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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Husky predicted to do poorly

The Sunrise Project, along with a held lease in the southern Athabasca region called Kirby as well as a project to massively expand refineries in both Ohio and Indiana to take tar sands bitumen, are projects that involve BP (British Petroleum) and would signify a new level of depravity for the former "Beyond Petroleum" company headquartered in London near the Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and others investing in these disastrous projects.

--M

Husky earnings 'surprise' affects shares
Analysts predict slow growth for energy firm

By Dina O'Meara, Calgary Herald

Infrastructure takes centre stage [Mackenzie Gas Project]

While Corporate fronts like the CBI and others have promoted "trading" "permission" for the Mackenzie Gas Project as a way to get "more" protected areas in exchange for this development, the reality is that construction of this pipeline is not only awful in and of its own right, it is also development that pertains to the beginning-- not the end-- of development of the entire north in terms of industrialization. This polemic has been raised many times before-- but the fact that developers are speaking openly stating this fact is something to grasp immediately.

Enbridge opens terminal in Hardisty Alberta.

Enbridge opens oilsands terminal.
By Dave Cooper, Canwest News Service
October 20, 2009

HARDISTY, Alta. - Oil pipeline giant Enbridge officially opened its new contract terminal in Hardisty on Tuesday, a 19-tank facility capable of holding 7.5 million barrels of crude oil from the oilsands.

One of the largest in North America, the Hardisty terminal, is the starting place for two major pipelines that will initially carry one million barrels a day of bitumen to United States markets.

Greenwashing the globe

Adrian Parr believes that the sustainability movement has been hijacked

Mark Hopkins
Urban Living
October 15, 2009

Once upon a time, “sustainability” was a buzzword for hippies and
activists, shouted through megaphones with increasing frustration at an
SUV-driving, suburb-loving public. For a while, that uphill battle seemed
more like a downward spiral.

But things have changed: Now, sustainability is everywhere! Laundry
detergent comes in green bottles, leaf-patterns are plastered all over gas

Alberta delays upgrader plans

Alberta delays oil sands upgrader plans

Nathan VanderKlippe

Globe and Mail
Oct. 20, 2009

EPA Backs Opponents of BP’s Whiting Refinery Expansion Plan

EPA Backs Opponents of BP’s Whiting Refinery Expansion Plan
By Tina Seeley and Paul Burkhardt

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it has granted part of a petition by environmental groups objecting to BP Plc’s expansion of its Whiting refinery in Indiana.

The EPA said in a statement today that Indiana regulators must re-evaluate the emissions calculations for BP’s plan to expand the facility to refine high-sulfur Canadian crude oil.

Suncor Submits Fort Hills Tar Sands Tailings Plans

This project was originally led by Petro Canada, the official energy supplier to the 2010 Olympic Games, until the entire company was recently bought up by Suncor Energy.

Sadly, industry representatives continue to show their wonderful even handed nature and behaviour towards anyone and anything that may (or, may not) be the slightest bit deviant from their basic line of total production everywhere, at all times, and intimidate and harass those who defy it. As such, the article below was removed from this site after a series of bizarre threats for posting the article.

Offset Promoting Partner of the Canadian Boreal Initiative: Nexen calls for tripling production in Tar Sands.

Nexen says oilsands to triple production
Cities Commit To Cut Emissions

By Dan Healing, Calgary Herald
October 8, 2009

CALGARY - The Alberta oilsands will triple production to three million barrels of oil per day, Marvin Romanow, president and chief executive of Nexen Inc., predicted Thursday, adding he's confident it will happen but is a little hazy on the timeline.

More Fear Mongering in the Tar Sands, Courtesy of G & M.

Protests in oil sands raise anxieties

Oil companies say activists are most at risk, but one security specialist warns the oil patch is a sitting duck for terrorists

NATHAN VANDERKLIPPE

CALGARY — From Monday's Globe and Mail
Published on Monday, Oct. 12, 2009

The parade of Greenpeace protesters marching through the heart of Alberta's oil sands in recent weeks has provided an embarrassing glimpse at the state of the industry's security, says a former special forces operative who has helped safeguard Canada's nuclear plants.

NWT projects to be promoted to the feds

Guy Quenneville
Northern News Services
Published Monday, October 12, 2009

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - In what the GNWT is calling "a big step forward," the NWT Chamber of Commerce has successfully pushed three key NWT infrastructure developments with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, which will now lobby for those projects - as well as reforming the NWT regulatory regime - with the federal government.