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.

EnCana Project Reaps, Refines Tar Sands Oil

EnCana Project Reaps, Refines 'Tar Sands' Oil
March 26, 2008: 08:05 PM EST (Investor's Business Daily delivered by Newstex) --

On Wednesday we examined how well Canada stands as investors unlock their bank accounts and jump back into stocks. Much of the fortunes up north may depend on commodity prices.

Taking a look at Canada's recent winners, we see lots of natural resources companies, such as oil and gas, gold and silver, base metals, and wheat.

Prices for these raw goods recently plunged after major run-ups, so passing on a gold mine or an oil driller may have been smart.

Government is listening to polluters

Government is listening to polluters
Mar 24, 2008 04:30 AM
John Bennett

Federal Environment Minister John Baird claims new regulations announced this month for industry greenhouse gas emitters are "tough – tougher than any anywhere."

So why aren't environmentalists standing up and cheering?

Only a few years ago Stephen Harper called Kyoto "a socialist plot" – but now his government is calling for future oil-sands operations to capture and store the greenhouse gases they create. The Conservative government sure has come a long way, hasn't it? Well no, it hasn't.

Push to bar tar sands to US military

Push to bar oil sands to US military
By Sheila McNulty in Houston
Published: March 18 2008 17:11

The powerful chairman of a key congressional committee is pressing the US federal government to comply with energy legislation that bars the use of fuel from Canada’s oil sands.

The legislation, signed into law Dec 19 last year, prohibits the federal government from procuring fuels with a higher greenhouse gas content than conventional fuels, such as that from Canada’s oil sands or coal-to-liquids.

"Syncrude Won't Accept Loss In Oil Sands Royalty Deal - Report"

Syncrude Won't Accept Loss In Oil Sands Royalty Deal - Report
Dow Jones
March 12, 2008: 10:27 AM EST

OTTAWA -(Dow Jones)- Syncrude Canada Ltd. will only accept a new oil sands royalty deal with the Alberta government that "doesn't short-shrift shareholders," shareholder Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO) said, the National Post reported Wednesday.

However, partners in the Syncrude consortium are prepared to negotiate a new agreement under Alberta's new oil and gas royalty scheme, Imperial's outgoing chief executive, Tim Hearn, told the newspaper.

Right Wing Backlash against "Tar Sands: The Selling of Alberta" Documentary

Another hatchet job on oilsands
Industry threatens sovereignty, doc says
Gary Lamphier, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Saturday, March 15

EDMONTON - I fully expected a one-sided slag job, featuring the usual assortment of capitalist-bashing, America-loathing lefty ideologues.

I wasn't disappointed. Thursday's airing of Tar Sands: The Selling of Alberta, on CBC Television's Doc Zone, was merely the latest in a string of sensationalist hatchet jobs on Alberta's key industry, courtesy of the national media.

Tar sands emissions could triple under Conservative plan

Oilsands emissions could triple under Conservative plan
Mike De Souza, Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, March 14, 2008

Meantime, Environment Canada has confirmed that millions of tonnes of pollution from small facilities will be exempt for companies in sectors such as oil and gas, natural gas pipelines, electricity, chemicals and fertilizers.

Suncor's Real Agenda in the Tar Sands: Conservation "Offsets"

Here's the real reason for Suncor's participation in the Pew/Sunoco funded Canadian Boreal Initiative -- allow for endless tarpit expansion while taking credit for some low-hanging fruit protected areas elsewhere in the boreal forest. An excellent business strategy indeed, especially given the fact that Pew/Sunoco actually *founded* Suncor in 1967. Though Pew/Sunoco sold off Suncor in 1995, they continue to refine large amounts of synthetic (mock) crude oil from the tarpits and desperately want more.

Tarpit Pete

The tar sands omerta

The oil sands omerta

Norval Scott, March 12, 2008 at 3:58 PM EDT

According to oil executives speaking at the World Heavy Oil Congress
in Edmonton this week, a big challenge for the oil sands industry is
to overcome adverse public perceptions of their work. To a man, the
Canadian representatives speaking – including the chief executives of
Suncor Energy Inc. and Nexen Inc. – referred to the need to do better
in the PR battle, and emphasized that this was a priority.

It’s a fight that the companies aren’t winning, and it’s their own

Doc builds convincing case against tar sands

Doc builds convincing case against tar sands
KATE TAYLOR
ktaylor@globeandmail.com
March 13, 2008

When Norway began extracting North Sea oil, its government worried that the sudden influx of revenue would distort the economy, so it placed its new wealth in a rainy-day fund. Now that the North Sea reserves are diminished, Norway's state-owned oil exploration company is looking elsewhere, to Alberta's tar sands.

Everything You Didn't Really Want to Know About Tar Sands

Do you ever think about the spot between the wall and the back of the stove? You know, the place where stray bits of dinner, splashes of marinara sauce and inexplicable assorted chicken parts gather to create a nasty, smelly, horrible part of your kitchen — your otherwise glorious, sparkling (OK, not so sparkling but in the right light it looks just lovely), bejewelled food preparation space, the place where you pack the kid's lunch, where you sit and read the paper and listen