March 06
Alberta has enough oil in its tarsands region to last for hundreds of years,
says Energy Minister Greg Melchin. Albertans and Canadians shouldn't be
concerned about Americans draining oil to meet a growing thirst for energy in
the United States, the minister said.
"We have centuries of supplies," Melchin said. "And our policies are built on a
lot of trade, the United States being our most valuable customer."
Premier Ralph Klein echoed Melchin's comments.
"If we see oil drying up and we see the Alberta supply being threatened and the
Canadian supply being threatened, we can do whatever is necessary to ensure that
Canada receives its supplies first," he said. "But there's a 300-year supply of
oil predicted in the tarsands."
Both men were responding to a report by the Parkland Institute that says
increasing demand from the US is putting the oilsands in jeopardy. The report
deals with threats the tarsands face as production is forecast to jump to 6 mm
bpd from an estimated 1 mm.
"The Americans have become very interested in the tarsands and almost talk about
it as though it's their domestic supply, looking at it as a way of replacing
Middle Eastern oil," said Parkland's director, Gordon Laxer.
The University of Alberta think tank is calling on Prime Minister Stephen
Harper to implement a made-in-Canada strategy to safeguard Canada's energy
security. But Melchin dismissed any suggestion of a new national policy that
would influence Alberta's energy export decisions.
"The province has the ownership and stewardship and constitutional authority to
develop its resources," said Melchin. "So when we're talking about energy,
Alberta has the primary lead on the oil and gas."
However, he said he's not totally dismissing the idea of keeping an eye on
Alberta's energy supplies.
"When we look at the long-term energy need for Alberta and for Canada, those are
first and paramount," he said. "But we know our resources are so vast and so
large."
Environment Minister Guy Boutilier also said there's a need to ensure that
Canada's energy needs remain a top priority.
"We want to ensure that we supply the needs of Canadians, but there's a lot of
oil to go around based on what we have in the oilsands development area," said
Boutilier.
The Parkland report was commissioned a year ago and was prepared with the
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Polaris Institute.
Source: CHQR