ConocoPhillips is working to develop a diverse mix of energy sources, while also working to make existing resources more efficient and environmentally responsible.
Much of the easy-to-produce oil is already recovered from U.S. oil fields, so producers have attempted several unconventional or enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques that offer prospects for ultimately producing more of the reservoir's oil. This is also true of many oil and natural gas fields around the world. Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration.
When thinking about oil, the image that comes to mind may be black liquid exploding from a hole drilled deep in the earth. However, oil and natural gas occur in many different forms, including oil sands, heavy oil, coalbed methane, oil shale and gas hydrates. Traditionally, oil and natural gas in these forms has been uneconomical to produce and bring to market. Today, ConocoPhillips is developing new technologies to extract these resources.
Unconventional oil sources include oil sands, which are deposits of bitumen, a molasses-like viscous oil. ConocoPhllips believes oil sands represent a large, geopolitically safe, proven source that will play a growing role in the U.S. supply. The company has two key oil sand projects in Canada: Syncrude and Surmont. Additionally, in 2006 ConocoPhillips formed ventures with EnCana to develop, produce and process huge Canadian bitumen deposits. Both ConocoPhillips and EnCana are committed to being leaders in the area of health, safety and environmental stewardship. Specifically, the companies expect to jointly fund and pursue research and technology development efforts aimed at minimizing the environmental footprint of the partners' upstream and downstream operations.
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