Coming of age

The investment climate in Alberta's synthetic oil and bitumen production industry was reviewed. It was estimated that about $25 billion will be needed to raise the current 531,000 barrel/day production to the 1.2 million barrel/day promised by the National Oilsands Task Force. Fortunately, investors are interested, spurred on by the optimistic forecasts of industry experts declaring that Alberta's oilsands are the only play in the world that has zero exploration risk, virtually infinite reserve life, steadily declining costs and increasing cash flow. Suncor's new Steepbank Mine, that will provide 20 years' worth of ore, was used as an example to show that heavy oil and oil sands are an operational game, not a finding cost game. The future of the sector will be driven by technology and the search for ways to drive down costs. The U. S. will continue to be key to Canadian heavy crude and bitumen, but in buildings its U. S. market Canada must be prepared for increasingly stiff competition from Mexico and Venezuela