Robert Fitzsimmons and the International Bitumen Company Ltd.

Robert Cosmas Fitzsimmons (1881-1971) is one of the most intriguing figures in the history of the oil sands. He was born in Prince Edward Island and came, after years in the United States, to the Athabasca River in 1922. Prior to arriving in northern Alberta, he had no experience with the oil business. Despite this, he managed to play an important role in the development of the oil sands.

Fitzsimmons was convinced he could make a go of it in the oil sands. For twenty years he worked away, trying to raise capital and build his business. Initially, he thought that if he drilled in the right place, he would strike a pool of oil that could be pumped out of the ground like conventional oil. After years of disappointment, he changed tactics and started trying to develop a process to separate the oil from the sand. He incorporated the International Bitumen Company Ltd. in 1927.

Having witnessed the success of Karl Clark’s hot water separation plant on the Clearwater River, Fitzsimmons built his own version in 1930 at a location he later named Bitumount. He was able to

separate some oil, which he attempted to market for roofing and paving as well as many other products. Fitzsimmons was granted a Canadian patent (# 326747) for his separation process in 1932, but tough economic times forced him to close down his plant.

Within a few years, Fitzsimmons was back at Bitumount. To improve the reliability of the composition of the oil produced by the plant, and to enable him to broaden his product line, Fitzsimmons decided to add a small refinery to the Bitumount plant. In 1936 he hired a petroleum engineer, H. F. Everard, to build it, and then set out across the continent to raise money to pay for the expansion. Neither the fundraising nor the construction was a resounding success. Everard left the company in 1937, complaining that he hadn’t been paid. Fitzsimmons hired a replacement for Everard, and the plant was up and running late in 1938. It was not enough to keep the company going, however, and by 1940 the International Bitumen Company Ltd. was removed from Alberta’s corporate registry.

In spite of all the difficulties, Fitzsimmons did not give up. He was still convinced that his company had a future. It finally seemed like things were looking up when, in 1943, Fitzsimmons struck a deal with Montreal financier Lloyd Champion to recapitalize the Bitumount operation. Fitzsimmons helped to get his plant back into production, but in 1944 Champion decided to make a deal with the Government of Alberta to build a totally new operation on the Bitumount site.

Fitzsimmons, his plant, his process and his company were sidelined. After so

many years and so much effort, it was a bitter end to the adventure for Fitzsimmons. He lived to see the launch of the first full-scale industrial oil sands separation plant in 1967, but he never reaped any significant financial benefit from the oil sands business.

Posterity has recognized Fitzsimmons for his role as an oil sands entrepreneur and pioneer. In a field now dominated by large corporations, he was an individual with a vision and drive who managed to accomplish a great deal.