The new technologies and drilling methods behind the current U.S. shale gas boom may mean cheap natural gas for the foreseeable future. But they are also driving higher profits and expanded development in Canada’s controversial oil sands, often labeled “dirty oil” because of the huge volumes of natural gas required to extract and refine the fossil fuel.

There is no question oil sands activity is picking up again, says Andrew Potter, a petroleum analyst at CIBC World Markets. “Whereas 12 to 24 months ago, oil sands would have been showing rates of return in the 10 to 15 percent range with $85 a barrel (oil), we now see rates of return in the 15 to 25 percent range.”

Shale gas is a big part of that story, given the role that natural gas plays in oil sands production. Canada has the world’s largest proven reserves of bitumen—the tar-like form of petroleum found in oil sands—but turning it into light crude doesn’t come easy. Some form of heating is typically required to separate the bitumen from the sands.

With surface mining, which accounts for rough half of all current projects, bitumen is removed from the sand by washing the mixture with hot water heated with natural gas. Another approach that’s growing in popularity is in situ extraction. This involves a method such as steam-assisted gravity drainage, whereby a horizontal well is drilled into the ground and steam is injected inside, reducing the viscosity of the bitumen and causing it to flow upward through a separate vertical well. Steam-assisted gravity drainage has a much lower visual impact on the surrounding environment.

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