There are many who believe that the world is at a turning point, or even a “crisis moment” concerning the issue of global warming. In the months leading up to last December’s global climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, thousands if not millions mobilized to bring this message to world leaders—many under banners reading “tcktcktck,” a reference to their belief that the time in which to deal with the problem is running out.
Differences of opinion over how to address climate change threaten to create a unity crisis in Canada that will look like a ghost of the National Energy Program (NEP), and drive a wedge between eastern and western Canada, says the most senior official responsible for Ontario’s climate change policies.
Once formed, a preconception is difficult to overturn. Information that challenges preconceived notions is then discounted or ignored. This human tendency is a problem for Alberta’s oilsands industry.
There’s a striking similarity between healthy upland boreal forest ecosystems and the committees of the Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA).
About 40 years ago, Terry Macyk says he found himself simply in the right place at the right time—that is, at the offices of the Alberta Research Council (ARC) when a call came in from McIntyre Mines looking for a reclamation consulting team. It was the early 1970s, and the company, which had been operating an underground coal mine near the town of Grande Cache, Alberta, needed to boost shipments to its customers in Japan. In order to do this it was planning to start up surface mining.
Exiting 2009, oilsands producers began to reap the rewards of their work to enhance operational reliability as production increased overall to 1.23 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter, up from 1.16 million barrels per day in the same period the previous year. The production growth is expected to continue into 2010 as a few new projects are commissioned, and others continue their efforts to close in on plant capacities.
Ged Vanberg
“Toronto-based designer Sonja den Elzen explores the exploitation of Canada’s boreal forest through the mining of the tar sands, with her urban-nomad collection, ‘Conscience.’ Her garments are worn, rugged, and master the black-on-black look with a combination of textures; organic wool, recycled leather, beeswaxed organic cotton, hemp tencel, and bamboo.”
— Description of an autumn 2009–10 collection displayed at New York Fashion Week. treehugger.com, Feb. 16.
Despite what Shell Canada calls a very quiet 2009 and a plan to scale back on oilsands investment, the company says it continues to progress its oilsands-related carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiative. Quest, a $1.35-billion CCS project that would reduce emissions from Shell’s Scotford upgrader (the downstream portion of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project) by 35 per cent, now has some $865 million in combined support from the Alberta and Canadian governments, but a decision to go ahead with full-scale operations remains at least a couple of years in the distance.
A research centre based out of the University of Alberta (U of A) that concentrates on reducing the environmental footprint of oilsands mining, including lowering water consumption and improving existing bitumen upgrading methods, now has secure sources of funding to be able to carry on its work until well into this decade.
A University of Calgary (U of C) professor believes he and his team of 60 researchers are within months of a pilot plant test he believes could revolutionize in situ oilsands development. The team has been working since 2002 to develop the technology, which Dr. Pedro Pereira Almao first experimented with while he was director of research for Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), the Venezuelan state oil company.
It isn’t just a coincidence that two former senior executives of Syncrude are playing a key role in Alberta’s climate change strategy, as well as contributing to the province and the country in roles outside the energy industry. That’s according to these industry veterans themselves, Eric Newell and Jim Carter.
It was a terrible start to 2010 for the energy sector with oil dropping 8.2 per cent and natural gas down 7.9 per cent in January. The Oil Sands Sector Index managed to lose only 5.2 per cent, while the benchmark TSX Energy Index was down 6.4 per cent. The best performer on our index in January was UTS Energy, followed by Ivanhoe Energy. The worst-performing stock was Oilsands Quest, followed by Husky Energy and Canadian Natural Resources.
