Though the Alberta Oil Sands have rightfully inherited the title as the "worlds dirtiest oil", they do contain almost 97% of Canada's crude oil supply. Before the collapse in oil prices and the start of our current economic crisis the oil sands produced nearly 3/4 of a million barrels of synthetic crude oil each day, with a forecast of doubling the output by 2015. There is alot of work involved in tapping these unusual resources and until fairly recently the price of oil did not allow for such expensive projects. For each barrel of oil that is pulled from the sands the forest above must first be cut down, then approximately 2 tons of peat moss must be removed and finally about 2 more tons of sand must be removed from which to extract the oil; a very time consuming task. However, the majority of the oil contained within the Alberta Sands was until very recently unretrievable. It was so far below the surface and so frozen that it was impossible to extract. But with the new "in-situ" extraction methods such as SAGD (steam assisted gravity drainage) it becomes possible to retreive the oil in a cost effective manor.
The USA has been searching for a way to cut its dependency on OPEC oil for years now, and it seems like in the future the Alberta Oil Sands may be just the relief we've been waiting for.
My theory is that the economic crisis will continue to stunt the growth and development of the Oil Sands for the coming years. However, once things begin to level and the demand for oil starts to rise, the USA will continue its search for an OPEC competitor, and this is when activity in the Sands will resume its course with a vengence. There are also alot of environmental issues that are currently associated with the Alberta Sands but I believe the new "in-situ" extraction methods like the SAGD system will allow for a much cleaner and more affordable extraction of the crude oil contained there in the future. I believe that the sands will be an excellent investment home for the years to come, especially since so many of the worlds major reserves are on their way out.
To get the most bang for your buck here i think you should look for smaller companies that own rights to currently under-developed pieces of the Alberta Sands, as they will be serious candidates for future growth or buyouts.
