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Alberta Oil Sands Production – Mined vs. In Situ

Bitumen is a highly viscous hydrocarbon and is sometimes referred to as extra heavy oil. Mined bitumen refers to surface mining of heavy oil in the Alberta oil sands. In situ production refers to heavy oil produced from deeper formations, where thermal recovery techniques such as steam-assisted gravity drainage (SA

GD) are required to recover the bitumen.

Bitumen production in Canada has been increasing steadily, and in the post-2020 period, this growth has largely been fueled by in situ production.

Bitumen – Very heavy oil from the oil sands produced from surface mining or in situ.