With unprecedented growth in the oil sands industry, the ERCB has increased its presence in the Wood Buffalo region to better respond to public and industry needs, highlighted by the 2003 opening of a full-service office in Fort McMurray–the only one of its kind outside of the Calgary headquarters.

The Fort McMurray office's staff of 20 process surface mining oil sands project applications, work with community and aboriginal groups, ensure that industry complies with regulatory requirements, and conduct field inspections of oil sands mining facilities.

Fort McMurray Branch
Box 15
9915 Franklin Avenue
Provincial Building, 2nd Floor
Fort McMurray, AB
T9H 2K4
Phone: (780) 743-7214
Fax: (780) 743-7141

In situ oil sands operations are the responsibility of the Calgary office and Field Centres in Bonnyville, Grande Prairie, and St. Albert.

Through regulation, approvals review, conditions management, inspection, and enforcement, the ERCB ensures that appropriate precautions are taken to develop oil sands resources in the interests of all Albertans.

The ERCB oil sands development regulations and requirements exist to maintain public safety during the mining, extraction, and upgrading processes. In addition to emergency response plans and worker training, industry abides by these requirements by adhering to set standards and practices.

To view oil sands mining applications currently under review or to learn what oil sands plants and facilities are in your area, contact the ERCB's Calgary head office, the Fort McMurray office, or visit the Fort McMurray Public Library.

Gas versus Bitumen

Bitumen conservation has become an important issue for the ERCB.  Oil sands development in Alberta has two essential components: how it is produced, and its economic value to Alberta.

The ERCB establishes regulatory criteria that ensure production of oil sands resources occurs in a way that is safe, efficient, and in the interests of all Albertans.

Sometimes depleting a natural gas pool can place oil sands development at risk by lowering formation pressures key to exploiting the oil sands resource.

In November 2005, the EUB ruled that production from 917 gas wells in the Wabiskaw-McMurray area would have to be capped to preserve underground pressure. The decision was based on technical, geological, and other relevant evidence on bitumen conservation heard by an EUB panel earlier in 2005.

The panel’s decision will conserve about 4.05 billion cubic metres (25.5 billion barrels) of recoverable Wabiskaw-McMurray bitumen, which represents 14.6 per cent of Alberta's remaining bitumen reserves. The energy content of the bitumen reserves conserved through the decision is about 500 times greater than that of the shut-in gas production.

Final Bitumen Conservation Decision News Release (November 10, 2005)

Oil Sands Links

For more information on Alberta ’s oil sands and the oil sands development process, please see any of the following professional and educational links: 

Oil Sands Discovery Centre (http://www.oilsandsdiscovery.com/)

The Oil Sands Discovery Centre, located in Fort McMurray , presents the history, science, and technology of the oil sands industry through exhibits, demonstrations, and theatre presentations.

Alberta Energy Research Institute (http://www.aeri.ab.ca/)

AERI promotes energy research, technology evaluation, and technology transfer in areas including oil and gas, heavy oil and oil sands, coal, electricity, petrochemicals, and renewable and alternative energy.

Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (http://www.wbea.org/)

The WBEA is a multistakeholder organization that conducts air quality, ecosystem, and human health effects monitoring in the oil sands-laden Wood Buffalo region.

Alberta Energy (http://www.energy.gov.ab.ca/)

Alberta Energy is responsible to effectively manage the development of a diverse resource development portfolio that includes natural gas, conventional oil, oil sands, petrochemicals, electricity, coal, and minerals.

Alberta Environment (http://www3.gov.ab.ca/env)

Alberta Environment manages the use of Alberta 's diverse landscapes to sustain a healthy environment, a prosperous economy, and strong communities. It is committed to protecting the province's air, land, and water.

Cumulative Environmental Management Association - CEMA (http://www.cemaonline.ca/about.htm)

The Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA) is a multistakeholder initiative in northeastern Alberta working to manage the cumulative environmental impacts of industrial development in the region.