Our industry understands Canadians' concerns and is working with new techniques and technologies to reduce our environmental impact.
The Issue: The Impact on the Environment
The pace of investment and development in the oil sands has increased quickly over the past few years. As a result, more people than ever have taken an interest in the region and they are concerned about the environmental impacts of the projects currently operating, and the ones planned for the future.
80 per cent of oil sands are drilled from deep
underground at sites like this Petrobank facility.
We understand the concern. Oil sands development has an impact on the environment. Because it’s a big industry, it has a big impact – not unlike large-scale hydroelectricity or hard-rock mining projects. As an industry, we welcome the scrutiny. We feel it is essential that people understand what development means, because the issues involved are important to everyone.
The four most common environmental impacts from oil sands (sometimes called tar sands) development are greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use and tailings ponds.
What We're Doing: New Techniques and Practices
We will design and operate our facilities to ensure that regional air quality continues to exceed provincial air quality objectives. Read more about Oil Sands and Air
We will continue to reduce the amount of fresh water required per barrel of production by improving water recycle rates, using non-potable water sources where feasible, and by developing new technologies. Read more about Oil Sands and Water