Project Oilsand, also known as
Project Oilsands, and originally known as
Project Cauldron, was a 1958 proposal to exploit the
Athabasca Oil Sands in
Alberta via the underground detonation of a
nuclear bomb; hypothetically, the heat and pressure created by an underground detonation would boil the
bitumen deposits, reducing their
viscosity to the point that standard
oilfield techniques could be used.
Project Cauldron was suggested by L.M. Natland, a geologist working for
Richfield Oil, in response to
American efforts to find peaceful uses for atomic energy. An investigative committee was formed with the support of Alberta's
Social Credit government. One of the committee's early recommendations was that, in order to minimize public fears, a "less effervescent name"
[1] should be used; Project Cauldron was subsequently renamed Project Oilsand.
In April 1959, the
Federal Mines Department approved Project Oilsand; Pony Creek, Alberta (64 miles from
Fort McMurray) was selected as a test site.
[2] Before the project could continue beyond these preliminary steps, however, the Canadian government's stance on the use of nuclear weapons shifted towards one of
non-proliferation; out of concerns that it would increase the risk of
Soviet espionage, Project Oilsand was put on hiatus.
[2] In April 1962, Canadian
Secretary of State for External Affairs Howard Charles Green said "Canada is opposed to nuclear tests, period";
[3] Project Oilsand was subsequently canceled.