We spent the day driving up to Conklin where there are a number of in-situ oil extraction projects. We managed to get onto the private roads that led up to the BP Kirby and Devon Jackfish sites as well as going past Harvest Blackgold and a Cenovus site. It didn’t take long for the security to spot us and we were tailed everywhere we went. They made no move to stop us so we were able to get out with the footage but they were keen to keep an eye on us and to let us know they were watching.

In-situ extraction was supposed to be the clean, green alternative to open-cast mining. It involves pumping super-heated steam into the ground to melt the bitumen which can then be pumped to the surface. In reality it actually produces significantly higher amounts of CO2 than the open-cast mining, and the seismic lines created to put in pipelines significantly disrupt the wildlife in the area, further endangering the Caribou.