"Alberta is in a very enviable position to supply its own needs and those of its trading partners over the next 50-100 years," said Mr Murray Smith, Alberta's Minister of Energy.

One trading partner that will no doubt be happy about the presence of a huge oil reserve nearby is the United States. The Americans, who are only too aware of their nation's dependence on foreign oil supplies, will be keen to use the latest technology to develop the province and supply America's seemingly insatiable demand for fuel.

"Security of supply is always a key issue among members of Congress. We have to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but that's very difficult to do," one American analyst commented.

Investment in the Alberta oil sands has become one of the world's largest ongoing engineering projects, with more than US$6.3 billion having been spent over the last three years alone in upgrading recovery operations and refining technologies. A further US$19 billion in development proposals from companies like Imperial Oil, Petro-Canada, Suncor, Syncrude, Shell, Chevron and Conoco are waiting for regulatory approval.