How are tar sands extracted?
There are two primary ways to extract oil from tar sands: • The deposits are mined, the oil removed, and the sands returned to the pit or discarded elsewhere. • In situ recovery is used for deeper deposits — usually more than 250 feet, and frequently more 1,000 feet below the surface. In-place recovery involves injecting substances to heat up the sands, making the bitumen fluid enough to be pumped out of the ground. After the heavy oils and bitumen are extracted, they are thinned using another petroleum product, enabling the final product to flow through a pipeline. Further processing also occurs in order to produce a higher quality crude oil.
