The difference between unconventional and conventional oil is more about how we go about getting the oil and what type of material the oil is held in, rather than the composition or physical properties of the oil itself.

Conventional Oil

This is the type of oil reservoir that most people will have some knowledge of. Usually found in liquid form in permeable rock. Often there is a layer of non-permeable rock above the oil reservoir, trapping the liquid oil from escaping to the surface. Drill through the non-permeable rock and in to the oil zone and the oil will flow up the drill hole.

There is a lot more detail involved in drilling and completing this type of well, but for the purposes of this article, we have covered the required basics. This was the main production method until early this century.

NON - Conventional Oil

Companies have known about unconventional oil for a long time. There was easier and more profitable sources of oil. As new reservoirs of conventional oil have become harder to find, and with demand still growing, attention has returned to the large deposits of unconventional oil.

Through experimentation and ingenuity, methods were developed to make producing these new oil sources financially viable.

Tight Oil

Also known as "Shale Oil" it is produced from shale rock by breaking up the rock using a technique called fracking. The resulting liquid oil often also contains varying amounts of natural gas.

Tar Sands

The Alberta province of Canada has significant deposits of Tar Sands. It is a sticky bitumen sand and water mix. This material requires a lot of energy input to separate out the oil.

The keystone pipeline was built to carry the tar sands oil from this area to the USA. Keystone XL was going to speed up the process of getting the oil to refineries in Texas, but years of relentless protesting stopped the pipeline permanently.

Oil Shale

This is from the shale rock. It requires mining and then extreme heat to extract the oil. Currently not financially viable it has been shelved for now.

About The Author
Helena Montgomery
Chewells Contributor

Helena is our longest serving contributor. She lives in an area heavily dependant upon the oil industry. She... »

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