Fort
McMurray Business Directory
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Fort McMurray Alberta
Before
the arrival of Europeans in the late 18th Century, the Cree
were the dominant First Nations people in the Fort McMurray,
Alberta area. The oil sands were known to the locals and the
surface deposits were actually used to waterproof their canoes.
Oil
Sands, Tar Sands
Fort
McMurray has played a significant role in the history of the
petroleum industry in Canada.
Oil exploration is known to have occurred as early as the early
20th Century. By 1921 there was serious interest in developing
a refining plant to separate the oil from the sands. Alcan Oil
Company was the first outfit to begin bulk tests at Fort McMurray.
Abasands Oil was the first company to successfully extract oil
from the oil sands through hot water extraction by the 1930s.
Fort McMurray
is considered the heart of one of Alberta's major hubs of
oil production, located near the Athabasca Oil Sands. Besides
the oil sands, the economy also relies on natural gas and
oil pipelines, forestry and tourism. The two largest oil sand
mining companies are Syncrude and Suncor Energy.
Population
The
population of Fort McMurray is approximately 70,000. It has
experienced huge average growth rate between 1999 and 2006.
Forecasts indicate that the city will reach a population of
100,000 by 2012.
Climate
