Economics drive tar sands operations. Record highs in oil prices, though still fluctuating, will make tar sand oil ‘economical’ (read: profitable) well into the future. Government subsidies to this environmentally disastrous process remain in place from a time when the federal government was sponsoring research into the possibility of recovering this oil. Stock prices of tar sands developers grow the more conventional oil is scarce.
The Stock Market up. Now which way mining?
By Jack A. Caldwell
Mining columnist
14 October 2008 @ 09:53 am EST
The good news today is that the stock market is up. That is relief to be relished. We hope the trend continues, without pulling up the price of oil.
BP announces oil discovery in Gulf of Mexico
Tue Oct 14, 2008 12:15pm EDT
HOUSTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - BP America Inc (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (BP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on Tuesday announced that a well drilled in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico has found hydrocarbon-bearing sands.
The well, which BP calls Freedom and partner Noble Energy (NBL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has called Gunflint, was drilled in 6,100 feet (1,860 meters) of water to a depth of 29,280 feet (8,927 meters).
2 new oil refinery plans in the pipeline
Dirk Lammers, Associated Press
(10-12) 04:00 PDT Elk Point, S.D. --
The United States hasn't built an oil refinery on a new site in more than 30 years, but a pair of projects eyeing out-of-the way corners of South Dakota and Arizona are slowly working their way up to the big leagues.
Bailout boosts refinery
Hyperion stands to get big tax break
Thom Gabrukiewicz • tgabrukiew@argusleader.com • October 10, 2008
Hyperion Resources could benefit in its quest to finance and build an oil refinery near Elk Point with a 50 percent tax write-off - an extension of an existing credit that was inserted into Congress' historic, $700 billion bailout of Wall Street.
Dirty Fuels and the Bailout
As Dayo noted earlier, the final version of the bailout bill was sprinkled with goodies for renewable energy—including tax credits for solar investments and a one-year renewal of the production tax credit for wind power. Unfortunately, clean energy wasn't the only kind of energy to get a tax break. The bill also contains some sizeable tax giveaways intended to promote what may well be the dirtiest energy sources in existence: oil shale, tar sands, and liquefied coal.
Protesters block rail line hoping to halt Olympic Spirit Train
Canadian Press // October 12, 2008 at 7:55 PM EDT
VAUGHAN, Ont. - Protesters say they have barricaded a rail line north of Toronto in hopes of stopping CP Rail's Olympic Spirit Train.
Protester Dan Keller says about 20 non-violent activists have assembled on the rail line with one woman having chained herself to the tracks.
At this time, York Region police are monitoring the situation.
BREAKING NEWS For Immediate Release
October 12, 2008
Rail Blockade Disrupts CP Rail’s Olympic Spirit Train
“Six Nations and solidarity activists resist Olympic theft of Indigenous land, ecological destruction, and attacks on the poor”
Venezuela goes to natural gas cars
Compiled from Herald News Services
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Venezuela, the biggest oil exporter in the Americas, will trade gas-
guzzlers for new vehicles that run on natural gas and provide drivers
with natural gas for their cars for a year in a bid to boost gasoline
exports.
The old cars will be recycled and the country will profit from
increased fuel exports, President Hugo Chavez said Friday.
"We're going to exchange these mobile squanderers with a beautiful
modern family vehicle that uses gas that doesn't cost anything,"
2010 Olympic security costs could hit $1 billion, says minister
CBC News, Oct. 10, 2008
The cost of security for the 2010 Winter Games could reach as high as $1 billion but B.C. will not be on the hook for the runaway costs,according to the provincial finance minister.
B.C. is protected from cost overruns because the province is only paying for security inside Games venues, Colin Hansen told CBC News on Friday morning.
Pipeline Installation Begins in Marshall County
Friday, October 10, 2008 10:56 AM
(Source: American News (Aberdeen, S.D.))trackingBy Russ Keen, American News, Aberdeen, S.D.
Oct. 10--Some pipe is in the ground and covered with soil in northern Marshall County for the $5.2 billion TransCanada Keystone pipeline that will run through parts of Marshall and Day counties.
That was the word on Thursday from Jeff Raugh, project representative for Keystone. Pipe is in place from North Dakota/South Dakota border south almost to state Highway 10, he said.
