An older technology features vast strip mines, huge diggers, and trucks carting oily dirt to industrial-scale pressure cookers that drain off the bitumen. A newer technology leaves the surface untouched by pumping steam into the subsoil.
环保主义者的麻烦令人不安，而石油公司的麻烦则更为本质。石油公司通常采用两种方法从土壤中提取沥青。原有技术需要建设巨型露天矿，还要配备大型挖掘机、卡车将油砂运往工业压力容器中提取沥青。而新技术则在不破坏土壤表层的前提下向土壤底层注入蒸汽。待沥青受热成为流质后再行抽取。这两种方法在降低土壤油性的同时，都无法避免有毒物质残留问题。