What bitumen looks like and why it's viscous

The U.S. attack on Venezuela roiled Canadian oil markets. Pipelines and crude are suddenly spawning countless headlines. But do you know the difference between your sweet crude and a hole in the ground? And is that hole in the ground spurting sour bitumen? Of course that’s a trick question as everyone knows sour bitumen won’t spurt without dilbit. Right? 

What do you really know about oil? Given that it seems to be driving so much of our geopolitics and fuelling a large part of our economy, what do you need to know about it?

Today we’re going oil school, getting back to basics, to try and understand what’s behind all the crude news.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Featured Guest: Adam Pankratz

Fact checking by Julian Abraham

Additional music by Audio Network

More information:

• Venezuelan oil could put Canada out of business — The National Post
• The Venezuela crisis has prompted Canada to double down on oil. Is that the right move? — Canada’s National Observer

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