International Oil & Gas is a category for stories relating to tar sand production or climate change but not in any of the projects already listed geographically. This includes other regions of the planet with horrible environmental and high energy costs that, like the tar sands, are only a "choice" because of high prices and the global depletion of easily recoverable oil reserves. Such issues as the threat of war on Iran, "instability" in Iraq and Venezuela or disasters like Katrina will all drive up oil prices, which in turn doubly encourages tar sand production-- by price demand and energy demand.
Stock markets and global oil interests (including war) would be included here, as would attempts to get oil out of high risk, low return areas from oil shale in Colorado, to natural gas and heavy oil in the high eastern Arctic. The tar sands are part of this trend and should be seen as such. What happens with the tar sands will have a tremendous impact on what kind of choices are made elsewhere, environmentally and socially.
Protesters filmed at Alberta upgrader hearing
Last Updated: Wednesday, June 2, 2010 |
CBC News
(CBC)Private landowners who protested outside a public hearing into an bitumen upgrader northeast of Edmonton Tuesday were filmed by security guards hired by the project proponent, French energy giant Total S.A., CBC News has learned.
"What are they so afraid of?" landowner Anne Brown asked on Wednesday. "Why are they taping us?"
Climate camp targets RBS in Edinburgh
Four-day climate camp to be held at same time as Edinburgh fringe festival and will protest over bank's links to oil industry
* Tim Webb
* The Guardian, Tuesday 1 June 2010
This summer's Edinburgh fringe festival could be hijacked by climate change protesters after they decided to hold their annual camp in the city at the same time.
environmentalists and Tar Sands operators to announce eco-agreement
May 25th, 2010 by salmon guy
Eco-certified?
Well, maybe the subject line to this post is not quite true… but probably soon enough. We can call the products: the eco-tar sands; or Greenpeace Oil; or Suzuki Sustainable Bitumen; or otherwise.
Reliance on Oil Sands Grows Despite Environmental Risks
Jim Wilson/The New York Times
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS and ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: May 18, 2010
There is no chance of a rig blowout here, or a deepwater oil spill like the one from the BP well that is now fouling the Gulf of Mexico. But the oil extracted from Canada’s oil sands poses other environmental challenges, like toxic sludge ponds, greenhouse gas emissions and the destruction of boreal forests.
The Gulf oil spill in context: US oil consumption
Jeremy Hance
mongabay.com
May 31, 2010
[graphs and charts at link at bottom of this article]
Athabasca Oil Sands, Greystar, Nexen: Canadian Equity Preview
May 31, 2010, 8:27 AM EDT
By Matt Walcoff
May 31 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of the following companies may have unusual moves in Canadian trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses.
Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. (ATH CT): PetroChina Co.’s partner in Canadian oil sands development received an “outperform” rating in new coverage from Justin Bouchard of Raymond James Financial Inc. The company “represents one of the most attractive acquisition candidates in the oil sands space,” the analyst wrote in a report.
New pipeline won't sate Asian oil demand -Enbridge
Mon May 31, 2010 5:08pm EDT
CALGARY Alberta, May 31 (Reuters) - The planned C$5.5 billion ($5.3 billion) Northern Gateway pipeline will not be big enough to satisfy demand for Canadian oil sands crude from Pacific Rim nations, Enbridge Inc (ENB.TO), the line's backer, said in regulatory filings.
First Nations and Tar Sands Industry Clash in the Courts and the Hague
Chinese firm buys $435-million stake in Penn West to form oilsands joint-venture
Thu May 13 2010
Lauren Krugel
The Canadian Press
CALGARY — China is making yet another push into Alberta’s oilsands, taking on a five per cent stake in Penn West Energy Trust and inking a joint-venture to develop some of the Canadian oil heavyweight’s land.
Tar sands oil extraction spreading rapidly, report warns
Friends of the Earth reports says extraction threatens environment as well as vulnerable communities
* Terry Macalister
* The Guardian, Monday 17 May 2010
The successful development of Canada's tar sands has triggered a rush by Shell and other oil companies to set up similar operations in Russia, Congo and even Madagascar, a new report reveals.
