Oil Sands Truth: Shut Down the Tar Sands

Energy

Energy

Energy and how it is captured and consumed is barely viable in tar sands production. While the amount of oil in places such as the tar sands in Alberta or the Orinoco Belt in Venezuela may have deposits of similar size to the reserves of countries such as Saudi Arabia or Iraq, the return of new energy after expending energy in production is not even close. In Iraq, the process of using one barrel of oil generates 100 new barrels. In the tar sands, estimates of 3 to 1 and even as low as 1.5 to 1 have been made. Offsetting the net energy loss would require minimally 25-30 tar sands facilities for one Saudi plant operating at the same capacity.

warning: Creating default object from empty value in /var/www/drupal-6.28/modules/taxonomy/taxonomy.pages.inc on line 33.
Energy and how it is captured and consumed is barely viable in tar sands production. While the amount of oil in places such as the tar sands in Alberta or the Orinoco Belt in Venezuela may have deposits of similar size to the reserves of countries such as Saudi Arabia or Iraq, the return of new energy after expending energy in production is not even close. In Iraq, the process of using one barrel of oil generates 100 new barrels. In the tar sands, estimates of 3 to 1 and even as low as 1.5 to 1 have been made. Offsetting the net energy loss would require minimally 25-30 tar sands facilities for one Saudi plant operating at the same capacity.

"We're shipping oil to Texas, which is kind of funny when you think about it"

Enbridge eyes Gulf route
Demand growing; Buying assets seen as better plan than building pipeline
Jon Harding, Financial Post
Published: Thursday, April 05, 2007

CALGARY - Enbridge Inc. is accelerating plans to satisfy a growing thirst for Canadian crude among refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast and would rather buy existing assets in the United States than build a $4-billion direct pipeline link between Alberta and Texas.

Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline hits new snag: Dehcho want land use plan

Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline hits new snag
First Nation wants wilderness plan first
LISA SCHMIDT, CanWest News Service
Montréal Gazette, Calgary Herald
April 05, 2007

The last aboriginal holdout to the Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline is putting up another hurdle to its development, calling on the federal government yesterday to protect vast swaths of northern wilderness before the project can proceed.

Dehcho Nation wants land protection for pipeline

Dehcho Nation wants land protection for pipeline
Apr 04, 2007 07:39 PM
James Stevenson
Canadian press
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/199652

CALGARY–Ottawa must act now to protect a vast swath of land in the Northwest Territories if it wants to see a $16-billion natural gas pipeline built down the Mackenzie Valley, a major Dene First Nation said Wednesday.

Enbridge the Big Winners: Many Pipes, Expanding Capacity

With the land already compromised South and the tarsands themselves so vast and ugly, these are the projects that we can safely overlook or play down, right?

Showdown With Big Oil-- Ed. Sun

When these are the types of editorials written by those most sympathetic to the tarsand producers, we know the tide is slowly yet surely turning.

-M

Showdown With Big Oil
April 3, 2007
By NEIL WAUGH
http://www.edmontonsun.com/Business/Columnists/Waugh_Neil/2007/04/03/390...

There’s a battle brewing out there. People are getting right ticked off.

The boom-to-end-all-booms is starting to look like a bust for many. And they are getting mad.

Already Premier Ed Stelmach has three not-in-my-backyard movements going in his constituency alone.

Tar Sand Oil to be Refined in Ontario?

Tar sand proposal for locals at Shell Open House
Thu, March 29, 2007
The curious and the committed came to learn details of a proposed refinery.
By JOE MATYAS, SUN MEDIA
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/CityandRegion/2007/03/29/3861392-sun.html

WALLACEBURG -- Shell Canada officials were anything but lonely here yesterday as they gave the public its first look at a proposed refinery that could cost between $6 billion and $8 billion.

Tree huggers, job seekers, property owners, politicians, the media and the just plain curious came to the Oaks Inn for a five-hour, show-and-tell.

Nukes as Best Alternative: UPI

Does anyone remember when nuclear power was considered dangerous and of grave, permanent risk for millions of years at a time to all the lands in and around any nuclear plant?

Analysis: Nuclear-powered oil sands
By BEN LANDO
UPI Energy Correspondent
http://www.upi.com/Energy/analysis_nuclearpowered_oil_sands/20070330-063...

WASHINGTON, March 30 (UPI) -- Nuclear companies and those mining Canada's oil sands are poised to team up to separate crude from deep Earth and pump it to the surface.

Enbridge extends open season on Spearhead pipeline construction

On the homepage of Enbridge, you can find this declaration about the Spearhead Pipeline:

"Enbridge intends to reverse the flow of the pipeline to transport
Canadian crude oil south from the company's mainline system at Chicago
to the storage and refining hub at Cushing, Oklahoma."

Yet another pipeline project that is absolutely dependent on the existence of the tar sands expansion.

-Macdonald
--
Open season extended for Enbridge expansion
Sat, March 31, 2007
http://calsun.canoe.ca/Business/2007/03/31/3879325-sun.html
By CP

Alberta Clipper Project Vs. Saskatchewan Farmers

Like the bulk of the proposed pipelines to head south after leaving the Tarsands, this pipeline project run by Enbridge is actually taking heavy bitumen to be refined in the southern 48. That isn't merely to keep the corporations in the southern US functioning, but as the rest of the world's capacity shrinks while demand grows, as it is wont to do, this is the only feasible way that the US Dep't of Energy's strategy of bleeding the Albertan tarsands as fast as possible can actually get refined, for there would be no way to construct the needed infrastructure fast enough.

Syndicate content
Oilsandstruth.org is not associated with any other web site or organization. Please contact us regarding the use of any materials on this site.

Tar Sands Photo Albums by Project

Discussion Points on a Moratorium

User login

Syndicate

Syndicate content