Economics

The oil sands omerta

Norval Scott, March 12, 2008 at 3:58 PM EDT

According to oil executives speaking at the World Heavy Oil Congress
in Edmonton this week, a big challenge for the oil sands industry is
to overcome adverse public perceptions of their work. To a man, the
Canadian representatives speaking – including the chief executives of
Suncor Energy Inc. and Nexen Inc. – referred to the need to do better
in the PR battle, and emphasized that this was a priority.

It’s a fight that the companies aren’t winning, and it’s their own

Doc builds convincing case against tar sands
KATE TAYLOR
ktaylor@globeandmail.com
March 13, 2008

When Norway began extracting North Sea oil, its government worried that the sudden influx of revenue would distort the economy, so it placed its new wealth in a rainy-day fund. Now that the North Sea reserves are diminished, Norway's state-owned oil exploration company is looking elsewhere, to Alberta's tar sands.

Everything You Didn't Really Want to Know About Tar Sands

Do you ever think about the spot between the wall and the back of the stove? You know, the place where stray bits of dinner, splashes of marinara sauce and inexplicable assorted chicken parts gather to create a nasty, smelly, horrible part of your kitchen — your otherwise glorious, sparkling (OK, not so sparkling but in the right light it looks just lovely), bejewelled food preparation space, the place where you pack the kid's lunch, where you sit and read the paper and listen

New projects pitched to ease Fort McMurray housing woes

By The Canadian Press - For Business Edge
Published: 03/07/2008 - Vol. 8, No. 5

The Wood Buffalo Housing and Development Corp. is looking to get into the land development business to alleviate Fort McMurray's housing crunch.

The municipally-owned, non-profit corporation presented a proposal to regional council last week for developing two areas of Fort McMurray north of the Athabasca River.

Nuclear provider targets oilsands
Natural gas shortage looms by 2030: Areva
Shaun Polczer, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Alberta's oilsands industry faces a natural gas shortage by 2030 without new energy sources to offset gas use in oilsands expansions, the head of nuclear power giant Areva Canada Inc. said Monday.

Speaking in Calgary, Areva CEO Armand Laferrere said continued oilsands development would consume virtually all of Canada's current natural gas supply -- some 92 per cent -- by 2030.

Enbridge mulls re-reversal of Canada oil pipeline
Scott Haggett, Reuters
Published: 6:49 am

EDMONTON, Alberta (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc is looking at moving oil sands crude to the U.S. Northeast and Eastern Canada by reversing the flow of one of its pipelines or building a new one, its chief executive said on Monday.

Enbridge, whose pipelines carry the lion's share of Canada's crude exports to the United States, may construct a new line to Philadelphia from southern Ontario or re-reverse the flow of Line 9 to Montreal from Sarnia, Ontario, Enbridge CEO Pat Daniel said.

Canadian Oil No Good for U.S.?

Tuesday, March 11, 2008 9:25 AM

By: Newsmax.com Article Font Size

It might come as a surprise that the country with the largest oil reserves is not Saudi Arabia, Iran or Venezuela, but Canada.

Yet America’s No. 1 trading partner is concerned that the U.S. doesn’t want its oil.

Canada has an estimated 1.6 trillion barrels of oil on its territory. Saudi Arabia has an estimated 270 billion barrels. But much of Canada’s oil is locked in tough-to-excavate tar sands in the province of Alberta.

Tough new green plan targets oil sands
Regulations, which also apply to coal-fired power plants, would force future projects to store greenhouse-gas emissions underground

BRIAN LAGHI
OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF; Compiled by Rick Cash; Shawn McCarthy, Global Energy Reporter
March 10, 2008

Ottawa will unveil new climate-change regulations this week that would force new oil sands projects and coal-fired electricity plants to capture and store the bulk of their greenhouse gases rather than spew them into the air.

The crude fact
Peak oil is no academic debate: the $100 barrel is a harbinger of the energy shortage to come

Jeremy Leggett

This week, oil reached its highest price ever, exceeding the inflation-adjusted record of $103.76 set in April 1980, at the height of the second oil shock. Then, the world was worried that the high price would trigger a global depression. Now, the scope for the oil price to soar ruinously higher than $100 does not seem to worry many people. The landmark record did not reach the front pages.

NDP to try to topple government over climate change policies
Last Updated: Friday, March 7, 2008 | 7:28 AM ET
CBC News

The New Democrats will try to bring down the federal government with a confidence motion introduced on Friday criticizing the Conservatives' record on climate change.

Parliament won't vote on the motion until Monday, but the Liberals have already indicated they will not vote for the motion, meaning the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper will not fall.