Circular published for Fitzsimmons’s campaign
<em>Guide to the Alberta Oil Sand Area...</em>
The 1951 Athabasca Oil Sands Conference
  • Karl Clark at work on his prototype separation plant, 1929, Source: Glenbow Archives, ND-3-4596a

    Karl Clark begins his long career investigating Alberta’s oil sands.

    Karl Clark at work on his prototype separation plant, 1929
    Source: Glenbow Archives, ND-3-4596a

  • Robert Fitzsimmons at Bitumount, ca. 1920s, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3358

    Robert Cosmas Fitzsimmons visits the Athabasca River and purchases an oil lease.

    Robert Fitzsimmons at Bitumount, ca. 1920s
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3358

  • Oil sands separation plant at Dunvegan Yards, Edmonton, 1925, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3526

    Karl Clark and Sidney Blair build prototype hot water separation plants.

    Oil sands separation plant at Dunvegan Yards, Edmonton, 1925
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3526

  • Prospectus for the International Bitumen Company, n.d., Source:	Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1971.0356.544a,b.ProspectusOf.IBC.1

    International Bitumen Company Ltd. is incorporated.

    Prospectus for the International Bitumen Company Ltd., n.d.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1971.0356.544a,b.ProspectusOf.IBC.1

  • Oil sands separation plant on the Clearwater River, 1930, Source:	Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3536

    Karl Clark’s hot water separation plant moves to the Clearwater River, near Fort McMurray.

    Oil sands separation plant on the Clearwater River, 1930
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3536

  • Diagram of the process patented by Clark in 1929, Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 289058

    Karl Clark is issued Patent 289058 for “Bituminuous [sic] Sand Processing”.

    Diagram of the process patented by Clark in 1929
    Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 289058

  • Fitzsimmons' separation plant, Bitumount, ca. 1930, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3383

    Robert Fitzsimmons builds his first separation plant at Bitumount.

    Fitzsimmons’s separation plant, Bitumount, ca. 1930
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3383

  • New plant at Bitumount, n.d., Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3378

    Robert Fitzsimmons builds a new plant designed to produce 200 barrels of oil per day, but it runs for only a short while.

    New plant at Bitumount, n.d.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3378

  • Diagram of Fitzsimmons' patented separation process, 1932, Source:	Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 326747

    Robert Fitzsimmons is issued Patent 326747 for a “Process and Apparatus for Recovering Bitumen.”

    Diagram of Fitzsimmons’s patented separation process, 1932
    Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 326747

  • The International Bitumen Company plant, Bitumount, ca. 1937, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PAA A3375

    Robert Fitzsimmons builds a refinery at Bitumount.

    The International Bitumen Company Ltd. plant, Bitumount, ca. 1937
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PAA A3375

  • Fitzsimmons (left) shows Champion the oil sands at Bitumount, n.d., Source: University of Alberta Archives, 83-160-113

    Montreal financier Lloyd R. Champion buys controlling interest in International Bitumen Company Ltd. and changes name to Oil Sands Ltd.

    Fitzsimmons (left) shows Champion the oil sands at Bitumount, n.d.
    Source: University of Alberta Archives, 83-160-113

  • Ernest Manning in 1943, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A483

    Ernest Manning, Premier of Alberta, announces a loan of $250,000 to Oil Sands Ltd. to build a prototype oil sands separation plant at Bitumount.

    Ernest Manning in 1943
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A483

  • Alberta Government Oil Sands Project, Bitumount, 1952, Source: University of Alberta Archives, 91-137-127

    Agreement with Oil Sands Ltd. is cancelled. The Bitumount project becomes known as the Alberta Government Oil Sands Project.

    Alberta Government Oil Sands Project, Bitumount, 1952
    Source: University of Alberta Archives, 91-137-127

  • Diagram of process patented by Clark in 1948, Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 448231

    Karl Clark is issued Patent 448231 for “Extracting Oil from Bituminous Sand.”

    Diagram of process patented by Clark in 1948
    Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 448231

  • Karl Clark at the completed Bitumount plant, n.d., Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PA410.3

    Alberta Government Oil Sands Project plant at Bitumount is completed.

    Karl Clark at the completed Bitumount plant, n.d.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PA410.3

  • Cover of Blair's Report on the Alberta Bituminous Sands, 1950, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1971.0345.box24.503

    Blair Report indicates that developing the oils sands could be profitable.

    Cover of Sidney Blair’s Report on the Alberta Bituminous Sands, 1950
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1971.0345.box24.503

  • Poster on the University of Alberta Campus, 1951, Source: University of Alberta Archives, 91-137-122

    Over one hundred delegates attend the Athabasca Oil Sands Conference at the University of Alberta.

    Poster on the University of Alberta Campus, 1951
    Source: University of Alberta Archives, 91-137-122

  • Bitumount, ca. 1949-1950, Source: Glenbow Archives, pa-1599-451-2

    Government of Alberta puts the Bitumount plant and 5,784 acres up for sale, but does not receive any adequate bids. The plant remains non-operational.

    Bitumount, ca. 1949-1950
    Source: Glenbow Archives, pa-1599-451-2

  • Diagram of Fitzsimmons’ patented 1953 separation process, Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 493081

    Robert Fitzsimmons is issued Patent 493081 for a “Process for Recovering Bitumen from Tar Sands.”

    Diagram of Fitzsimmons’s patented 1953 separation process
    Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 493081

  • The Bitumount site became overgrown in the years following its abandonment. Source: Historic Resources Management, DSC_1720

    Bitumount plant is sold, but no significant development occurs and it is finally abandoned in 1958.

    The Bitumount site became overgrown in the years following its abandonment.
    Source: Historic Resources Management, DSC_1720

  • Sign at the Bitumount site, 1980s, Source: Historic Resources Management, DSC_5896

    Bitumount is designated a Provincial Historic Resource.

    Sign at the Bitumount site, 1980s
    Source: Historic Resources Management, DSC_5896

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The Alberta Government Oil Sands Project

When Lloyd Champion and Oil Sands Ltd. could not keep up with the payments required to maintain their side of the partnership, the Government of Alberta was left to continue alone. The provincial government did not want to be in the oil sands separation business. The aim had always been both to launch a private industry producer that would continue to undertake oil sands developments and to demonstrate that oil sands separation was a good investment.

With the departure of the private sector partner, the sole remaining reason for completing the construction of the Bitumount plant was to demonstrate that industrial-scale production of oil from the bituminous sands was possible. It was never intended that the Alberta government would carry on with its involvement at Bitumount. Since there was no commercial partner to operate the plant and demonstrate that it was turning a profit, the government had to find another way of accomplishing this goal.

In 1949, the plant was completed and successfully run though the separation and refinement processes. A delegation of Alberta MLAs was invited to be present for a demonstration of the plant in the late summer and was duly impressed with what they saw. Then, in September, the government brought Sidney Martin Blair to inspect the plant and determine whether it could be operated commercially and turn a profit. Blair had worked with Karl Clark on the oil sands as a graduate student in the early to mid-1920s. Since then, he had become a respected professional in the oil and gas business.

Blair produced a detailed Report on the Alberta Bituminous Sands in 1950. Subsequently known as the “Blair Report,” this document created quite a stir in the oil and gas community.

Following up on this buzz, the Athabasca Oil Sands Conference was organized for 1951 to highlight the achievements at Bitumount. Along with attending presentations of research papers at the University of Alberta, the large group of delegates was transported to Bitumount to see the plant in action.

Ultimately, these efforts were not enough to convince industry to commit to starting its own oil sands projects. Bitumount was eventually sold, and some modifications were made to the plant, but it essentially stood idle after 1951 and was officially shut down in 1957. It was not until 1963 that a private sector oil sands project was begun.

In this Section

The Blair Report

The Blair Report served to draw the attention of the oil industry to the possibilities of the oil sands.

The Athabasca Oil Sands Conference

Scientists, engineers and oil industry personnel assembled in Edmonton to share oil sands information and to hear about the Alberta Government Oil Sands Project at Bitumount.

Coal Conventional Oil Turner Valley Gas Plant Natural Gas Oil Sands Bitumount Electricity & Alternative Energy