US should weigh environmental impact of oil sands
extraction in Canada
05-06-08
US regulators should weigh the environmental impact of oil sands
extraction in Canada before granting permits for more pipelines that to
carry Canadian crude to refineries in the US, a green group said.
The recommendation was one of several in a report by the Washington-based
Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) on massive expansions and retoolings
of US refineries aimed at running more oil derived from the oil sands of
northern Alberta. The report, called "Tar Sands: Feeding US Refinery
Expansions with Dirty Fuel," said two-thirds of 1.6 mm bpd of planned
refinery capacity additions target oil sands feedstock.
The report, co-authored by an Environmental Defence Canada representative,
details a list of ways that oil sands development and extraction exacerbates
climate change, air pollution and the shrinking of the boreal forest. But it
stops short of calling for a halt to oil sands development or US imports of
such crude.
"When we talk about oil, we're talking about reducing reliance and moving
away from it. We know that takes time -- we are pragmatists here," EIP
director Eric Schaeffer said. "But those first steps start with an awareness
of what it means to get your oil from that source. This is a very intensely
wasteful way of feeding the oil habit," Schaeffer told.
Apart from 17 refinery expansions and 5 new plants under construction or
consideration in the US, the study identified another 827,120 barrels of
existing refining capacity being converted to run oil sands crude. More than
$ 100 bn worth of projects aimed at tapping Alberta's oil sands are under
way or on the drawing board as companies look to feed US demand for secure
energy supplies.
The huge investments have attracted the attention of environmental groups
worried about high carbon dioxide emissions from oil sands extraction plants
and upgraders, the impact of sprawling open-pit mines on wildlife habitat
and high water use.
The industry says it is making strides to improve its environmental
performance, and investing in new technology such as carbon capture and
storage to limit carbon emissions and dry tailings to eliminate the toxic
waste ponds outside plants. Such ponds made headlines earlier this year
after 500 ducks were killed when they landed on one at the Syncrude Canada
site.
"I don't think anybody denies that environmental performance needs to
continue to improve," Pierre Alvarez, president of the Canadian Association
of Petroleum Producers, said at the Reuters Global Energy Summit.
Among the EIP report's other recommendations, it urges regulators that grant
pipeline permits to consider increased greenhouse gas emissions at US
refineries that process oil sands crude before approving projects. In
addition, US transport and energy policies should be geared to reducing oil
consumption by promoting better automobile fuel standards. It should also
adopt initiatives that take into account the lifecycle carbon content of
fuel, it said.
The report said the US Environmental Protection Agency should limit
greenhouse gas emissions and consider alternatives to oil sands-derived oil
in "best available control technology" determinations when issuing
construction permits for new refineries and expansions.
Source: www.upstreamonline.com |