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.
Not In Anyone’s Backyard
Farmers in Alberta are part of the growing rural resistance standing up to development
by Scott Harris
The Dominion
For much of its century-long history, the Schultz family farmstead has been a centre of community for farmers near Tofield, a place where people have gathered to pass time and bond with one another.
Tar sands stocks hit 52-week lows on financing fears
Carrie Tait, Financial Post Published: Monday, October 06, 2008
CALGARY -- A slew of Canada's most respected oil and gas outfits slammed into 52-week lows during Monday's tumultuous trading session, highlighting fears that companies in the oil patch face a struggle to rustle up the cash necessary to plow ahead with expensive projects.
Labour groups critical of Harper’s oilsands comments
Friday, October 10, 2008
By CAROL CHRISTIAN
Today staff
Recent election promises by Conservative Leader Stephen Harper focusing on oilsands irritated two labour groups fighting for Canadian job, and energy, security.
Both the national Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) Union and the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) claim Harper continues to ignore Canadian national energy security, and the jobs pouring out of the country.
Politicians vs. our last healthy industry
Mark Milke, For The Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, October 10, 2008
In a serendipitous release Wednesday, Statistics Canada published data on how much the oil and gas industry spends on extraction, i.e., getting oil and gas out of the ground so we can power our automobiles and heat our homes and offices, among other uses.
The numbers are staggering. In 2007, the industry spent $49.7 billion on capital expenditures. On the operating side, Canada's energy industry cut cheques worth $37.6 billion.
Ability of oilsands players to weather storm a question of timing: economist
The Canadian Press
October 10, 2008 - 12:44 a.m.
CALGARY - The ability of oilsands players to weather the recent economic tempest will in large part depend on timing, an economist says.
On Friday crude oil prices shrivelled to US$80 - break-even territory for many high-cost oilsands projects.
Derek Burleton of TD Economics says companies that started their projects a few years back will be in better shape, since their plans were based on crude prices not all that different from today's.
Next president could make huge oil sands deal with Canada
Posted: October 10, 2008, 11:13 AM by Jonathan Ratner
Energy
George Monbiot stirs debate over fate of tar sands
By Matthew Burrows
George Monbiot wants the Alberta tar-sands industry shut down “as quickly as possible”.
The best-selling author, Guardian columnist, and environmentalist told the Georgia Straight he would like to see “large-scale direct actions” to make that happen.
Scream star 'horrified' by oilsands
edmonton journal
Published: 9:56 am
EDMONTON - Actress Neve Campbell toured the Fort McMurray oilsands this week and met with leaders of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and the Mikisew Cree First Nation.
"I'm horrified by the pace and scale of development in the tar sands, and the weak response by our federal and provincial governments," Campbell said in a news release today.
CSIS, RCMP launch probes against possible Olympic threats
Jeff Lee , Canwest News Service
Published: Wednesday, October 08, 2008
VANCOUVER - Security forces are predicting protests will escalate as the 2010 Olympics approach and have mounted a number of "intelligence probes" to counteract threats.
The information is contained in heavily censored documents obtained by the Vancouver Sun from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP, the lead agency for the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit (ISU.)
Very interesting line in here:
"Instead of building an upgrader such as at Fort Hills, which needs an oil price of around $90 a barrel to create returns, the returns are better if companies find a U.S. refining partner to take their bitumen production, he added."
This is essentially a statement that the financial collapse within the United States is leading the tar sands to export more bitumen directly without, in industry parlance "giving the value added here before moving the product downstream". This will definitely further inflame the Alberta Federation of Labour.
--M
