Energy and how it is captured and consumed is barely viable in tar sands production. While the amount of oil in places such as the tar sands in Alberta or the Orinoco Belt in Venezuela may have deposits of similar size to the reserves of countries such as Saudi Arabia or Iraq, the return of new energy after expending energy in production is not even close. In Iraq, the process of using one barrel of oil generates 100 new barrels. In the tar sands, estimates of 3 to 1 and even as low as 1.5 to 1 have been made. Offsetting the net energy loss would require minimally 25-30 tar sands facilities for one Saudi plant operating at the same capacity.
Stephen Harper: Mackenzie Gas now
December 12, 2008
Diane Francis // Financial Post
Ottawa need not sign a single check in order to kick start a gigantic $20-billion economic stimulus project that would also be in the national interest. The feds must short-circuit their dysfunctional system in order to start the Mackenzie Gas Project.
Tri-Valley Drilling Ahead on 8th Horizontal California Vaca Tar Sands Well
Posted 12 December 2008
First Nation takes province to court over oilsands leasing
Thursday, December 11, 2008
CBC News
Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation speaks to reporters in Edmonton on Thursday.Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation speaks to reporters in Edmonton on Thursday. (CBC)
The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in northern Alberta announced Thursday it has filed a request asking a court to review how Alberta grants leases for oilsands developments.
The notice was filed Wednesday in Edmonton's Court of Queen's Bench.
TransCanada to issue shares to raise money to pay down debt
Argus Leader
November 24, 2008
TransCanada has announced that it will issue 30.5 million shares of common stock to raise about 41 billion Canadian, or $809 million America, to pay down short-term debt and fund its Keystone Pipeline projects.
TransCanada entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters to buy shares from the company at $33 Canadian and sell them to the public in Canada and the U.S.
Midwest oil mining a crude idea to many
Minneapolis City Pages
December 3, 2008 // By Beth Walton
Some 1,500 miles northwest of Minneapolis, the luscious green boreal forests that once lined the banks of the Athabasca River have been flattened. All that's left is an empty, lonely, gray moonscape. That, and the drills.
Great Lakes, Great Peril: Oil and Water
Little city is at center of a great debate
Pipes link the Great Lakes with massive oil reserves in friendly Alberta. They may bring jobs, energy and pollution. And it's all happening as the century of oil gives way to the century of water.
By Dan Egan of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Dec. 6, 2008
Great Lakes-Alberta tar sands connection
Journal Sentinel
First of two parts
Superior - U.S. dependence on foreign oil conjures images of derricks pecking at Saudi Arabian sands or supertankers steaming for coastal refineries.
Tar Sands: The worst fuel on the planet?
A Reporter's Notebook: "Midwest oil mining a crude idea to many: Are we now scraping the bottom of the barrel?"
Photo from chicagotribune.com. Taken by Jiri Rezac / WWF UK.
As Minnesota sanctions the transport and use of oil sands--the second largest reserve of usable crude in the world--it takes a prominent role in a transcontinental controversy.
Many argue our state is on the wrong side.
From dead birds to sick humans and fish, hardly anyone has anything positive to say about the new carbon intensive fuel polluting our air and water.
David Suzuki: Tar sand wealth comes with environmental costs
By David Suzuki and Faisal Moola
If you want to be scared, you don’t need to watch a horror movie or read the latest Stephen King bestseller.
Real terror can be found by simply firing up Google Earth, the computer program that allows users to look at satellite pictures of any place on the planet. By mousing over and zooming in, you can see what Alberta’s tar sands look like from space.
It is not a pretty sight. In fact, it’s scary—and for good reason.
B.C. government awards tenure to BP Canada for coalbed methane project
December 8//2008
VANCOUVER, B.C. - The provincial government has given the green light to a contentious coalbed methane project in southeastern B.C.
Energy minister Richard Neufeld says BP Canada has been awarded tenure for its Mist Mountain project, near Fernie in the East Kootenay region.
StatoilHydro scraps C$16 bln oil sands upgrader
Thu Dec 4, 2008 2:21pm EST
(Recasts with additional comment and detail, changes dateline from OSLO)
CALGARY, Alberta, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Norway's StatoilHydro (STL.OL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Thursday it scrapped plans to build a C$16 billion ($12.6 billion) upgrader for its Canadian oil sands holdings, the latest in a string of big-ticket cancellations in the oil-rich but expensive region.
