These oil sands resources are called unconventional oil to distinguish them from oil which can be extracted using traditional oil well methods.

As of 2013, in addition to the United States several countries are planning to use hydraulic fracturing for unconventional oil and gas production.

Hydraulic fracturing has been seen as one of the key methods of extracting unconventional oil and gas resources.

In tandem with the light crudes, the heavy and other unconventional oils provide the resource base for Western Hemispheric self-sufficiency.

Continental Resources is a leading unconventional oil and gas resource player in the United States.

Bituminous sands are a major source of unconventional oil, although only Canada has a large-scale commercial oil sands industry.

Also, there have been concerns about the uncertainty surrounding peak oil production and the higher cost of extracting unconventional oil.

Oil shale in China is an important source of unconventional oil.

Sources of unconventional oil will be increasingly relied upon when conventional oil becomes more expensive due to depletion.

Such mitigation could include energy conservation, fuel substitution, and the use of unconventional oil.