[IPSM] U.S. urges 'fivefold expansion' in Alberta oilsands production

[Macdonald Stainsby]

U.S. urges 'fivefold expansion' in Alberta oilsands production

Last Updated: Thursday, January 18, 2007 | 4:31 AM MT
CBC News

The U.S. wants Canada to dramatically expand its oil exports from the 
Alberta oilsands, a move that could have major implications on the 
environment.

U.S.and Canadian oil executives and government officials met for a 
two-day oil summit in Houston in January 2006 and made plans for a 
"fivefold expansion" in oilsands production in a relatively "short time 
span," according to minutes of the meeting obtained by the CBC's 
French-language network, Radio-Canada.

     The processing plant pumps steam into the air at the Suncor 
oilsands project in Fort McMurray, Alta.The processing plant pumps steam 
into the air at the Suncor oilsands project in Fort McMurray, Alta.
     (Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press)

The meeting was organized by Natural Resources Canada and the U.S. 
Department of Energy.

Canada is already the top exporter of oil to the American market, 
exporting the equivalent of one million barrels a day — the exact amount 
that the oilsands industry in Alberta currently produces.

A fivefold increase would mean the export of five million barrels a day, 
which would supply a quarter of current American consumption and add up 
to almost half of all U.S. imports.

"We need to look at additional pipelines from Canada to the U.S. as a 
new source of supplier, a growing source of supply," said Bob Greco of 
the American Petroleum Institute.
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But the current extraction of oil from the tarsands results in the 
spewing of millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere: 
it's already the biggest source of new greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.

The news of the call for the massive boost in oil production comes as 
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged to make the environment one of 
his top priorities, vowing that Canadians deserve more action on climate 
change. Polls show the environment is the number one concern of Canadians.

Yet, according to the minutes of the Houston meeting, to multiply its 
output by five and to do it quickly, Canada would have to "streamline" 
its environmental regulations for new energy projects.
No plans to 'streamline' environmental assessments: PMO

On Thursday, a spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office said the 
federal Tories will not "streamline" environmental assessments to speed 
up oilsands development.

"Canada's natural resources will be developed but that will not be done 
at the expense of the environment," Dmitri Soudas told the Canadian Press.

Canada's main oil lobby group said there is no pledge to increase 
production five-fold for the Americans.

"There is no promise," said Greg Stringham of the Canadian Association 
of Petroleum Producers. "It's up to the market whether this thing goes 
fast or slow."

In his state of the union address in 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush 
set out a goal to drastically reduce oil imports from the Middle East 
and make American dependence on Middle Eastern oil "a thing of the past."

Paul Michael Weaby, a Washington insider and an expert on the 
geo-strategic aspect of the oil industry, said Bush is counting on 
Canada to help wean the United States off Middle Eastern oil — a goal 
now defined as a national security objective.

"He wanted to have a reduction of 1.5 million barrels a day by 2015 from 
the Middle East. Although he did not mention Canada, that is in fact 
where the replacement supply will come from."


-- 
Macdonald Stainsby
http://independentmedia.ca/survivingcanada
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green
In the contradiction lies the hope
    --Bertholt Brecht.