Tar Sands 101
The Tar Sands "Gigaproject" is the largest industrial project in human history and likely also the most destructive. The tar sands mining procedure releases at least three times the CO2 emissions as regular oil production and is slated to become the single largest industrial contributor in North America to Climate Change.
The tar sands are already slated to be the cause of up to the second fastest rate of deforestation on the planet behind the Amazon Rainforest Basin. Currently approved projects will see 3 million barrels of tar sands mock crude produced daily by 2018; for each barrel of oil up to as high as five barrels of water are used.
Human health in many communities has seriously taken a turn for the worse with many causes alleged to be from tar sands production. Tar sands production has led to many serious social issues throughout Alberta, from housing crises to the vast expansion of temporary foreign worker programs that racialize and exploit so-called non-citizens. Infrastructure from pipelines to refineries to super tanker oil traffic on the seas crosses the continent in all directions to allthree major oceans and the Gulf of Mexico.
The mock oil produced primarily is consumed in the United States and helps to subsidize continued wars of aggression against other oil producing nations such as Iraq, Venezuela and Iran.
To understand the tar sands in more depth, continue to our Tar Sands 101 reading list
Wash. Post: Demand to Outpace Crude Supplies
Demand to Outpace Crude Supplies
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/16/AR200707...
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
Monday, July 16, 2007; 9:25 PM
WASHINGTON -- Conventional crude oil supplies won't keep up with growing global demand in the next 25 years and other fuels from ethanol to liquefied coal and oil from tar sands will be needed to close the gap, says a draft oil industry report.
"Oil from shale could meet need" [Utah]
Oil from shale could meet need
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/energywatch/oilandgas/features/articl...
By Megan Harris Jul 21, 2007, 0:34 GMT
WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- Technology to draw oil from rock in Rocky Mountain states and other unconventional sources is getting another look from companies and the government as the demand for energy increases and supply tightens, especially in the United States.
Despite pulling out of Gateway, China to Expand in Tar Sands
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=a0fadc90-c1fb-4...
China to expand oilsands presence
July 20, 2007
SHANGHAI (Bloomberg) - China National Petroleum Corp., the nation's largest oil producer, plans to expand its cooperation with Canadian partners on oil sands projects, refuting a company official's comment that it will slow down investment.
More Concerns with Keystone Pipeline [Nebraska]
Concerns raised at pipeline forum
http://www.sewardindependent.com/c21193.html
Paul Fischer
Seward County residents had another opportunity on July 16 to hear discussion on the TransCanada Keystone Pipeline Project at a pipeline safety forum held at the Seward Civic Center.
The forum, hosted by the GFWC Seward Women's Club, Seward League of Women Voters and Seward Citizens on Pipeline Route Committee, consisted of several speakers-each given the floor for 18 minutes-followed by a question-and-answer period.
Imperial and ExxonMobil to explore Beaufort Sea (Arctic Ocean)
Imperial, ExxonMobil to explore Beaufort Sea for oil, gas
Last Updated: Thursday, July 19, 2007 | 5:48 PM CT
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2007/07/19/nwt-imperial.html
Imperial Oil Ltd. and sister company ExxonMobil Canada have acquired an exploration licence from the federal government to look for oil and gas in a parcel of the Beaufort Sea, the two companies announced Thursday.
Tar Sands Workers to Strike?
Strike threat looms over booming oilsands
http://www.businessedge.ca/article.cfm/newsID/15812.cfm
By The Canadian Press - For Business Edge
Published: 07/13/2007
The looming threat of Alberta's first trades strike in 25 years could slow construction in the booming oilsands, ultimately harming the province's reputation as a reliable investment climate, observers say.
Newfoundland-based Airlines beef up flights to Alberta
Sign of the times
Airlines report heavy travel from Newfoundland to Alberta
http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=45096&sc=79 [St John's Nfld]
PETER WALSH
The Telegram
Canada’s major airlines are reporting brisk business this summer on flights from Newfoundland to Alberta.
WestJet added the province’s only non-stop flight from St. John’s to Calgary this summer.
Rival Air Canada says its Newfoundland to Alberta services introduced in 2006 are “popular” again this year. Neither airline would release specific numbers, but both say business on the routes is going well.
Stratfor: "Canada, China: A Pipeline to Oil Sands Expertise"
Canada, China: A Pipeline to Oil Sands Expertise
July 16, 2007 19 03 GMT
http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=292359
Summary
PetroChina announced July 12 that it is quitting a pipeline project that would transport oil derived from Alberta's oil sands to British Columbia. China never intended to build the pipeline, since what it really sought was the know-how Canadian oil sand producers have acquired over the years.
Analysis
Gateway to nowhere
A great article and summation, though I believe that author Swanson is a tad too optimistic to suggest that the project looks dead. The plans for moving heavy bitumen [et al] to other markets-- with the US most likely demanding to be the first ones considered-- must happen in phases, because the recoverability/daily oil-producing capacity cannot be tripled overnight.
WSJ: Rising Tide of Canadian Crude to the US
This article is a great glimpse, yet it seems to tell us that certain market players throughout the US are less able to predict the future of oil recoverability and capacity than the rest of the population. The line: "The industry is also gambling that oil prices will stay high. If they collapse, expensive oil-sands projects may not pay off." is the needed throw-in to make people not embrace the Peak Oil reality we are already at the start of.
