How large are the reserves?
The total remaining established reserves for crude bitumen is 170.4 billion barrels (27 billion cubic metres). Only 3.6 per cent of the initial established crude bitumen reserves have been produced since commercial production started in 1967. Of the total remaining established reserves, 34.5 billion barrels (5.5 billion cubic metres), or about 20 per cent, is considered recoverable by surface mining methods, while the remaining 82 per cent, or 135.7 billion barrels (21.6 billion cubic metres), is considered too deep to be mined and can only be recovered through in situ methods. See ST98-2009: Alberta’s Energy Reserves 2008 and Supply/Demand Outlook 2009-2018 for more information on bitumen reserves and production.
