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.
Jul 25, 2007 11:27:00 AM MST
Alberta Clipper pipeline will endanger Canadian jobs: energy workers‘ union (Alberta-Clipper)
http://www.oilweek.com/news.asp?ID=10358
OTTAWA (CP) _ Canada‘s largest union of energy workers has filed for intervener status in National Energy Board hearings into Enbridge Inc.‘s Alberta Clipper oil pipeline project application, aiming to block the export of jobs and raw resources.
25,000 Alberta tradespeople poised for strike
Last Updated: Monday, July 23, 2007 | 12:20 PM MT
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2007/07/23/trades-vote.html
Alberta tradespeople in five unions have voted 95 per cent in favour of taking strike action, a move that threatens to bring the province's construction industry to a halt as early as the end of the week.
Conoco has big plans for oil sands
Third-largest U.S. oil firm is willing to pay billions to pump Alberta crude to Gulf Coast refineries
SHAWN MCCARTHY
July 20, 2007
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070720.RCONOCO20/TPSt...
ConocoPhillips Co. is prepared to spend billions of dollars on pipelines and refinery upgrades to allow it to process oil sands crude throughout its refinery network stretching to the U.S. Gulf Coast, company chairman Jim Mulva said yesterday.
Ottawa, Dene Tha' reach deal on Mackenzie gas pipeline
Last Updated: Monday, July 23, 2007 | 2:46 PM CT
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2007/07/23/mackenzie-pipeline.html
The federal government and the Dene Tha' First Nation in northwestern Alberta said Monday that they have signed an agreement resolving concerns related to the proposed Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline.
The Indpendent UK offers an interesting perspective on the Tar Sands, yet is somewhat delusional from time to time:
"So it is always going to be within Opec's power to pump its cheap-to-extract conventional oil fast enough to drive the price below the marginal cost of extraction from tar sands."
Ottawa targets pipeline red tape
SHAWN MCCARTHY
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070723.RLUNN23/TPStor...
July 23, 2007
OTTAWA -- Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn says he'll press his American counterpart when they meet today to ensure speedy regulatory review of the major pipeline projects needed to carry growing volumes of oil sands crude to U.S. markets.
Groups keep pressing for long-term review of Mackenzie pipeline project
Last Updated: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 | 9:44 AM CT
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2007/07/17/nwt-pipeline.html
Environmental groups say they will still press for an independent review of the proposed Mackenzie natural gas project, even after their request was turned down last week.
Trade workers closer to striking
Members of 5 major unions vote in favour
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2007/07/20/4356422.html
By GLENN KAUTH, SUN MEDIA
Trades workers have taken one step closer to striking after members of five major unions voted in favour of walking off the job.
The Alberta Labour Relations Board has yet to certify the results, but Barry Salmon, media liaison for the labour groups, said Friday unofficial numbers show all five unions have strike mandates.
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
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.
