Syncrude Oil Sands - Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada

Three weeks ago I traveled to Fort McMurray, Alberta for a golf tournament and was able to take a tour of the oil sands.  My host family took me, as he has worked there since the mid-80s.  Prior to the tour, my knowledge of the oil sands and the process of getting oil from the ground and into our cars was at a 1st grade level.  After the tour, I had only advanced to junior high, but it was a lot of fun to learn the process and see some of the heavy machinery.

Proof that I was there.  My tour guide, "host dad", worked on the fire crew for years and now he trains the volunteer firemen.  He gave me a tour of the firehall and showed me all of the trucks.  The beast in the picture is their emergency response vehicle that has 8-wheel drive and can navigate the mines with speed.

In my hand is a chunk of oil that is mixed with sand.  Didn't feel much different than a chunk of dried mud, but up close it looks quite different and gets your hands very dirty.  The process of separating the oil and begins by adding hot water and moving the sludge into big spinning tubs and eventually the sand falls to the bottom.  After the separation, some very complicated chemical processes are used to refine the oil into Syncrude Sweet Blend.  Simple enough.

One of the many byproducts of the chemical process is sulfur.  They build pyramids of sulfur and plan to turn it into fertilizer.

When mining is completed on a section, Syncrude has to reclaim the land to the way it was before they started.  Some areas are reclaimed as a forrest and pine trees are planted.  Look at the first sulfur picture and you can see a thick green forrest on the horizon.  Those pine trees are all about 10 feet tall.  Another option for reclamation is turning the land into a buffalo ranch.

Dirty

Huge hauling trucks - costs about 5 million dollars

Another huge hauler

'67 Dodge Hemi Charger - how we got to oil sands.

I really had a fun time in Fort McMurray.  That is as far north as I had ever been, but it's a very pretty part of North America.  The town is all about the oil sands.  Nothing else is up there, but the town has a a huge recreation facility - with ice rinks, curling lanes, badminton, floor hockey, fitness center, lap pools, swimming pools, and a water park.

MacDonald Island Park

Pools!

Neil