Oilsands, the great Satan?

[birdrunner]

My new job is strongly affected my the oilsands, so I thought this article was interesting.

Fascinating article by Lisa  Corbella of the Calgary Herald.
Quebec and  the Fairy Godmother

Today,  let's have some fun and play Fairy Godmother to Quebec . Let's grant  the province the wish it articulated in Copenhagen . Wave the magic  wand and poof, wish granted. Shut down Alberta 's oilsands,  except, since it's Quebec making the wish, we have to call it tarsands,  even though it's not tar they use to run their Bombardier planes,  trains and Skidoos.

Ah, at last! The blight on Canada 's reputation  shut down. All those dastardly workers from across Canada living in  Fort McMurray , Calgary and Edmonton out of jobs, including those  waitresses, truck drivers, nurses, teachers, doctors, pilots, engineers  etc. They can all go on Employment insurance like Ontario autoworkers  and Quebec parts makers!
Closing down Alberta 's oil industry would  immediately stop the production of 1.8 million barrels of oil a day.  Supply and demand being what it is, oil prices will go up and therefore  the cost at the pump will go up, too, increasing the cost of everything  else.

But lost jobs in Alberta and across the country along  with higher gas prices are a small price to pay to save the world and  not "embarrass" Quebecers on the world stage. Not to worry though,  Saudi Arabia, Libya and Nigeria can come to the rescue. You know, the  guys who pump money into al-Qaida and help Osama bin Laden target those  Van Doos fighting in Afghanistan . Bloody oil is so much nicer than  dirty tarsands oil.
Shutting down the oilsands will reduce Canada  's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 38.4 Mt (megatonnes). Hooray! It's  so fun to be a Fairy Godmother! While that sounds like a lot, Canada  only produces two per cent of the world's man-made GHGs and the  oilsands only produce five per cent of Canada 's total emissions or 0.1  per cent of the world's emissions. By comparison, the U.S. produces  20.2 per cent of the world's GHG emissions, 27 per cent of which  comes from coal-fired electricity.

The 530-square-kilometre  piece of land currently disturbed by the oilsands (which is smaller  than the John F. Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral , Fla. at 570  square kilometres) must be reclaimed by law and will return to Alberta  's 381,000 square kilometres of boreal forest, a huge carbon  sink.

Quebec , of course, has clean hydro power, but more  than 13,000 square kilometres were drowned for the James Bay  hydroelectric project, permanently removing that forest from acting as  a carbon sink.

But Fairy Godmother is digressing all over the  place. While the oilsands only produce five per cent of Canada 's GHGs,  it contributes  much more  to Canada 's economy. After all, oil and gas make up one-quarter of the  value on the TSX alone. Alberta is also the largest net contributor  per capita by far to Confederation and there are only two more -- B.C.  and Ontario ..

Quebec hasn't made a net contribution to the rest  of Canada for a very long time. This is not to be critical (after all,  Fairy Godmothers never criticize), it's just a fact. In 2009, Albertans  paid $40.46 billion in income, corporate and other taxes to the  federal government and received back just $19.35 billion in services  and goods from the feds. That means the rest of Canada got $21.1  billion from Albertans or $5,742 for each and every Alberta man, woman  and child. In 2007 (the last year national figures are available),  Alberta sent a net contribution of $19.49 billion to the ROC or $5,553  per Albertan -- more than three times what every Ontarian contributes  at $1,757. Quebecers, on the other hand, each received $627 net or a  total of $8 billion, money which was designed to help "equalize" social  programs across the country. Except, that's not what is happening.  Quebec has more generous social programs like (nearly) free university  tuition (paid for mostly by Albertans) and cheap provincial day care  (paid for mostly by Albertans).

But in this Fairy Godmother world,  poof, those delightful unequal programs have now disappeared! Quel  dommage!

The July 2009 Canadian Energy Research Institute  (CERI) report states that between 2008 and 2032, the oilsands will  account for 172,000 person-years of employment in Ontario during the  construction phase, plus 640,000 for operations over the 25-year  period. For Quebec , the oilsands will account for 84,000 person-years  of employment during the construction phase, plus 292,000 for  operations over the 25-year period.
In total, the oilsands are  expected to add $1.7 trillion to Canada 's GDP over the next 25  years.

Wave wand and Poof, Jobs, gone! So, now that the  oil industry has shut down and left Alberta , Alberta has become a  have-not province and so has every other province. Equality at last!  Hugo Chavez will be so pleased.
Meeting our Copenhagen targets  suddenly looks possible, as most of us can't afford to drive our cars  or buy anything but necessities, so manufacturers have closed their  doors and emissions are way down.

The dream of many Quebecers to  form their own nation and separate from Canada has died at last. Alas,  in Alberta , separatist sentiment has risen dramatically, citizens vote  to separate and the oil and gas industry returns.
Albertans  start to pocket that almost $6,000 for each person that used to get  sent elsewhere and now their kids get free tuition. Fairy Godmother's  work is done. Wish granted.. Quebecers must now sign up for a foreign  worker visas to work in Alberta to send their cheques back home  so junior can start saving up to pay for  college.

What caught my attention was the figures on how much airable land is covered by hydro dams vs the area of oilsand developement.  ....  I wonder how much carbon those areas would have absorbed.

[blkhrt81]

I may run a little off topic here but I got a couple thoughts on this article, like, has Lisa Corbella ever been to Quebec and talked to some Quebecois about what they think about Fort Mac? Or is she just blathering on about a press release from some fat cat with a mission who represents exactly .001 of popular sentiment?
We have been practically programmed in the west to believe Quebec is a freeloader on Confederation, they want to shut us down, etc etc. Disproportionate influence on the federal government and on and on ad nauseum.
Well, I have rambled a bit in the last few years, seen the midnight sun in Siberia, got drunk in Moscow,rode the M13 through the Ukraine and the most important thing I've learned......most of what I had been told about the rest of the world was just flat wrong. So anytime I hear somebody talking about what THEY want, I ask  myself " Do you really KNOW that's what THEY want are are you just blowin' smoke to sell papers?"
My apologies for this interruption, we now return you to your regularly scheduled program

[veefer800canuck]

Hey, there has been an ecological disaster lurking beneath Fort Mcmurray for tens of thousands of years, and we're just now getting around to cleaning it up!

We're cleaning the sand, see? Removing all that nasty oil from it and making it shiny clean again!

 

[birdrunner]

Hey, there has been an ecological disaster lurking beneath Fort Mcmurray for tens of thousands of years, and we're just now getting around to cleaning it up!

We're cleaning the sand, see? Removing all that nasty oil from it and making it shiny clean again!

 

That's my take on it.

[Ack535]

Hey, there has been an ecological disaster lurking beneath Fort Mcmurray for tens of thousands of years, and we're just now getting around to cleaning it up!

We're cleaning the sand, see? Removing all that nasty oil from it and making it shiny clean again!

 

That is a brilliant thought that the "whacko enviormentalists" can't argue with! Well done!

[jp]

Yeahhh... There are no smarts left in the political world! That's a brilliant solution to cleaning up the tar sands! Actually, now you can probably export shiny sand to somewhere and double dip on the project!
In Sydney here, we've just spent a zillion dollars in Federal money cleaning up OUR little oil project. They called it the Tar Ponds, and it was supposed to be the most polluted spot in Canada. Years of dumping waste from steel making and coke burning and lobster boiling or something...
Anyhoo... The magic solution? Pour concrete all over it and hide it 'permanently'. Seemed like a good idea to somebody.
Damn! We could have imported tar sands technology, pumped out all the 'tar' and turned it into hi-test!
I wonder if it's too late to tunnel under the concrete and get at the good stuff??

[PatM]

Just a precision on the submerged land in Quebec. Yes, forests were cut down to create those huge reservoirs but they're not inert as far as carbon sink. Land vegetation has been replaced by underwater vegetation. And it's not arable land, at all. Arable land is limited to the lower 10% of the province, much like in the rest of Canada.

By the way, the big mouth Ms Corbella refers to is the Quebec Premier. He's trying is to save whatever he has left of his reputation. But that is another matter that should be in PO.  

And no most Quebecois don't think the oil (tar) sands are the big Satan.

[birdrunner]

Just a precision on the submerged land in Quebec. Yes, forests were cut down to create those huge reservoirs but they're not inert as far as carbon sink. Land vegetation has been replaced by underwater vegetation. And it's not arable land, at all. Arable land is limited to the lower 10% of the province, much like in the rest of Canada.

By the way, the big mouth Ms Corbella refers to is the Quebec Premier. He's trying is to save whatever he has left of his reputation. But that is another matter that should be in PO.  

And no most Quebecois don't think the oil (tar) sands are the big Satan.

If you're going to be reasonable, we're going to have to put you on ignore.


BTW,,, do underwater plants remove carbon from the air?

[PatM]

If you're going to be reasonable, we're going to have to put you on ignore.


BTW,,, do underwater plants remove carbon from the air?

  I promise, I won't behave anymore. 

ps Plants convert carbon dioxide in the photosynthesis process. The sea is actually a bigger carbon sink than all the world's forests combined.

[Kootenanny]

Interesting (and fun) article, Bird.

Myself, I fall somewhere between the two extremes.  I understand completely the importance of Alberta's oil industry to Alberta and the rest of Canada.  I'm also aware of the difficulty and cost of extracting oil from the "oil sands."  It's quite different from just sticking a pipe into the ground and letting the "sweet crude" flow up, the way they do in the Middle East and Texas (you're not likely to have a "gusher" anywhere near Fort Mac...). AFAIK, it can take the better part of a barrel of oil in energy to extract two barrels from the oil sands, depending on the technology (this is why the environmentalists complain about the oil sands--not just because of the oil extraction, but because of the energy being expended to extract it).  

Hey, I don't have any answers, and I tend to view oil sands development as a "good thing" overall (despite living here in Hippie Heaven...).  But dammit...dammit, it'd be nice if there was a "better way" (whatever that may be).

[Baz]

As I am a minority stakeholder in 3 oilsands operations, when I discuss the evils of my operations with those who deplore them, I just ask that they demonstrate their distaste by discontinuing their personal use of all petroleum products.

(That includes the use of protest buses)  

None have ever taken this step.

[veefer800canuck]

Eggszachary.

Before you start preaching, you better live like Grizzly fucking Adams.

Anyone who ballyhoos about dirty oil and such better be prepared to move right the fuck back to the middle ages.

No plastic, no trains, no planes, no bicycles, no computers, Ipods, internet, central heating, refrigerators, X-rays, MRI's, air conditioning, etc.

Go back to being a hunter-gatherer and making EVERYTHING you need right outta the earth without the benefit of crude oil.

Because without oil, that's right where we'd be. Can't make Solar Panels without OIL. Can't build giant dams and hydroelectric projects without OIL, can't manufacture and erect wind turbines without OIL.

yadda yadda yadda

[Hardware]

Eggszachary.

Before you start preaching, you better live like Grizzly fucking Adams.

Anyone who ballyhoos about dirty oil and such better be prepared to move right the fuck back to the middle ages.

No plastic, no trains, no planes, no bicycles, no computers, Ipods, internet, central heating, refrigerators, X-rays, MRI's, air conditioning, etc.

Go back to being a hunter-gatherer and making EVERYTHING you need right outta the earth without the benefit of crude oil.

Because without oil, that's right where we'd be. Can't make Solar Panels without OIL. Can't build giant dams and hydroelectric projects without OIL, can't manufacture and erect wind turbines without OIL.

yadda yadda yadda

Still have to plug that EV into the grid to recharge its batteries...

...the batteries had to be manufactured from raw materials shipped from source locations to factories...at the end of their lifecycle the toxic contents of the batteries have to be disposed of...

[Kootenanny]

Still have to plug that EV into the grid to recharge its batteries...

...the batteries had to be manufactured from raw materials shipped from source locations to factories...at the end of their lifecycle the toxic contents of the batteries have to be disposed of...

The fact that we have a civilization based on oil consumption doesn't mean we shouldn't be looking for alternatives.  Indeed, the fact that oil is required for plastics and lots of other things is IMO one good reason why we should be looking for alternative energy sources now.  Every journey starts with a single step...

[Baz]

The fact that we have a civilization based on oil consumption doesn't mean we shouldn't be looking for alternatives.  Indeed, the fact that oil is required for plastics and lots of other things is IMO one good reason why we should be looking for alternative energy sources now.  Every journey starts with a single step...

Agree with you fully, but face the fact that right now their is no workable alternative to oil.

If there is anyone that realistically believes that we will be zooming around the planet on some magical liquid in the next 20 years, they need to give their head a shake. Short of some miracle, their just is not anything that replaces the density of energy stored in a barrel of oil.

I hope I am wrong.....

[Kootenanny]

If there is anyone that realistically believes that we will be zooming around the planet on some magical liquid in the next 20 years, they need to give their head a shake. Short of some miracle, their just is not anything that replaces the density of energy stored in a barrel of oil.

I agree--it may come, but not likely for quite a while yet.  However, it'll never come if we don't start the research NOW.  And not just H2, but other alternative energy sources as well.  So, I'm glad to hear about new souirces of energy being developed...so we can find out if they're gonna work or not.

Saw an interesting documentary recently, called "Windfall," about some of the problems surrounding wind energy development.  I've never been a big fan of wind energy, and this show documented problems with that industry that I'd never even thought about.

[Baz]

I find windfarms about as unsightly as an oilsands mine.  

I get my hands on a whole lot of pretty tight lipped production information and can tell you that their will soon be quite a shortage in crude oil supply around the world. A couple of the largest oilfields in the world are drying up and nothing has been discovered in the last 20 years that will replace the volume that they produce. With the rise in demand in the developing countries, it is going to get quite interesting.

The largest untapped energy source right now is Methane Hydrates but taping this stuff at the bottom of oceans is not all that practical or cheap to do. Still not really a replacement for oil.

I am pretty certain that our energy future is going to be a combination of things, but oil will still be #1.  

[Kootenanny]

I get my hands on a whole lot of pretty tight lipped production information and can tell you that their will soon be quite a shortage in crude oil supply around the world. A couple of the largest oilfields in the world are drying up and nothing has been discovered in the last 20 years that will replace the volume that they produce. With the rise in demand in the developing countries, it is going to get quite interesting.

Hell, you don't need to be an industry insider to know this.  I read Jeff Rubin's "Why Your World Is About To Get A Whole Lot Smaller" a few years ago...this is pretty much exactly what he is saying in his book.

[jp]

Great link there Koot (to Jeff Rubin's page)... Every time I pull in to the gas station, there is this little voice saying "How much longer??"
Every single nail, cabbage, t-shirt, bottle of beer, and bar stool got on this island with an oil powered motor assist. Every lobster headed the other way gets dragged up from the bottom with an oil-powered winch on an oil powered boat.
We have a whole pile of new windmills spinning away near the shore. Can't see how they're gonna replace the oil tanker though...

[Baz]

Hell, you don't need to be an industry insider to know this.  I read Jeff Rubin's "Why Your World Is About To Get A Whole Lot Smaller" a few years ago...this is pretty much exactly what he is saying in his book.

I have a few Oilfield Engineer friends who discussed the contents of this article a few years ago. The official estimates of world reserves as far as the Saudi's go are just a little jaded.

http://www.energyandcapital.com/articles/ghawar-oil-saudi/253