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.

warning: Creating default object from empty value in /var/www/drupal-6.28/modules/taxonomy/taxonomy.pages.inc on line 33.

Where oil meets water: The final stop for the Energy East pipeline

Where oil meets water: The final stop for the Energy East pipeline
SHAWN McCARTHY - GLOBAL ENERGY REPORTER

SAINT JOHN, N.B. — The Globe and Mail

Published Saturday, Aug. 31 2013

On a point of land jutting into the open waters of the fabled Bay of Fundy, Canada’s long-sought ambition to become a global oil exporter is coming into focus.

Here at Mispec Point, Irving Oil Ltd. and TransCanada Corp. plan to build a $300-million, deep-water marine terminal that would give Western Canadian crude producers their highly coveted direct access to world markets.

New pipeline plan can’t obscure Keystone XL failure

New pipeline plan can’t obscure Keystone XL failure: Tim Harper

The politicization of the Keystone XL pipeline proposal threatens damage to Canada-U.S. relations, even before the decision.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has raised the issue of the Keystone XL pipeline with U.S. President Barack Obama at every turn, to apparently little effect, writes Tim Harper.
By: Tim Harper
National Affairs, Published on Thu Aug 01 2013

TransCanada to build oil pipeline to Atlantic Coast

By Rob Gillies / The Associated Press
August 1, 2013
Portland Press Herald

TORONTO — Pipeline company TransCanada said Thursday it will go ahead with a $12 billion plan to ship 1.1 million barrels of oil per day from Western Canada to the country's Atlantic coast that would replace foreign oil in Eastern Canada and allow for Canadian crude to be exported to Asia and Europe.

Enbridge to build $1.3 billion tar sands pipeline extension

Enbridge to build $1.3 billion oil sands pipeline extension

By Jordan Howell
Jul 28, 2013

Canadian pipeline company Enbridge announced plans to build a US $1.3 billion southern extension to its Northern Alberta Woodland oil pipeline to connect the company’s Cheecham Terminal to its Edmonton Terminal and nearby refineries.
The extension will serve Imperial Oil's Kearl oil sands project located in the Athabasca Oil Sands region about 70 kilometers north of Fort McMurray and is planned to be in service by the third quarter of 2015.

Say NO to TransCanada's "Energy East" TarSands Pipeline

UPDATE August 1st 2013: TransCanada has announced they intend on moving forward with their Energy East Pipeline and have unfortunately even added to its capacity, making it now a 1.1 million barrel per day project.

Be sure to bring your concerns and your friends to the public engagement meetings TransCanada is hosting.

Goldman Sachs: Killing the Keystone XL Pipeline Kills Canadian Oil Sands

By Mat McDermott
Motherboard

Contrary to what the U.S. State Department says, stopping the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline would have a large impact on the financial viability of future expansion of tar sands projects, as shipping all that bitumen--oil's heavy, vicous tar form--out via rail would be just too expensive and logistically challenging. For the Canadian tar-sand oil boom to continue, they're going to need to open that vein.

Maine town opposes tar sands oil in pipeline

Maine town opposes tar sands oil in pipeline
Jun 12, 2013

HARRISON, Maine (AP) - Residents in a Maine town have passed a resolution opposing the pumping of Canadian tar sands oil through a pipeline for shipment overseas.

Residents in Harrison voted 156-59 for the resolution Tuesday, one of at least six towns to do so.

The pipeline is used to carry foreign crude oil from Maine to Montreal. Five miles stretch through Harrison.

South Portlanders petition to put tar-sands project on the ballot

South Portlanders petition to put tar-sands project on the ballot
Pre-emptive Petitioning
The Portland Phoenix
By DEIRDRE FULTON | June 13, 2013

In the latest pre-emptive salvo against a potential project that has garnered significant advance attention, a group of South Portlanders has launched a citizens' initiative to change the city's zoning ordinance in order to prevent the Portland Pipe Line Corporation from processing tar-sands oil through its Casco Bay facility.

San Francisco State University votes to divest investment in coal, tar sands

Associated Press // SJ Mercury News
06/12/2013

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco State University will stop investing its endowment in coal and tar sands companies, joining a growing list of universities that are avoiding investments in fossil fuels, the school said Tuesday.

The university's foundation, which oversees a $51.2 million endowment, also voted in May to look into removing all future investments in fossil fuels companies.

Canada's tar sands companies fail to clean up toxic waste, report finds

Three arrested in environmental protests as Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper visits London

Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 13 June 2013

Protesters gathered as Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper addressed Parliament on Thursday. Photograph: Peter Marshall/Demotix/Corbis

None of the companies operating in Canada's tar sands have met a commitment to clean up the vast and expanding sprawl of toxic waste ponds, an official report has found.