# The "Oil Prices" thread. **URL:** https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-oil-prices-thread/44739 **Category:** NYSpeed Off Topic **Created:** [March 10, 2008, 10:44am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-oil-prices-thread/44739 "2008-03-10T10:44:58Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Showing post:** 742
### Author: ![JayS](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jays/32/15375_2.png) [@JayS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JayS) #### Post date: [July 11, 2008, 12:46pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-oil-prices-thread/44739/742 "2008-07-11T12:46:41Z")
> **[Athabasca oil sands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athabasca_Oil_Sands)** > > The Athabasca oil sands (or tar sands) are large deposits of bitumen or extremely heavy crude oil, located in northeastern Alberta, Canada – roughly centred on the boomtown of Fort McMurray. These oil sands, hosted primarily in the McMurray Formation, consist of a mixture of crude bitumen (a semi-solid rock-like form of crude oil), silica sand, clay minerals, and water. The Athabasca deposit is the largest known reservoir of crude bitumen in the world and the largest of three major oil sands depo... > **[Oil sands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_sands)** > > Oil sands, also known as tar sands or crude bitumen, or more technically bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and water, saturated with a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum technically referred to as bitumen (or colloquially as tar due to its superficially similar appearance). Natural bitumen deposits are reported in many countries, b... [http://ostseis.anl.gov/guide/tarsands/index.cfm](http://ostseis.anl.gov/guide/tarsands/index.cfm) You’ll see a lot of money going into research on how to extract that, especially if oil says above $80/barrel which I think it will for a very long time. And this is my problem with “peak oil theory”. Most of stuff that says we’re near peak only looks at current technology and recovery methods. They don’t consider tar sands, deep ocean drilling, CO2 injection etc etc. The big up side to 100+/barrel oil is the huge amount of money to be made finding new oil. @$30/barrel no one would invest in figuring out how to extra the oil from the tar sands, or drill deep in the ocean. At $140/barrel they’re pouring money into this research. --- _[View the full topic](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/the-oil-prices-thread/44739)._