BP and our partners plan to use a production
technology called steam assisted gravity
drainage (SAGD), rather than open-cast mining,
due to the depth of the oil sands. This production
technique involves pumping steam into the oil
sand reservoir through a horizontal well to heat
and extract the oil. This reduces land disturbance
as the operations have a smaller physical
footprint and, unlike mining, do not require
tailings ponds.
Throughout our exploratory work at the Terre de
Grace lease we have promoted the regeneration
of habitat at sites where we have completed our
activity. This included planting about 13,000
trees in July 2013