Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah bemoaned the fact that Utah was getting oil from the Canadian Tar Sands, but nothing was being done with the oil shale in Utah and Colorado. Although one may think that there are similarities, the reality is quite different.
The oil shales (marlstone) are densely consolidated (pretty damn hard rock), and grinding plus much heat is required to extract and liquify the kerogen (organic matter). See Australian pilot projects.

The tar sands are not consolidated or cemented into rock, but are sand, which can be separated easily by digging and washing. Large quantities of water, with natural gas used to heat the water, are used to separate the hydrocarbons from the sand and put them into a pipeline to an upgrader.
Apart from the protobitumens, the paleontologist finds much of interest- microplankton, plant spores and pollen, all sorts of plant bits, all of Cretaceous age. The sands are near shore deposits.

Two-four tons of sand yield one barrel of oil. At the Syncrude mine, the sands are dug up by huge shovels and dumped into giant trucks, which carry 400 tons each to the crusher, where the sand is pulverized. Then to the cyclofeeders where the sands are mixed with boiling water. Next are gigantic centrifuges, where the bitumen is separated out. The bitumen is sent to giant cokers and roasted with hydrogen into what they call "Syncrude sweet blend."
The used water is collected in toxic tailings ponds. A monster hole, the largest of any mining operation in the world, results. Greenhouse gases are emitted at a rate greater than any other industrial complex.
Envisioned are some 5 million bbls/day, with pipelines into the States. A toxic moonscape will surely result if the projects are carried out.

Chevron will use a different method at their northern Alberta site. "Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage" is an in-situ process that uses steam and horizontal drilling to extract the bitumen. Steam is injected through the upper well, and the heated bitumen flows with condensed water to the lower well, from which it is lifted to the surface for upgrading. It is hoped that each well pair will produce 1000 plus bbl/day. Natural gas is used to fuel the steam generators.
Shell Oil and Western Sands probably will share in the project.

This method has been proposed for the oil shales, but with no porosity, hard shale, and organic matter requiring at least 500 C heat to mobilize it, I have doubts about practicality.

One hell of an environmental disturbance!

It is much better to buy oil from conventional sources, but in the meantime, alternative energy resources should be developed.

Some of the oil majors are heavily researching alternatives. BP is one of the largest producers of solar panels through a subsidiary company. The major oil companies are not wedded to oil- they are wedded to the profits that shareholders want, and to continuing profits long into the future. Several are working with fuel cells. Shell oil is researching algae as an alternative source.