The Oil Sands Research and Information Network (OSRIN) is an independent organization operating within the School of Energy and the Environment at the University of Alberta.  Our aim is to be the destination of choice for those seeking reliable information related to mineable oil sands reclamation. For more information look at About OSRIN.

If you Google "oil sands" you will secure some 5.28 M hits; another 1.37 M for "oilsands"; 3.49 M for “tar sands" and 226 K for “tarsands”.  Trolling through these hits will yield a range of content, including science-based research, government and industry data and reports, government policy and legislation, stakeholder and Non-Government Organization information and views, and media articles.  We strongly encourage you to read from a variety of these sources so you can develop an informed opinion about oil sands development, its environmental impacts and the ways government and industry are preventing or managing the impacts.

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What's New

  1. Environmental, First Nations activists plan protest at Sarnia oil sands meeting

    Activists plan to protest in Sarnia, Ont., as the two-day national "Bitumen Adding Value Conference" kicks off.

  2. ConocoPhillips pulls back on plan to sell Canadian oil sands assets

    ConocoPhillips Co. is pulling back on plans to sell its Canadian oil sands assets after it exceeded its target for raising capital by divesting energy properties elsewhere in the world.

  3. The oil sands and Koch's unsightly coke mountain

    Petroleum coke piled up along the banks of the Detroit River has sparked a storm of protest from local residents and environmental campaigners, who claim they are just one more problem associated with the bituminous oil sands being mined in western Canada.

  4. Alberta ranks seventh out of 58 resource-rich jurisdictions

    Alberta’s environmental assessments, royalty rates and public reports on the Heritage Savings Trust Fund fall below international standards, a new report says.

  5. Company seeks to tap Utah's rich tar sands deposits

    The Department of Energy said Utah is home an estimated 55 percent of the country's tar sands deposits that are concentrated in eight major areas suspected to hold more than 32 billion barrels of oil.

  6. »more
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Did You Know

  1. Oil Sands Contributions to National Greenhouse Gas Production

    Although the oil sands have demonstrated significant reductions in production of greenhouse gases per barrel of production (emissions intensity) the significant increase in level of production means that overall oil sands greenhouse gas emissions have risen.

  2. Oil Sands-Related Highlights from Budget 2013 Speech

    The following are oil sands-related extracts from the Government’s budget speech

  3. Losing Oil Sands Voices

    Changes in availability of media-based information, and changes in web site structures, are hindering OSRIN's ability to present a diversity of voices to help you develop an informed opinion of oil sands issues.

  4. Current and Potential Oil Sands Projects

    The list of oil sands projects that are active, under development and proposed continues to grow at a rapid pace.

  5. Oil Sands Environmental Assessment Triggers

    The recent release of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 and its regulations provides an opportunity to compare federal and provincial triggers for oil sands environmental assessments.

  6. »more