Oil Sands Truth: Shut Down the Tar Sands

Energy

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.

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Stupid to the Last Drop: How plans to detonate a nuke to get the tarpits flowing never came to pass

Big, bad oil in all its glory
Financial Post

Saturday, September 29, 2007

STUPID TO THE LAST DROP: HOW ALBERTA IS BRINGING ENVIRONMENTAL ARMAGEDDON TO CANADA (AND DOESN'T SEEM TO CARE)

William Marsden,

Alfred A. Knopf Canada

256 pp. $29.95 (Available Oct. 2)

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The rise of the loonie has been partially explained by the price of oil, which recently hit a record of almost US$84 a barrel. The Canadian economy has the world's attention because Alberta's oilsands contain an estimated 174 billion barrels of oil, the second-largest oil reserve tally after Saudi Arabia.

"Prentice awaits input over aid for Mackenzie"

Prentice awaits input over aid for Mackenzie
'It's really in the hands of the proponents,' Industry Minister says
DAVID EBNER AND NORVAL SCOTT
September 22, 2007

BANFF AND CALGARY -- Imperial Oil Ltd. still hasn't restarted negotiations with Ottawa over potential federal aid for the beleaguered $16-billion Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline project.

"We are awaiting a response from industry," Jim Prentice, federal Industry Minister, said in an interview in Banff Thursday night before his first major speech in his new job.

"Why Ottawa must back pipeline"

Anytime Diane Francis starts her turgid prose, if you instinctively stay on the opposite side of whatever she is saying then you will probably be fairly safe. In this case, the rule holds. Ever more so, however, is a slight admission contained within the article: "There's enough already to produce one billion cubic feet per day and the pipeline needs 1.3 billion a day," why, pray tell, does the pipeline "need" 1 billion point three cubic feet a day?

Long emergency or long march back to the cave?: America's New Religion, Part II

America's New Religion, Part II
Dubai, UAE
Thursday, September 27, 2007

Long emergency or long march back to the cave? You decide,
Resurrection the mainline of American industrial power,
Tarantulas and the Gila monsters in Las Vegas and more...
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Joel Bowman, reporting from the sweltering Middle East...

Yesterday we brought you an essay by James Howard Kunstler. Mr. Kunstler is the author of the book, "The Long Emergency," in which he predicted, as Eric pointed out yesterday, "the end of the privileged, energy-dependent American lifestyle."

Russian Tar Sands!

Tatneft, Shell Deal on Russian Oil Sands
Associated Press 09.27.07, 11:04 AM ET

MOSCOW -

Russian oil producer OAO Tatneft said Thursday it signed a deal with Royal Dutch Shell Group to jointly develop oil-bearing tar sands in the central Tatarstan region.

The company gave no indication of when it expected to start producing oil from the project, or how much it could ultimately produce. Earlier reports had put the project's potential daily output at around 40,000 barrels.

Energy Alberta Corporation backtracks on firm nuclear power purchase agreements

Henuset pursues nuclear power for Alberta
Jon Harding, Financial Post
Published: Wednesday, September 26, 2007

CALGARY -- A fuel bundle from a nuclear reactor seems wildly out of place inside the rustic lobby of Calgary's Willow Park Wines & Spirits. Courtesy of Atomic Energy Canada Ltd. (AECL), the cylinder sits beside a display case containing some of the world's finest wine and scotch.

It is a serious juxtaposition in the chalet-like business office of Canada's largest private liquor store, which now doubles as the home of Energy Alberta Corp.

Greenpeace wraps up Action Camp

Greenpeace wraps up Action Camp
By CARY CASTAGNA, SUN MEDIA

It's been nearly two months since Greenpeace set up shop in Edmonton with the lofty goal of shutting down Alberta's oilsands, but don't expect to see any high-profile demonstrations anytime soon, says a local member of the international environmental group.

"We haven't made any concrete plans to chain ourselves to trees," said a chuckling Geeta Sehgal, one of two campaign organizers working out of the Greenpeace office at Calgary Trail and Argyll Road.

Alaskan Business: Mackenzie Pipeline Back on Track!

Canada's Mackenzie Valley pipe project is finally back on track
By Tim Bradner // September 23, 2007
Alaska Journal of Commerce

The Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline in Canada's Northwest Territories may finally be on track after delays in regulatory proceedings, the territory's industry minister told an oil and gas symposium in Anchorage on Sept. 17.

As race for oil-rich Arctic heats up, Inuit stake their claim, too

As race for oil-rich Arctic heats up, Inuit stake their claim, too
Indigenous to the region, the Inuit want a 'meaningful voice' in the territory dispute.

By Colin Woodard | The Christian Science Monitor / from the September 25, 2007

Energy Corporations on offensive against Alberta royalty report

Energy Corporations on offensive against Alberta royalty report
Last Updated: Monday, September 24, 2007 | 6:01 PM MT
CBC News

Oil and gas producers, angry with a government report that recommends hiking the royalties they pay, shot back Monday warning higher royalty rates will be a major blow to Alberta's energy sector.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, which represents major companies in the industry, says last week's report is flawed.