Oil Sands Truth: Shut Down the Tar Sands

Alberta (& Saskatchewan) Tar Sands

The process of removing the tar from the sand involves incredible amounts of energy from clean-burning natural gas (with nuclear proposed along side), tremendous capital costs during build up, incredibly high petroleum prices to protect investments, and the largest single industrial contribution to climate change in North America. Production also involves the waste of fresh water from nearby lakes, rivers and aquifers that have already created toxic tailing ponds visible from outer space. None of the land strip mined has yet to be certified as reclaimed. It takes 4 tonnes of soil to produce one barrel of oil. The tar sands are producing over 1.2 million barrels of oil a day on average. The oil companies, Canada and the United States governments are proposing to escalate production to 5 million barrels, almost all destined for American markets-- and lower environmental standards while doing so. They also would need to violate the national and human rights of many indigenous nations who are rightly concerned about many dire social, environmental and economic repercussions on their communities.

To get the needed energy supplies, diluent for the bitumen and diverted freshwater to produce and then to transport the flowing heavy bitumen for refining would require massive new infrastructure and pipeline building from three different time zones in the Arctic, across British Columbia and through Alberta in a criss-cross pattern, into pipelines to such destinations as California, China, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ontario, Illinois, Wisconsin and Texas. This entire project is now estimated at over $170 billion dollars. And after the whole process described so far, only then will all this dirty petroleum get burned and expel greenhouse gasses into the air causing further climate change.

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Alberta Tar Sands is a category limited to the location and production of tar sand bitumen, an area the size of the state of Florida in northern Alberta province. The giant processing plants near Fort McMurray where the land itself is strip mined as well as the primarily "in situ" in-ground steam separation/production and extraction plants in the Peace and Cold Lake Regions, all in Alberta, are the "Ground Zero" of the single largest industrial gigaproject ever proposed in human history. The process of removing the tar from the sand involves incredible amounts of energy from clean-burning natural gas (with nuclear proposed along side), tremendous capital costs during build up, incredibly high petroleum prices to protect investments, and the largest single industrial contribution to climate change in North America. Production also involves the waste of fresh water from nearby lakes, rivers and aquifers that have already created toxic tailing ponds visible from outer space. None of the land strip mined has yet to be certified as reclaimed. It takes 4 tonnes of soil to produce one barrel of oil. The tar sands are producing over 1.2 million barrels of oil a day on average. The oil companies, Canada and the United States governments are proposing to escalate production to 5 million barrels, almost all destined for American markets-- and lower environmental standards while doing so. They also would need to violate the national and human rights of many indigenous nations who are rightly concerned about many dire social, environmental and economic repercussions on their communities. To get the needed energy supplies, diluent for the bitumen and diverted freshwater to produce and then to transport the flowing heavy bitumen for refining would require massive new infrastructure and pipeline building from three different time zones in the Arctic, across British Columbia and through Alberta in a criss-cross pattern, into pipelines to such destinations as California, China, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ontario, Illinois, Wisconsin and Texas. This entire project is now estimated at over $170 billion dollars. And after the whole process described so far, only then will all this dirty petroleum get burned and expel greenhouse gasses into the air causing further climate change.

Alberta wants to study tar sands more

Province says more study needed on oil sands impact
Ian Campbell Mar 09, 2011
660news.com

The provincial government says any impact from the oil sands warrants further study.

The latest report by a government-appointed panel failed to dig up any differences than the findings of independent scientists.

The province says contamination in the Athabasca River comes from natural sources, but University of Alberta researchers say they've traced hydrocarbons and heavy metals directly to the oil sands.

"Global unrest making tar sands look even more attractive"

Global unrest making oil sands look even more attractive

February 23, 2011

CALGARY, AB, Feb. 23, 2011/ Troy Media/ – Oil prices spiked to their highest level since the recession this morning, as unrest in several Middle-Eastern countries spooked commodity markets. How this impacts Alberta depends largely on how long the rise lasts for. If instability continues to reign, it could spell good news for investment in Alberta.

Jordan inks $1.8-bn oil [strip mining] shale deal with British firm

Jordan inks $1.8-bn oil shale deal with British firm
2011-03-09 23:10:00

Amman, March 9 (DPA) The Jordanian government Wednesday signed a $1.8 billion concession agreement with the Karak International Oil (KIO), a subsidiary of Britain's Jordan Energy and Mining Ltd, for the production of crude from Jordanian oil shale deposits.

A signatory to the agreement is also Polysuis AG, a subsidiary of Thyssenkrupp Group of Germany, which will prepare the designs, and install and maintain the equipment for the project.

It’s Well Past Time to Start Taking Peak Oil Seriously

It’s Well Past Time to Start Taking Peak Oil Seriously
by Jeremy R. Hammond
February 27, 2011
72Share

CNRL Horizon losing big to fire

Horizon slow to resume production; damages may hit $400 million

By Shaun Polczer, Calgary Herald
March 4, 2011

CALGARY - Canadian Natural Resources on Thursday said it will take longer than expected to get its fire-damaged Horizon oilsands project back to full production.

Suncor, Syncrude face new regulations

Suncor, Syncrude face new regulations
CARRIE TAIT
CALGARY— Globe and Mail Update
Published Tuesday, Mar. 01, 2011

The Alberta government is on the verge of rewriting rules governing oil sands reclamation, changes that target the two largest players in northern Alberta as well as any new mines.

Tar Sands "fetch premium price"

Oil sands crude fetches premium price
NATHAN VANDERKLIPPE
Globe and Mail
Published Wednesday, Mar. 02, 2011

Synthetic crude – produced by oil sands companies such as Suncor Energy Inc., Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Nexen Inc. and Syncrude Canada Ltd. – is fetching a premium of more than $15 over West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark U.S. crude that closed above $100 yesterday for the first time since October, 2008. Historically, the price for synthetic crude has stayed roughly level with WTI.

Keystone’s tar sands pipeline concerns environmentalists

Keystone’s tar sands pipeline concerns environmentalists
2011-03-02 /
The Cherokeean Herald

TransCanada’s Keystone Pipeline System is being heralded as one of the largest infrastructure projects ever undertaken by the United States and Canada – four times the length of the Alaska pipeline.

The 2,151-mile pipeline already connects Hardisty, Can. with Cushing, Ok. Lying in the path of the Keystone Gulf Coast Extension (Keystone XL) from Cushing, Ok. to Port Arthur is Cherokee County.

NDP says funding of tar sands land reclamation is too little for the job

Funds to reclaim oilsands land fall short: NDP
Not enough security, warns auditor general

By Jason Fekete, Calgary Herald March 1, 2011

Leaked documents show the Alberta government will collect $400 million less from energy producers over the next nine years for oilsands reclamation, the NDP charges, despite the auditor general warning the province is financially at risk.