What is bitumen?

Thus far, we have talked about the financial and social ramifications of the upgrader projects - how many jobs they will create, what is the project timeline, how much capital is required. But we haven't really learned about what exactly bitumen is and why it is so important to us.

Bitumen is a mixture of organic liquids that are highly viscous, black, sticky, entirely soluble in carbon disulfide and composed primarily of highly condensed polcyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Naturally occurring or crude bitumen is a sticky, tar-like form of petroleum that is so thick and heavy that it has to be heated or diluted before it will flow.

Here are a couple of simple diagrams showing us the common uses of petroleum in our households and what the typical by-products of bitumen are.

Next, we have an intriguing video describing the bitumen production process. Thanks to CNRL for the great video.