The Melville Island oil sands are a large deposit of oil sands (sometimes referred to as tar sands) on Melville Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Canadian Arctic Archipelago

The Canadian Arctic Archipelago, also known as the Arctic Archipelago, is a Canadian archipelago north of the Canadian mainland in the Arctic...

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Exploration for petroleum

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

 deposits in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago began, on Melville Island, in 1961.
Oil sands deposits were found in the Marie Bay

Marie Bay

Marie Bay is a fjord on the Northwest tip of Melville Island.Marie Bay lies on the part of Melville Island that is in the Northwest Territories.The Eastern part of the Island is in Nunavut.Oil sands deposits were found in the Marie Bay region....

 region in 1962, and other locations that are part of the Bjorne Formation

Bjorne Formation

The Bjorne Formation is a formation of sand and shale in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.The southern edge of the formation includes petroleum reserves in Melville Island....

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See also

• Athabasca oil sands
  Athabasca Oil Sands
  The Athabasca oil sands are large deposits of bitumen, or extremely heavy crude oil, located in northeastern Alberta, Canada - roughly centred on the boomtown of Fort McMurray...
  
  
• Peace River oil sands
• Cold Lake oil sands
  Cold Lake oil sands
  The Cold Lake oil sands are a large deposit of oil sands located near Cold Lake, Alberta.Cold Lake is east of Alberta's capital, Edmonton, near Alberta's border with Saskatchewan, and a small portion of the Cold Lake field lies in Saskatchewan.In 1980 a plant in Cold Lake was one of just two oil...
  
  
• Wabasco oil sands
  Wabasco oil sands
  The Wabasco oil sands are the fourth largest deposit of oil sands located in Alberta, Canada.The Wabasca deposit is located southwest of the larger Athabasca oil sands deposit.-See also:* Athabasca oil sands* Cold Lake oil sands...