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.
The Indpendent UK offers an interesting perspective on the Tar Sands, yet is somewhat delusional from time to time:
"So it is always going to be within Opec's power to pump its cheap-to-extract conventional oil fast enough to drive the price below the marginal cost of extraction from tar sands."
Ottawa targets pipeline red tape
SHAWN MCCARTHY
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070723.RLUNN23/TPStor...
July 23, 2007
OTTAWA -- Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn says he'll press his American counterpart when they meet today to ensure speedy regulatory review of the major pipeline projects needed to carry growing volumes of oil sands crude to U.S. markets.
Groups keep pressing for long-term review of Mackenzie pipeline project
Last Updated: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 | 9:44 AM CT
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2007/07/17/nwt-pipeline.html
Environmental groups say they will still press for an independent review of the proposed Mackenzie natural gas project, even after their request was turned down last week.
Trade workers closer to striking
Members of 5 major unions vote in favour
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/07/20/4356422.html
By GLENN KAUTH, SUN MEDIA
Trades workers have taken one step closer to striking after members of five major unions voted in favour of walking off the job.
The Alberta Labour Relations Board has yet to certify the results, but Barry Salmon, media liaison for the labour groups, said Friday unofficial numbers show all five unions have strike mandates.
Demand to Outpace Crude Supplies
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/16/AR200707...
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
Monday, July 16, 2007; 9:25 PM
WASHINGTON -- Conventional crude oil supplies won't keep up with growing global demand in the next 25 years and other fuels from ethanol to liquefied coal and oil from tar sands will be needed to close the gap, says a draft oil industry report.
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=a0fadc90-c1fb-4...
China to expand oilsands presence
July 20, 2007
SHANGHAI (Bloomberg) - China National Petroleum Corp., the nation's largest oil producer, plans to expand its cooperation with Canadian partners on oil sands projects, refuting a company official's comment that it will slow down investment.
Strike threat looms over booming oilsands
http://www.businessedge.ca/article.cfm/newsID/15812.cfm
By The Canadian Press - For Business Edge
Published: 07/13/2007
The looming threat of Alberta's first trades strike in 25 years could slow construction in the booming oilsands, ultimately harming the province's reputation as a reliable investment climate, observers say.
Sign of the times
Airlines report heavy travel from Newfoundland to Alberta
http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=45096&sc=79 [St John's Nfld]
PETER WALSH
The Telegram
Canada’s major airlines are reporting brisk business this summer on flights from Newfoundland to Alberta.
WestJet added the province’s only non-stop flight from St. John’s to Calgary this summer.
Rival Air Canada says its Newfoundland to Alberta services introduced in 2006 are “popular” again this year. Neither airline would release specific numbers, but both say business on the routes is going well.
Canada, China: A Pipeline to Oil Sands Expertise
July 16, 2007 19 03 GMT
http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=292359
Summary
PetroChina announced July 12 that it is quitting a pipeline project that would transport oil derived from Alberta's oil sands to British Columbia. China never intended to build the pipeline, since what it really sought was the know-how Canadian oil sand producers have acquired over the years.
Analysis
This article is a great glimpse, yet it seems to tell us that certain market players throughout the US are less able to predict the future of oil recoverability and capacity than the rest of the population. The line: "The industry is also gambling that oil prices will stay high. If they collapse, expensive oil-sands projects may not pay off." is the needed throw-in to make people not embrace the Peak Oil reality we are already at the start of.
