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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CNRL (operators of Horizon) charged in foreign slave-labour deaths

EDMONTON — The Alberta government announced Tuesday that 53 charges have
been laid in the deaths of two foreign workers at an oilsands site two years
ago.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Sinopec Shanghai Engineering Company Ltd.,
and SSEC Canada Ltd., have been charged under the Occupational Health and
Safety Act.

A breakdown of the charges was not immediately available.

Alberta Employment Minister Hector Goudreau said the charges signal to the
world that Alberta's oilsands remain a safe place to work.

Meeting set in Lindsay on Keystone XL pipeline project

Meeting set in Lindsay on pipeline project
Published on Tuesday, April 21, 2009.
By The Gazette Staff

Property owners and others along the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline are invited to hear from experts on landowner alliances and pipeline safety Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Lindsay Community Hall in Lindsay.

Lindsay is halfway between Glendive and Circle on Montana 200.

Do you know where your oil comes from?

Do you know where your oil comes from?
Canadians most certainly do. But it's not a pretty sight.
April 16, 2009
By Sandro Contenta

TORONTO — When President Barack Obama vowed this week to reverse U.S. dependence on "foreign oil," did he also mean Canada's? It's a question Americans might want to consider.

Council approves call to halt tar sands

Council approves call to halt tar sands
Cara Loverock
Northern News Services
Published Friday, April 17, 2009

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A motion to stop new tar sands approvals in Alberta until certain measures are put in place was passed on Tuesday.

Nexen, Opti Canada may be targeted in tar sands deals

Nexen, Opti Canada may be targeted in oil sands deals
By Joe Carroll, Bloomberg
April 3, 2009

Nexen Inc. and Opti Canada Inc. may be among Canadian oil companies targeted for takeovers as a price collapse triggers a rush by larger producers to amass holdings in the biggest crude deposits outside Saudi Arabia.

Alaska Highway Pipeline competitors update legislators about progress

Despite the continuation of the little side show designed to make us believe that this pipeline is set to go to "markets in the lower 48", there is still both the maps of where the gas is to go (the Alberta Grid) and the basic math which tells us that the pipeline is *needed* in order to get to the production targets for the tar sands of Alberta-- over 5 million barrels a day of tar sands bitumen/ mock oil.

--M

Pipeline competitors update legislators about progress
GAS: Transcanada says it has expertise; Denali sees concerns with partnership.
Petroleum News
April 15th, 2009

BP 'still committed' to Sunrise: chairman

BP 'still committed' to Sunrise: chairman
Claudia Cattaneo, Financial Post
Thursday, April 16, 2009

CALGARY -- BP PLC is considering a range of options to move forward the Sunrise oil sands project with partner Husky Energy Inc., including integrating carbon capture and storage to mitigate the environmental impact, chairman Peter Sutherland told the annual meeting of shareholders in London on Thursday.

Big-league players step up for tar sands-- US lobbying

Big-league players step up for oil sands
U.S. lobbying
By Claudia Cattaneo, Financial Post
March 11, 2009

As Alberta's oil sands industry struggles with depressed oil prices and opposition from the environmental movement, a new front is emerging to support it -- in Washington.

"Pipe From India Incenses Illinois Town" [Keystone]

Pipe From India Incenses Illinois Town
Dan Gill for The New York Times

Steel pipes marked "Made in India" sat ready for the Canada-to-Oklahoma pipeline at the Port Authority in Granite City, Ill.

April 15, 2009

GRANITE CITY, Ill. — Jeff Rains, a retired steel worker at the sprawling mill here, made the discovery. Out walking a month ago, he waited impatiently at a rail crossing while a freight train slowly passed, its flatbed cars stacked with steel pipes, each wide enough for a child to crawl through. Then he noticed “Made in India” stenciled on the pipes.