Montreal (Platts)--24Jul2009

A new report by the provincial Alberta government's energy innovation
center, the Alberta Energy Research Institute, claims that direct greenhouse
gas emissions from Canada's oil sands are comparable to conventional crude
oil.

The report, released on Thursday, was compiled by Jacobs Consultancy
Canada and Tiax LLC. It claimed that direct GHG emissions from "well to wheel"
were 10% higher for tar sands than conventional crudes imported by the US. But
it said that once cogeneration that provides power and steam for the
production process was factored in, direct emissions became comparable to
other imported crude oils.

There is concern in Canada that any legislation in the US to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions could target Canada's oil sands crude production.
Canada accounts for 11% of all US crude imports, with 40% of that figure
coming from the oil sands.

US government estimates on the GHG impact from oil sands production paint
a less favorable picture, putting oil sands' GHG impact about 14% above that
for conventional crudes, according to a spokeswoman for the US Environmental
Protection Agency.

Environmental organizations quickly labeled the Alberta report as a
public relations exercise to improve the image of the oil sands.
--Felix von Geyer, newsdesk@platts.com