It is falsely assumed that big projects equal lots of jobs and, by extension, labour peace if not outright satisfaction. The size and scope of the tarsands means for incredibly dangerous work conditions-- some fatalities at the plants have already occurred. The products seldom get their "value added" in union-run locations, instead the heavy bitumen can be shipped to many different locations across North America for refining, denying benefits to the union. However, the Union does not represent the "guest worker", now being imported in increasing numbers as legislation is changed to make access easier, the term of exploitation last longer, without any new efforts or pathways to deciding to stay after helping tear up the earth.
Ophir to Acquire Interest in Madagascar Block
Ophir Energy plc
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Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Ophir has entered into an agreement with Wilton Petroleum to acquire an 80% interest and Operatorship of a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) over an area designated as the Marovoay Block 2102, onshore Madagascar.
The Block 2102 lies in the coastal area of northwest Madagascar covering an area in excess of 12,000km2. The PSC was awarded to Wilton following a competitive licensing round in 2006.
Madagascar: Heavy Oil Promises a Bright Future for this Island Country
~July 17 2010
Pretty soon, the world’s fourth-largest island off the southeastern coast of Africa will be known more for heavy oil than it is known for the ring-tailed lemur. Experts estimate that out of the 600,000 square miles that make up Madagascar, half of the island is covered by the heavy oil-rich sedimentary basins of Morondava, Majunga and Ambilobe.
Total expands oil sand holdings
July 12, 2010
CALGARY, Alberta, July 12 (UPI) -- French energy company Total is looking to expand its holdings in oil sands through a $1 billion deal to tap into Alberta, Canada, recent transactions show.
Total is expanding its portfolio in Alberta's tar sands through a $1 billion bid for UTS Energy of Calgary, the Financial Times reports.
Alberta assets held by UTS Energy are estimated at more than 3 billion barrels of oil, the report adds.
This project-- Devon Jackfish-- had only just announced their approval to double in size. They also just got a few million dollars as "cutting edge leaders" in C02 "capture" technology. They are supposed to be among the best of the tar sands companies in terms of "performance" and "doing the right thing".
Total to Buy UTS to Expand in Canadian Oil Sands
July 07, 2010
By Kari Lundgren and Stephen Cunningham
July 7 (Bloomberg) -- Total SA, Europe’s second-biggest oil producer, will buy UTS Energy Corp. for C$1.5 billion ($1.4 billion) in cash and shares in a new company to boost its output from Canadian oil sands.
Michigan protests tar sands oil
Published: July 9, 2010
DETROIT, July 9 (UPI) -- A pipeline carrying oil from tar sands in Canada to markets in the United States is an environmentally risky project, protesters in Michigan said.
Commercial deliveries of crude oil to the U.S. Midwest from the Keystone pipeline from Canada started during the last week of June.
TransCanada, the operator of the pipeline, said a U.S. leg of the pipeline includes more than 1,000 miles of new pipe to northern and Midwest states.
Canadian Oil Sands Unfairly Tainted By BP Fiasco
June 21, 2010
Gordon Pape is editor and publisher of The Canada Report.
The town of Bellingham, Washington (population 75,000) made news recently when the local council passed two resolutions effectively banning the use of fuel derived from the Canadian oil sands (or "tar sands" as environmentalists prefer to call it).
CPP invests $250M in oilsands
Federal pension plan buys 17 per cent of Laricina Energy Ltd.
July 6, 2010
CBC News
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has paid $250 million for a stake in a small Alberta oilsands firm.
On Tuesday, Canada's largest pension plan purchased 8,333,333 shares in Laricina Energy Ltd. for $30 per share in a private placement. After the sale, CPP will own 17 per cent of the energy company.
Powerful member of Congress slams Alberta to Texas tar sands pipeline
By Kevin Grandia July 6, 2010
Tyee.
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), a senior member of Congress and chair of the powerful Congressional Committee on Energy and Commerce has penned a public letter to the Secretary of State, Hilary Rodham Clinton, in which he states strong opposition to a planned oil pipeline that would transport Canada's controversial tar sands oil to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
In the letter Waxman writes:
Warning To Gulf Volunteers: Almost Every Cleanup Worker From The 1989 Exxon Valdez Disaster Is Now Dead
Michael Snyder
Jun. 30, 2010
Are you sure that you want to help clean up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? In a previous article we documented a number of the health dangers from this oil spill that many scientists are warning us of, and now it has been reported on CNN that the vast majority of those who worked to clean up the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska are now dead. Yes, you read that correctly. Almost all of them are dead.
