Oil sands driving the economy of a nation

Canadian Oil Sands operation

Gathering Momentum: A Canadian oil sands operation.

AP/SCANPIX

By Tonya Zelinsky

 07 June 2012 22:59 GMT

Canada is known for many things but these days it is the country’s bitumen-rich oil sands deposits that garner the most attention -- turning the northern nation into a leading global exporter of unconventional heavy oil.

The oil sands region of northern Alberta has been producing for the past 45 years but it was not until the past decade that operations there became a real factor, when production levels skyrocketed and demand for crude pushed oil prices to record highs.

According to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers’ annual forecast, its momentum will not stop anytime soon. Output is expected to rise to 3.1 million barrels per day by 2020 and 5 million bpd by 2030.

Numbers like this make Canada the “fastest growing country of oil production anywhere…

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