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.
Utah agency approves oil-sands project
By PAUL FOY (AP) – September 13, 2010
SALT LAKE CITY — A top Utah regulator approved plans Monday for the first commercial U.S. oil sands project.
John Baza, director of Utah's Division of Oil, Gas & Mining, upheld an earlier decision by his staff to give Earth Energy Resources Inc. a permit to mine a 62-acre pit in eastern Utah.
Environmental activists had objected to the project and demanded a hearing held by Baza in July.
Evolution of an oilsands 'dinosaur' killer
Potential alternative to upgraders untapped for two decades
By Dave Cooper, Edmonton Journal September 8, 2010
EDMONTON - A process developed in Alberta almost two decades ago that turns bitumen into oil without using upgrading facilities could be a "game changer" for the province, says the co-developer.
"I could never understand why we wouldn't try something simpler and easier for handling bitumen," said Edmonton's Keng Chung, president of Well Resources Inc., who now spends much of his time in China.
Enbridge signs Husky deal
Sunrise Project Next In Line; Project raises investments in oilsands to $2.3B
By Shaun Polczer, Calgary Herald September 8, 2010
CALGARY -- Enbridge Inc. on Tuesday continued to redouble its oilsands expansion plans with a deal to tie Husky Energy's proposed Sunrise oilsands project to its Cheecham distribution hub in northeast Alberta.
The Calgary-based shipper said it had signed a $475-million deal with Husky to build and operate the facilities which will initially ship 90,000 barrels per day to its transportation hub near Conklin starting in 2013.
Secret German analysis warns of peak oil and coming energy crisis
By Stephanie Dearing.
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Recently economically dominant governments have been turning their attention to studying the future of energy, trying to calculate when there might be an energy crisis.
In an ideal state, any government would prefer to circumvent a potential energy crisis. But analysis leaked from a German Military think tank, the Bundeswehr Transformation Center, states a crisis in the near future is increasingly inevitable, according to Der Spiegel.
Transcanada’s Keystone Pipeline Shut Down for Work
By Aaron Clark and Samantha Zee - Sep 3, 2010
TransCanada Corp. shut its Keystone pipeline Sept. 1 for unscheduled maintenance work, Michael Barnes, a company spokesman said in a telephone interview. The line is expected to resume service by Sept. 8, he said.
TransCanada expects to make all September deliveries on time, Barnes said. The inline inspections will take place throughout the 2,151-mile (3,461-kilometer) pipeline.
Johann Hari: How much proof do the global warming deniers need?
Everything the climate scientists said would happen - with their pesky graphs and studies and computers - is coming to pass. This is proving the hottest year ever
Friday, 27 August 2010
West Moberly says Site C would power tar sands not homes
Monday, 30 August 2010
Amid a bevy of resource projects in northeast B.C., the West Moberly First Nation claims the province is green-washing its Site C hydroelectric project.
“It’s not clean and it’s not green,” West Moberly Chief Roland Willson told BIV in a recent interview.
The First Nation community is a member of the Treaty 8 Tribal Association near Fort St. John where dozens of companies are snapping up land to build the next shale gas well, coal mine or renewable power project.
Whatever It Takes:
Protecting the Tar Sands, Protecting Capitalism
Ryan Katz-Rosene
Something is rotten in the province of Alberta! And it's not just the tar sands. It's the way political and corporate elites do whatever it takes to extinguish potential threats to the bituminous megaproject. The attempt to protect the tar sands from criticism can be framed as a part of a broader effort to protect the ‘rights’ of private interests to profit from bitumen production.
