Albertas Oil Sands

1
Albertas Oil Sands

• STS 331, 4/28/08
• Presented by
• Jeremy Drucker
• Erin Litwin
• Alex Lowe
• Whitney Wadman

2
The Oil Sands

• Estimated 1.7-2.5 trillion barrels of oil
• Worlds largest reserves behind only Saudi
  Arabia.
• 173 billion barrels are estimated to be
  recoverable with todays technology.
• Different from the light, sweet crude found
  throughout Texas and Middle East.
• Bitumen a heavier, more viscous and carbon-rich
  form of oil.

3
The Extraction Process

• Open pit mining
• Trucks are used to clear trees, draining the top
  layer of the earth to expose the ore body
• Decimates what were once thriving, old-growth
  boreal forests
• Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD)
• Steam is injected into the oil sands, which heats
  the bitumen, lowering its viscosity and causing
  it to rise to the surface.
• Sand is left in place, while oil migrates towards
  strategically placed wells.

4
Big Production

• Current Production is around 1 million barrels
  per day
• Projected to rise to 3 million by 2020 and 5
  million by 2050
• Investment in oil sands development topped 10
  billion in 2005

5
The Environment Land

• Clear away top soil, sand, clay, gravel and
  muskeg
• Alters natural landscape

• Reclamation?
• Syncrude Canada Ltd

6
The Environment Water

• Water use
• 2 to 4.5 volume units for each volume unit of
  synthetic crude oil
• Athabasca River, but also from Mildred Lake
• 359 million m³ from the Athabasca River per year
• Recycling
• Tailing ponds
• Water likely to seep into group water

7
The Environment Energy and Air Pollution

• Burning of fossil fuels
• 1.0 to 1.25 gigajoules of energy are needed per
  barrel of bitumen
• Mainly coal and oil used
• Oil sands are responsible for 3 of Canadas
  greenhouse gas emissions
• Largest contributor to growth in Canadas
  greenhouse gas emissions in coming years
• Prevent from reaching Kyoto targets

8
Formation of the CEMA

• Cumulative Environmental Management Association
• Registered not-for-profit, non governmental
  organization
• Established June 2000
• Monitors oil sands region
• 48 members
• All levels of government
• Industry
• Regulatory Bodies
• Environmental Groups
• Aboriginal Communities
• Local Health Authority

9
Members of CEMA and Goals

• Governments and agencies that manage and
  supervise oil sands development.
• Aboriginal groups ensure that traditional way of
  life, culture, and environmental awareness is
  respected and upheld.
• Industry that is committed to cooperate with
  conscientiousness, the responsible development of
  resources, and economic growth and opportunity.
• Health agencies that are focused on promoting
  public wellness and preserving public safety.
• Environmental non-government organizations that
  are concerned with guarding and promoting
  environmental sustainability.

10
The 2008 Election

• Oil sands emerged as a prominent campaign issue
• Pembina Institute
• Conducted all-candidate poll
• Political vs. Public opinion
• Public favored government regulated,
  environmentally conscious development

11
The Government of Alberta should suspend new oil
sands approvals until infrastructure and
environmental management issues are addressed in
the oil sands region.
Campaign Results

• Progressive Conservatives
• Alberta highly conservative
• Victorious by large margin, have been in power
  since 1971
• Traditionally focused more on economic growth
  than environmental concerns
• Little real action taken so far

12
Natural Resource Regulation

• The Provincial Government is responsible for
  regulating the Oil Sands
• Reduces the degree to which citizens of other
  provinces may have a say in development
• The Federal Government has power over air quality
  regulation, which is intimately tied to the Oil
  Sand Development

13
Problems with the Provincial Government

• David Ebner, of the Globe and Mail, characterizes
  the ruling Conservative party as least likely to
  engage citizens and take their views into account
  when making policy
• Talk about economic factors surrounding their
  plurality
• The provincial government created a commission to
  develop recommendations and summarily dismissed
  their report

14
2 Approaches to having a say in Oil Sand
Development

• Cumulative Environmental Management Association
• Creation of a report of environmental regulations
  that apply to Oil Sand development
• Regulators have been overwhelmed - this guide was
  necessary to ensure existing regulations were
  enforced

15
2 Approaches to having a say in Oil Sand
Development

• Pembina Institute
• Increasing transparency by creating report cards
  for each facility
• Allows for an objective comparison between mining
  techniques
• The hope is that the most efficient and least
  harmful practices will be recognized and become
  most common

16
Looking Forward

• A more participatory model is needed
• Albertans as well as Canadians at large should
  have a direct say in development
• The provincial government, which realistically
  has a monopoly on regulation, needs to be more
  receptive to the views of the citizens
• There need to be increased reporting and
  transparency
• Provincial government recently passed regulation
  requiring new oil sands investments, by 2012, to
  store all carbon emissions
• Pembina, independent analysts Rules fall short
• CAPP Rules are unfair to business
• Current regulatory system is inadequate, Alberta
  risks selling its future for a large payday today

17
Works Cited

• Canadas Oil Sands. Deloitte and Touche Report.
  April 10, 2008. lthttp//www.deloitte.com/dtt/leade
  rship/0,1045,sid253D124506,00.htmlgt
• Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
  April 10, 2008. lthttp//www.capp.ca/def
  ault.asp?V_DOC_ID1gt
• Carroll, Joe. Oil Group to Press Canada to
  Postpone Emissions Rules. Bloomberg.com March
  11, 2008. lthttp//www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid
  20601082sid aZoFADt sJT4Uref ercanadagt
• "CEMA Homepage." Cumulative Environmental
  Management Association. lthttp//www.cemaonline.ca/
  component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/gt.
• Davies, Travis. Personal Interview. 17 April
  2008.
• Government of Alberta. Alberta issues
  first-ever oil sands land reclamation
  certificate. Alberta news release. 19 March
  2008. Government of Alberta. 19 April 2008 lt
  http//www.alberta.ca/home/NewsFrame.cfm?ReleaseI
  D/acn/200803/23196C88 80E90-A0E1-9CE0-1B3799BC38A
  51E3E.htmlgt.
• Griffiths, Mary et al. Troubled Waters,
  Troubling Trends. May 2006, 1st Edition. The
  Pembina Institute. lt http//pubs.pembina.org/repo
  rts/TroubledW_Full.pdfgt.
• Oil Sands Discovery. Canadian Institute of
  Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum. April 10, 2008.
  lt http//www.oilsandsdiscovery.com/gt
• Pals, Fred. Shell, Exxon Face Higher Costs on
  Carbon Limits. Bloomberg.com April 20, 2007.
  lthttp//www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid20601087s
  id aGFnQKjmJ L0sreferhomegt
• Suncor Energy. April 10, 2008. ltwww.suncor.comgt
• Syncrude Canada Limited. April 10, 2008.
  www.syncrude.ca
• Tar Sands. Sierra Club of Canada Prairie
  Chapter. Sierra Club Prairie. 16 April 2008
  lthttp//www.sierraclub.ca/prairie/tarnation.htmgt.
  
• The Government of Alberta. Oil Sands
  Consultation Multistakeholder Committee Interim
  Report. Oil Sands Consultations. 30 November
  2006. Government of Alberta. 10 April 2006 lt
  http//www.oilsandsconsultations.gov.ab.ca/docs/
  InterimReport_Appendix_FactSheet.pdfgt.