 13 12 11 10
Dedication
For Ewan Sweeny, Albertan, on his thirtieth birthday.

Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xvii
Chapter 1: All About the Oil Sands 1
Chapter 2: Origins—All Hell for a Basement 23
Chapter 3: Gearing Up—The Years of Frustration 51
Chapter 4: Pay Dirt—The Oil Sands Today 89
Chapter 5: King Ralph and the SAGD Revolution 129
Chapter 6: Tar Wars—Oil versus the Environment 157
Chapter 7: Peak Oil Terror and the Athabasca Answer 201
Chapter 8: Blue Shift—A New Frontier in Energy 225
Index 241