The Project

Producing transportation fuels from Alberta’s oil sands is an energy intensive process with non-negligible impacts on the environment. The rapid expansion of the oil sands industry, coupled with increasing concern on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, call for a systems approach evaluation of resource usage and pollutant release from oil sands activities. The project aim is to use modern hybrid life cycle assessment techniques to assess economy-wide upstream impacts (such as GHG emissions) of current and proposed oil sands operations.
LCA of Oil Sands Technologies is a collaborative project between The University of Calgary and The University of Toronto, along with participation from industry and government. The project is funded by the Natural Resources Canada the Alberta Energy Research Institute and several industry partners.