Grade 5 Social Studies - Alberta Alberta’s Oil and Gas Grade 5 Social Studies - Alberta

Let’s start with what we know Do we remember what Renewable and Non-Renewable resources are? What are examples of Renewable Resources? How about Non-Renewable Resources

RENEWABLE RESOURCES Renewable resources are natural resources that can be replaced in a short period of time. ● Solar ● Geothermal ● Wind ● Biomass ● Water

NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES A nonrenewable resource is a natural resource that cannot be re-made or re-grown at the same rate as it is used

What are fossil fuels? Coal, crude oil and natural gas are commonly used fossil fuels. Like the fossils you can see in rock, they were once living organisms, which lived about 300 million years ago.

So How Are Fossil Fuels Made? Instead of being converted into fossils, the organic material from plants and animals piled up on the bottom of a swamp, lake or ocean. It was then covered with many layers of sediment. There was no oxygen in these layers, so the organic material could not decompose.

So How Are Fossil Fuels Made? More layers of sediment piled on top (several kilometers thick), compressing the organic material Because the layers were so deep and there was so much pressure, temperatures increased. The heat and pressure changed the decaying organic matter into coal, oil and natural gas.

HOW ARE OIL AND GAS MADE ???

Crude Oil Crude oil, also called petroleum, is found as a liquid. It is extracted by drilling a hole into the Earth’s crust. In some cases oil is under pressure and will come out of the hole on its own. In other locations, it has to be pumped to the surface

Alberta’s History with Oil In Alberta, oil was discovered in 1914 near Turner Valley when a farmer noticed oil seeping from the ground. Oil production in North-East Alberta (Cold Lake, Bonnyville, Lac la Biche and Fort McMurray) started in 1967, and is still pumping oil today Now Alberta is a major oil producing area and exports oil to the rest of Canada and the U.S. Canada’s oil production is 5th in the world!

Alberta’s History of Oil Alberta’s Oil Sands

Drilling for Oil As oil developed, it mixed with water and sand. This mixture, along with bubbles of natural gas, seeped through porous layers of rock. Eventually, the mixture reached a layer of rock it could not pass through and was trapped. The water, oil and natural gas gather under the impermeable rock. Because natural gas is less dense than oil, it rises to the top.

On a larger scale, companies will use drilling rigs or Oil Derricks The function of drillings rigs is to drill through hundreds of meters of rock to gain access to the reservoir rock that contains the oil .

Oil Rig at Work

To find the reservoir rock, geologists do a survey to find where it is The surveys identify likely places to find oil and gas, oil companies start to drill. When they hit reservoir rock, the fuel may come to the surface on its own. Reservoir rock: porous rock containing tiny droplets of oil forced there by changes in Earth’s crust As oil is removed the pressure of the oil drops so a pump jack may need to be installed.

Pump Jack A motor turns a gearbox which moves a lever. The lever pushes and pulls a series of rods up and down the well casing The rods are attached to the plunger in the ground The pump consists of two valves that open and close. The sucker rod and tubing creates suction which brings the oil to the surface. Counter weights help to balance the system. Without them the pump jack would need a larger gear and would need more power to move the pump

What comes out of the ground? The oil that comes from the ground isn’t ready for use. It is called Crude oil. The Crude oil is processed to make many other products you use. Examples of things made by oil

Products from Oil Sands What is Bitumen? It is a product from oil where it is mixed with sand. The oil is removed from the sand using different chemicals and the oil is then processed. How does Oil Sand Mining Work?

Steam Assisted Gravitational Drainage Water is heated and turned into Steam The Steam is pumped underground to make the oil flow faster The oil drains into pipes and is brought above ground

Steam Assisted Gravitational Drainage

Steam Assisted Gravitational Drainage Cenovus SAGD explains how SAGD works Intro to SAGD at Devon Jackfish, South of Fort McMurray, north of Lac la Biche, AB Terms in the Video Viscosity is a measurement of how a fluid flows – does it flow fast or slow? In-Situ means “in place”

People have jobs in Oil and Gas Meet Amber Meet Curt Due to the amount of oil available, the cost of a barrel of oil dropped last year. This has caused a loss of jobs and money. Watch how much Oil Production has dropped.

The Environment Think about… How does the extraction, refining and use of fossil fuels affect the environment? • What other sources of energy could we use so we don’t use as many fossil fuels? • What could we do to reduce the amount of fossil fuels that we use in our lives?

Effects on the Environment Destroying land by strip mining (removing oil sand) Tailing ponds Dealing with the waste Thinking about the Environment

Tailing Ponds  Oil sands producers use large amounts of water and extract thousands of tones of sand each day. The water that is used in the extraction process and sand that is extracted are pumped into artificial lakes called "tailings ponds.“ The tailings ponds in the oil sands area of northeastern Alberta are the largest in the world. These ponds cover several square kilometers, and contain millions of litres of oil and chemical-filled water.

Tailings Ponds Ducks, geese, and other water birds are attracted to them. Measures are taken to detract the birds from using the tailing ponds, but some birds die each year from the effects of the pollution in the water of the ponds. They have horns near tailings ponds that scare the ducks off the ponds, but sometimes that doesn’t help.

Tailing Ponds 

Reclamation Reclamation is when a part of the environment is returned to its original state. This includes planting grasses, flowers and trees, as well as moving soil and sand back where it is supposed to be See Cenovus’s Reclamation Project to Protect the Northern Caribou See’s Imperial Oil’s Compensation Lake Project

Wildlife Monitoring All Oil and Gas sites require wildlife monitoring. They have video cameras set up around site to mark how many animals are near by All staff have to report wildlife sightings See Cenovus’s Wildlife App use! Fun Wildlife Camera video shot on a SAGD site!

What do you think? Do you think Oil and Gas production in Alberta should continue?