The Kearl oil sands project is finally producing bitumen, Imperial Oil Ltd. announced Saturday.

The project uses a froth-treatment technology to produce pipeline-quality diluted bitumen without an upgrader, which the company says reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Located about 75 kilometres northeast of Fort McMurray, the mine is expected to produce approximately 4.6 billion barrels of bitumen over an estimated project life of more than four decades.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/bpwt7fo