Canada’s oil sands using less water – report – Mining.com

October 23, 2015

Canada’s oil sands industry reduced in 30% the amount of water it uses to produce one barrel of oil between 2012 and 2014, even though production continued to grow in the same period, a study released this week shows.

In its 2015 update report, Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) said members with in situ operations, where steam is used to heat up the formation and allow the heavy crude to be produced from a well, used .23 of a barrel of fresh water per barrel of oil in 2014, compared with .36 of a barrel in 2012.

In the same period, production from reached a high of 2.3 million barrels per day.

The report also says that COSIA members are recycling more of the water used in their operations and using more non-potable salty water.

Read More: http://www.mining.com/canadas-oil-sands-using-less-water-report/