If oil from the Canadian sands is so difficult to extract, why does Conoco Phillips bother?

Explanation:

Oil sand is an unconventional source of oil. It requires specialized technology and great expertise to win oil from associated waste materials.

The reason why some companies bother about such oil source is explained below;

Prevailing cost of oil in the world market makes it profitable to extract these oil from sands. A high cost of oil crude oil is a good cause to produce oil form oil sands. Development of new technology can catalyze interest in profitable exploration from unconventional sources. Economic policies can also favor the production of this source of oil. Demand for oil in the market can jack up production levels that can also be met by oil from oil sand.