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.
Tribal members fight Enbridge oil pipeline
Some members from Fond du Lac and Leech Lake bands will petition Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to block the Enbridge project.
By: John Myers, Duluth News Tribune
Saying the environmental damage to their native brothers’ land in Canada is too great, tribal dissidents on two Minnesota Indian reservations are battling a major new oil pipeline across northern Minnesota.
UPDATE: Shell To Become Most CO2-Intensive Oil Co -Study
LONDON (Dow Jones)--Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) is on track to become the most carbon intensive international oil company because of its focus on unconventional oil resources like Canadian tar sands, said a study published by a coalition of environmental groups Monday.
"In the age of carbon reduction, Shell is fast heading in the opposite direction, massively increasing the carbon intensity of its production of oil and gas," the report said. "This represents a real risk for Shell, for investors and for the climate."
TransCanada gains full ownership of Keystone pipeline
29 June 2009
TransCanada has announced its acquisition of ConocoPhillips' remaining stake in the Keystone pipeline for US$550 million (€392 million), giving it full control over the new Canada-to-US oil pipeline.
The $5.2 billion Keystone line is designed to carry 435,000 barrels of crude a day over a distance of 3,456 km from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in southern Illinois, US.
Cap-and-trade does more harm than good
Bill offers incentives for businesses that pollute.
Jun. 24, 2009 // Philadelphia Inquirer.
By Laurie Williams and Allan Zabel
We would support legislation in Congress to address climate change if it were capable of accomplishing that goal. Unfortunately, despite the best intentions of its proponents, the bill known as Waxman-Markey would disable our ability to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions for at least a decade, hugely increasing the risk of irreversible climate calamity.
BP shuts alternative energy HQ
• 'Beyond Petroleum' boast in doubt as clean energy boss quits
• Renewables budget will be reduced by up to £550m this year
Terry Macalister
Guardian.co.uk,
Sunday 28 June 2009
BP has shut down its alternative energy headquarters in London, accepted the resignation of its clean energy boss and imposed budget cuts in moves likely to be seen by environmental critics as further signs of the oil group moving "back to petroleum".
Separating truth from greenwashing in the West's energy export boom
By Andrea Harden-Donahue
| June 24, 2009
Reading the Saskatchewan government's news release announcing the Energy Council conference, I couldn't help but reflect on the connections with the news of a proposed Western Energy Corridor, recently reported in the Star Phoenix following the Western Governors Association (WGA) Annual Conference. While both are riddled with words like 'sustainability' and 'clean energy,' red flags are going up in seeing emerging themes that raise some serious questions.
Group Wants To Stop Planned Pipeline
Jun 26, 2009 at 6:14 PM CDT
Some members of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe have joined forces with members of the Fond Du Lac band in an effort to stop a planned Enbridge Energy oil pipeline from crossing their reservations.
Spokespeople with the groups say the pipeline will transport dirty oil and they fear a contaminating oil spill.
Enbridge spokespeople say they already have legal agreements with Fond du Lac and Leech Lake tribal councils to allow the Alberta Clipper pipeline to cross reservation land.
Local work helping western oil sands
By Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch // June 26, 2009
It’s big, it looks complicated, it’s worth a half a million dollars and it’s an integral part of Thunder Bay’s economic future.
On Friday Venshore Mechanical Ltd. unveiled one of two fuel offloading modules it has built – with the assistance of several other local-area companies – and plans to deliver to western Canada for use in the multi-billion oil sands project.
China's unquenchable thirst for oil
Despite recession, the Chinese are aggressively pursuing energy assets
Shawn McCarthy and Eric Reguly
Ottawa, Rome — Globe and Mail
Jun. 27, 2009
A refinery in Singapore. Oil and gas fields in Central Asia. A pipeline in Russia. Ultradeep crude deposits off Brazil. Production wells in Libya.
And now Toronto-listed Addax Petroleum Corp., (AXC-T49.930.180.36%) with its oil fields in western Africa and Iraq's Kurdistan.
Opti's parent corporation is Ormat, the Israeli corporation that developed "orcrude"-- otherwise known in Alberta as "co-generation"-- burning the waste gunk from the bottom of a barrel of tar sands bitumen to provide energy. This would eventually be used in much of historical Palestine to develop oil shale and has been using the Long Lake plant as a laboratory to make this production happen. Long Lake officially went commercial in October of last year.
--M
OPTI sticks to plan to raise cash
DAVID EBNER // VANCOUVER
Globe and Mail
Jun. 27, 2009
