The oil sands are loose sand or partially consolidated sandstone containing naturally occurring mixtures of sand, clay, and water, saturated with a dense and viscous from of bitumen. Natural bitumen deposits are found in large quantities in Alberta and Utah area. Nevertheless of its environmental issues, a large-scale commercial oil sands industry is expected to increase in coming decades.(1) The present paper focuses on physico-chemical analysis of two different types of bitumens. These bitumen samples were chosen based on: the original source (oil sand and crude petroleum), and mode of process. The aim of this study is to determine both the manufacturing effect on chemical species and the chemical organization as a function of the type of bitumen sample. In order to obtain information on bitumen chemistry, elemental analysis (C, H, N, S, and O), heavy metal (Ni, V) concentrations, IATROSCAN chromatography (thin layer chromatography-flame ionization detection), FTIR spectroscopy, and NMR spectroscopy (1H NMR,13C NMR)haveallbeenused.The characterization includes information about the major compound types (saturates, aromatics, resins and asphaltenes) which can be compared with similar data for other bitumens, more importantly, can be correlated with data from petroleum samples for which refining characteristics are known. Examination of oil sand asphalt showed that it differed significantly from representative petroleum residues, principally in their nonhydrocarbon content and aromatic compounds. When possible, properties and composition were related to recovery and refining processes. This information is important because of the effects that composition has on recovery and processing reactions.