HISTORY AND TERMINOLOGY OF CRUDE OIL 27
way as the term tar sand, and these terms are used interchangeably
throughout this text.
Bitumen is also a common term used in many European countries for the mastic that makes up road asphalt — a mixture of
asphalt and aggregate. The term bitumen is not used in any such
sense in this book.
Furthermore, it is incorrect to refer to naturally occurring bitumen as tar or pitch. Although the word tar is somewhat descriptive
of the black bituminous material, it is best to avoid its use with
respect to natural materials. More correctly, the name tar is usually
applied to the heavy product remaining after the destructive distillation of coal or other organic matter. Pitch is the distillation residue
of the various types of tar. Alternative names, such as bituminous
sand or oil sand, are gradually finding usage, with the former name
more technically correct.
For the purposes of this text, the definition of tar sand bitumen is
derived from the definition of tar sand that has been defined by the
United States government (FE-76-4):
[Tar sands]...the several rock types that contain an extremely
viscous hydrocarbon which is not recoverable in its natural
state by conventional oil well production methods including
currently used enhanced recovery techniques. The hydrocarbon-bearing rocks are variously known as bitumen-rocks oil,
impregnated rocks, oil sands, and rock asphalt.
By inference, heavy oil (Section 3.1) is a resource that can be
recovered in its natural state by conventional oil well production
methods including currently used enhanced recovery techniques.
The term natural state means without conversion of the heavy oil
or bitumen as might occur during thermal recovery processes.
Because of the diversity of available information and the continuing attempts to delineate the various world tar sand deposits,
it is virtually impossible to present accurate numbers that reflect
the extent of the reserves in terms of the barrel unit. The term extra
heavy oil (Section 1.4) is often invoked without explanation or adequate description, leaving the reserves of heavy oil and tar sand
bitumen open to speculation. Indeed, investigations into the extent
of many of the world's deposits are continuing at such a rate that
the numbers vary from one year to the next. Accordingly, the data
quoted here must be recognized as approximate with the potential
of being quite different at the time of publication.
way as the term tar sand, and these terms are used interchangeably
throughout this text.
Bitumen is also a common term used in many European countries for the mastic that makes up road asphalt — a mixture of
asphalt and aggregate. The term bitumen is not used in any such
sense in this book.
Furthermore, it is incorrect to refer to naturally occurring bitumen as tar or pitch. Although the word tar is somewhat descriptive
of the black bituminous material, it is best to avoid its use with
respect to natural materials. More correctly, the name tar is usually
applied to the heavy product remaining after the destructive distillation of coal or other organic matter. Pitch is the distillation residue
of the various types of tar. Alternative names, such as bituminous
sand or oil sand, are gradually finding usage, with the former name
more technically correct.
For the purposes of this text, the definition of tar sand bitumen is
derived from the definition of tar sand that has been defined by the
United States government (FE-76-4):
[Tar sands]...the several rock types that contain an extremely
viscous hydrocarbon which is not recoverable in its natural
state by conventional oil well production methods including
currently used enhanced recovery techniques. The hydrocarbon-bearing rocks are variously known as bitumen-rocks oil,
impregnated rocks, oil sands, and rock asphalt.
By inference, heavy oil (Section 3.1) is a resource that can be
recovered in its natural state by conventional oil well production
methods including currently used enhanced recovery techniques.
The term natural state means without conversion of the heavy oil
or bitumen as might occur during thermal recovery processes.
Because of the diversity of available information and the continuing attempts to delineate the various world tar sand deposits,
it is virtually impossible to present accurate numbers that reflect
the extent of the reserves in terms of the barrel unit. The term extra
heavy oil (Section 1.4) is often invoked without explanation or adequate description, leaving the reserves of heavy oil and tar sand
bitumen open to speculation. Indeed, investigations into the extent
of many of the world's deposits are continuing at such a rate that
the numbers vary from one year to the next. Accordingly, the data
quoted here must be recognized as approximate with the potential
of being quite different at the time of publication.