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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Energy giants lose interest in Alberta carbon capture fund

Energy giants lose interest in Alberta carbon capture fund
Last Updated: Thursday, April 2, 2009
The Canadian Press

Some of the biggest players in Alberta's oilsands have dropped out of the running to be part of the province's $2 billion carbon capture and storage fund.

Nine companies, including Suncor Energy, Syncrude Canada Ltd., and ConocoPhillips Canada, are no longer interested in sending the province proposals for carbon capture and storage projects. A total of 20 companies were chosen by the province in November to apply for the fund.

Province hires Washington lobbyists

Province hires Washington lobbyists
Updated: Sat Apr. 04 2009
ctvcalgary.ca

The province has hired Washington lobbyists to pitch the oil patch to Alberta's biggest customer.

"There is so much at stake for Alberta and we will be applying the full-court press. Not only on elected officials but also on the U.S. administration," says Premier Ed Stelmach.

The move comes as the American government is under increasing pressure to invest in and purchase green energy.

Stelmach says many don't realize how clean Alberta's oil sands are and that's why he's enlisting the help of lobbyists.

Nexen, Opti Canada May Be Targeted in Tar-Sands Deals

Nexen, Opti Canada May Be Targeted in Oil-Sands Deals
By Joe Carroll

April 3 (Bloomberg) -- 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.

Stephen Harper announces cancellation of Earth Day

By rabble staff | April 1, 2009

LONDON, UK -- "Canada, among all the advanced countries, is best positioned to prosper and profit from the ecological crisis," announced Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper shortly after arriving for the opening of the G20 summit.

Alberta government on hot seat after Syncrude duck death toll hits 1,606

Alberta government on hot seat after Syncrude duck death toll hits 1,606
By Kelly Cryderman, Calgary Herald
April 1, 2009

Oilsands giant Syncrude revealed Tuesday that 1,600 waterfowl drowned in a tailings pond near Fort McMurray last April -- more than three times the original estimate of dead birds.

Environmental critics such as the Sierra Club of Canada, Greenpeace and Ecojustice immediately jumped on the fact the real figure has been hidden from the public for months.

Fowl fatal figure flap

Wed, April 1, 2009
Fowl fatal figure flap
Syncrude reveals duck tragedy triple initial toll - which it and province knew in July
By KERRY DIOTTE, LEGISLATURE BUREAU CHIEF

Province knew in July the real toll at the tailings pond.

Syncrude and the Alberta government knew nine months ago that three times as many ducks died in an oilsands tailings pond than initially reported - but officials didn't make the higher death toll public until yesterday.

Becoming No. 1: Suncor's story

Becoming No. 1: Suncor's story
March 23, 2009
CBC News

If the deal goes down, one of the first companies to pull oil from the sticky tar sands of Alberta is about to become Canada's biggest energy company and the fifth-largest in North America.

Suncor and Petro-Canada plan a merger that would give the company a market capitalization of $43.3-billion US. For comparison, energy giants Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips are worth about $326.6 billion and $55.97 billion, respectively.

What is Suncor?

Abu Dhabi National Said to Be Chasing Canadian Tar Sands Deals

Abu Dhabi National Said to Be Chasing Canadian Deals
By Joe Carroll

March 30 (Bloomberg) -- Abu Dhabi National Energy Co., the Persian Gulf petroleum and power producer known as Taqa, is hunting for acquisitions in Canada’s tar sands, home of the world’s second-largest crude deposits outside Saudi Arabia, according to two people involved in the search.

Taqa is assessing multiple potential targets that extract crude from Canada’s oil-soaked bogs and river valleys, according to people who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to make the information public.

Investor urges Enbridge to assess risk of delay

Investor urges Enbridge to assess risk of delay
DAVID EBNER
Globe and Mail
March 30, 2009

VANCOUVER — — The prospect that Enbridge Inc. [ENB-T]'s $4-billion Gateway pipeline project, which would connect Alberta's oil sands with lucrative Asian markets, could become mired in disputes with first nations groups has at least one major shareholder demanding a reckoning.

The company is set to bring its Gateway proposal, which has $100-million in backing from 10 companies, oil sands producers in Canada and refiners in Asia, before the National Energy Board in the next three months.

UTS Energy rejects Total bid

Oil sands firm rejects Total bid

By Dina O'Meara, Calgary Herald
March 27, 2009

Oil sands junior UTS Energy Corp. again publicly rejected an unsolicited bid by Total E&P Canada, Friday labeling the French energy giant's offer as inadequate against a "significant" new oil sands discovery and improved financial environment.

UTS is a minority stakeholder in the $21-billion Fort Hills oilsand project led by Petro-Canada, which this week announced it was merging with Suncor Energy Inc.