Oil sands companies use large amounts of high-temperature heat to extract bitumen from sand
Nuclear SMRs could decarbonise Canada’s oil sands sector
But cost and commercialisation timeframes may prove a barrier to adoption
Nuclear energy—and especially new small modular reactor (SMR) technologies—could slash emissions from the oil sands industry in Canada, according to industry experts. Oil sands companies use large amounts of high-temperature heat to produce steam to extract bitumen from sand, both at upgraders at the mine sites and by pumping steam underground to produce bitumen in situ. The heat tends to be produced by burning gas, and as a result the oil sands industry accounts for about a tenth of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. “Some of the SMR technologies presently under development will be producing substantially more high-temperature heat compared to conventional nuclear reactors that are geared f
Also in this section
17 February 2026
The 25th WPC Energy Congress, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 26–30 April 2026, will bring together leaders from the political, industrial, financial and technology sectors under the unifying theme “Pathways to an Energy Future for All”
17 February 2026
Siemens Energy has been active in the Kingdom for nearly a century, evolving over that time from a project-based foreign supplier to a locally operating multi-national company with its own domestic supply chain and workforce
17 February 2026
Eni’s chief operating officer for global natural resources, Guido Brusco, takes stock of the company’s key achievements over the past year, and what differentiates its strategy from those of its peers in the LNG sector and beyond
16 February 2026
As the third wave of global LNG arrives, Wood Mackenzie’s director for Europe gas and LNG, Tom Marzec-Manser, discusses with Petroleum Economist the outlook for Europe’s gas market in 2026
