BIG Fan: Slide Show: A bird’s-eye view of the oil sands industry

Reuters/Todd Korol

Slide 1 of 11

Oil sands — a mix of sand, water, clay and a heavy oil called bitumen that can have the consistency of tar — are a relatively new source of crude oil. But before bitumen can be turned into crude, it must be separated from the sand and water.

Suncor SU, +2.42% helped pioneer the commercial development of Canada’s oil sands in 1967. The province of Alberta has proven reserves of 170 billion barrels of oil, almost all of it as bitumen, according to the Alberta government. Four facilities in the Fort McMurray area and a fifth near Fort Saskatchewan upgrade into crude oil more than half of the province’s crude bitumen output.

Here’s a look at the Suncor tar sands operations near Fort McMurray. In this photo, oil goes into a tailings pond, a man-made dam and dike system that is used as a settling basin and storage container.

Reuters/Todd Korol

Slide 2 of 11

The Suncor tar sands processing plant near the Athabasca River at its mining operations near Fort McMurray. Suncor said it produced 403,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day from oil sands in the second quarter, or 30% more than a year earlier.

Also read: Why cratering oil prices may not crush shale producers

Reuters/Todd Korol

Slide 3 of 11

The processing facility at the Suncor tar sands operations near Fort McMurray.

Reuters/Todd Korol

Slide 4 of 11

About 20% of Canada’s oil sands are near the surface and can be mined with large trucks and shovels, according to Suncor. Here, giant dump trucks haul raw tar sands at the Suncor tar sands mining operations near Fort McMurray.

September 17, 2014. Reuters/Todd Korol

Slide 5 of 11

Giant dump trucks dump raw tar sands for processing at the Suncor operations.

Reuters/Todd Korol

Slide 6 of 11

Worker camp housing projects at the Suncor Firebag in situ oil sands operations near Fort McMurray. In situ sites are where the oil sands are too deep to mine with trucks and shovels. Suncor uses a three-part process to drill, inject steam and extract bitumen at its in situ operations.

Reuters/Todd Korol

Slide 7 of 11

An employee works in the operations room at the McKay River Suncor oil sands in situ operations near Fort McMurray.

Reuters/Todd Korol

Slide 8 of 11

A worker checks the oil during the first step of separation at the Suncor processing plant at its tar sands operations.

Reuters/Todd Korol

Slide 9 of 11

Heavy equipment works on a tailings pond at the Suncor tar sands operations.

Reuters/Todd Korol

Slide 10 of 11

Bulldozers work clearing an area at the new Suncor Fort Hills tar sands mining operations. The Fort Hills project is scheduled to produce first oil as early as the fourth quarter of 2017, according to Suncor. When fully operational, it will have about 1,600 permanent jobs.