Platform Resources Inc. saw the winds of change coming in Canada’s oil market and jumped on the hot trend when it had the chance. After three years in the traditional oil exploration and development sector, Platform Resources transformed itself into a junior oil sands company in January 2007 and renamed itself Alberta Oilsands Inc. this June.

The company’s market capitalization went from about $10 million (Canadian) to $80 million once it had shifted markets, Hanna Aronovich reports in her profile of Alberta Oilsands in this issue of Exploration + Processing.  

The sheer size of the oil sands sector is a major draw for companies like Alberta Oilsands. According to the Alberta Department of Energy (ADE), the Canadian province’s oil sands deposits are second only to the Saudi Arabian reserves in recoverable oil. These deposits are contained in three major areas beneath more than 54,000 square miles of northeastern Alberta. Thus far, the ADE says only about 2 percent of the resource has been produced to date.

Canada has more than 170 billion barrels of oil recoverable from oil sands with today’s technology, according to Oilsands. Infomine.com. An estimated 2.5 trillion barrels of bitumen in the Canadian resources make it possible to produce 2.5 million barrels of oil per day for more than 200 years.

“That is more than enough to supply all of Canada’s needs and make a significant contribution to America, China and other oil importers for generations to come,” the Web site adds.

Even with all this potential, the industry remains a niche because of the capital investment required for the technology and equipment to tap into the deposits. In fact, the technical aspect of the industry is what brought Glen C. Schmidt to Laricina Energy Ltd. in Calgary, Alberta, as president and CEO.  He told E+P’s Alan Dorich that even though Laricina is a niche player in the industry, the company has invested more than $200 million (Canadian) in equity financing to stay on top of the oil sands game.

Location is also key for the companies involved with oil sands. Oil sands are conveniently located in a politically stable and peaceful location. This makes it easier for companies to find investment backing.

“We see the oil sands of Alberta as a world-class, politically stable environment and an attractive environment to partake business in,” Jason Dagenais, COO and vice president of operations of Patch Energy, a junior oil sands company in Calgary, told E+P’s Kathryn Jones. “The asset itself is a predictable resource base. Geologically, there is a lot lower risk in doing your explorations locally than other asset bases in the world.”