Titanic clash looms over proposed Northern Gateway pipeline

Expect new legislation then.

BTW - Did you ever make it over to google maps and check-out the satellite images of the land North and West of Smithers, BC?... Some pretty interesting stuff MF.

Don't be too sure about that. Aside from introducing new legislation I think they can override these decisions by using the laws already in place that give parliament the right to make decisions based on national best interests. And clearly having access to alternatives to the US market is in the best national interest.

Personally, I get a real kick out of all the eco-crites that post ads in the Smithers Newspaper deriding the P/L, but according to the satellite images, they have no problem turning their country side into a moonscape.

I have no problem with people just getting what they need to survive, but mowing down everything in sight, screwing up air, water, and land with crap to make a buck is not what I'd call honorable.
And this lame argument about what people use to build their homes with is pathetic. Unless one can figure out how NOT to use ANY resources to build their house with, one has to use stuff like wood, steel, concrete, etc. Wood comes from trees, metals come from the ground mostly, concrete ingredients come from the ground, etc.

I'm told straw bale is best!

We do not need this pipeline for economic and environmental reasons For one we
should not be exporting raw materials like this to China its not in our interest, and no
we should not export raw logs either. We should produced everything in Canada and
sell finished product only to the world, now that creates jobs. In the case of gas and
oil only limited amounts should be available for export. Remember the more we
ship to America, the more we have to provide in emergencies under free trade.
Secondly it could be ship to refineries by rail. In this case a gas, it should be for the
domestic market only, let the world freeze in the dark its ours and we should keep it
and manage it for ourselves.

Straw is good but you can't build a house with straw only. There is also Cobb housing (mud and straw mixed - free form), Rammed Earth (the original Great Wall f China was built with rammed earth), Elongated sand bags and barbed wire domes, domes and square homes built with mill ends, log homes built with standing dead trees.... etc. Do we really need to live in and heat 1500 - 2000 sq/ft homes? Most homes in Canada would be considered mansions in third world countries. We waste because we have this idea that our resources are endless. They are not.

Right on all points, Cliff. My three siblings, parents and I lived for many years in 704 square feet. We used bunk beds in those days- oh and for part of that time one facility was in a detached building 3' square!

Resources are not endless and we will need them a lot sooner than we anticipate
We are going to try to supply a world with ten billion people with energy? See how
long that lasts. Once the tap is turned on or we allow the foreign investment in it
will be difficult to control let alone shut it down to protect our own interests.
This idea of get the money, money, money, well that is OK until the supply runs out
then there is no more money to count while we are sitting in the dark. It is time to
think about the future. And I mean the long term future, the Present governments
think the future is next year and it is not.

I used outhouses for the better part of my life but they might be a tad odoriferous in a crowded subdivision.

I'm not so sure about that DG. they said on the news the other night that 40% of the food bought in Canada winds up in the dumpster! I just about puked!

Might be a good thing. At least no one could say their sh*t don't stink!

Enbridge's pipeline of distortions

With President Obama's rejection of the Keystone XL pipe-line yesterday, tarsands lobbyists in Canada are frantically trying to spin-doctor and sell the Enbridge pipeline.

Delightful commentaries over the past few days have taken Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver to task for their desperate theories about radical foreign environmentalists and socialist billionaires hijacking the Enbridge Joint Review Panel hearings.

These attacks are largely laughable because their hypocrisy is so obvious. The oil industry is a multi-billion trans-national industry backed by a Tory government that peddles the tarsands to any foreign buyer who will bite - from Canadian diplomats in Washing-ton hustling the Keystone XL pipeline, to another upcoming visit to China by Harper and his corporate entourage. At the Enbridge Joint Review Panel hearings, 10 out of the 16 intervening oil companies have foreign-based head-quarters, for example America's Exxon Mobil, Britain's BP, France's Total E&P, and Japan Canada Oil Sands Ltd.

On the other hand, Environmental Defence reports that all of the intervening environmental organizations are based in Canada, and 79 per cent of those registered to speak are B.C. residents. Given colonial governance over indigenous peoples, Nadleh Whut'en Chief Larry Nooski's quip is most apt "We're not foreign - these are our lands."

The sanctimonious rhetoric of 'sabotage by foreign interests' is a recent spin from a longer campaign that tries to pitch the tarsands as ethical. Billing itself as 'non-partisan,' the oxymoronic Ethical Oil campaign was initiated by Alykhan Velshi, staffer for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and now director of planning for the PM. Velshi has been succeeded by Ann Coulter wannabe Kathryn Marshall.

In a recent CBC Power and Politics panel, Mar-shall refused to answer whether Ethical Oil received Enbridge funding. The group has also been unable to explain Enbridge's unethical partnership with Chinese state-owned Sinopec, linked to repression in Sudan and Myanmar.

As Naomi Klein has pointed out, much of Alberta's tarsands - which receives a chunk of the $2.9 billion of state subsidies to the oil industry - is exported to the U.S. to fuel its unethical military occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Or simply ask the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, down-stream from the tarsands that are being diagnosed with high rates of cancer, whether this industrial giga-project that emits over 45 million tons of greenhouse gases each year is 'ethical.' David Suzuki has written, "In today's world, all fossil fuels are unethical."

The $5.5-billion proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline would cross 1,000 rivers and streams, including the Fraser and Skeena headwaters. Supertankers, with capacity of up to two million barrels of oil, would crisscross along coastal waters.

What is encouraging, however, is that the chorus against Enbridge and the tarsands is growing, as the call for sustainable economies outside of restrictive industries is amplified. The recent financial crisis, alarming rates of climate change, and growing inequality have made clear that not only does this fundamentalist system destroy the planet, it simply does not work for any of us.

The proposed pipeline traverses the territories of 65 first nations, of which at least 61 have declared their opposition. According to the Save the Fraser Gathering of Nations Declaration, "We will not allow the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, or similar Tar Sands projects, to cross our lands, territories and watersheds, or the ocean migration routes of Fraser River salmon." Even the oh-so-radical Union of British Columbia Municipalities has voted against the pipeline and coastal tanker traffic. According to shore worker Arnie Nag, the Enbridge proposal is also opposed by the United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union.

In the tarsands, multinational corporations prefer cheap, exploitable, and disposable labour, especially migrant workers. Last year, the Petroleum Human Resources Council sought an additional 100,000 migrant workers to work on tarsands infrastructure.

Harsha Walia is a Vancouver-based activist and writer trained in law.

Press Release

10/14/2011
KITIMAT LNG PARTNERS ANNOUNCE EXPORT LICENCE APPROVAL BY NATIONAL ENERGY BOARD

Kitimat LNG partners Apache Canada Ltd. (Apache Canada), EOG Resources Canada Inc. (EOG Canada) and Encana Corporation (Encana) today announced that the National Energy Board (NEB) has granted Kitimat LNG a 20-year export licence to ship liquefied natural gas from Canada to international markets.



--
CALGARY, ALBERTA (October 13, 2011) – Kitimat LNG partners Apache Canada Ltd. (Apache Canada), EOG Resources Canada Inc. (EOG Canada) and Encana Corporation (Encana) today announced that the National Energy Board (NEB) has granted Kitimat LNG a 20-year export licence to ship liquefied natural gas from Canada to international markets.
“The Kitimat LNG project represents a remarkable opportunity to open up Asia-Pacific markets to Canadian natural gas and we’re leading the way in being able to deliver a long-term, stable and secure supply to the region,” said Janine McArdle, Kitimat LNG President. “This export licence approval is another major milestone for Kitimat LNG as we move forward and market our LNG supply. LNG customers can have even more confidence in a new source of supply.”
“Today marks a historic day for Canada’s natural gas industry and this is fantastic news for our project and the communities where we operate. Kitimat LNG will bring revenues and jobs and the associated benefits to Canada,” said Tim Wall, Apache Canada President. “The Kitimat LNG partners are very pleased with the NEB’s approval of our export licence and we’d like to thank them for their support and confidence in the project.”
The Kitimat LNG export facility is planned to be built on First Nations land under a partnership with the Haisla First Nation.
The facility will be served by Pacific Trail Pipelines Limited Partnership’s natural gas pipeline which will run from Summit Lake to Kitimat. The 463-kilometre underground line will provide the terminal with a direct connection to the Spectra Energy transmission pipeline system and excellent access to natural gas supplies in British Columbia.
Kitimat LNG is currently carrying out a Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) study which will provide certainty around project design, construction timelines and costs and labour force requirements. The FEED study is expected to be complete by early in 2012 followed by a final investment decision by the partners.
About the Kitimat LNG facility and the PTP Pipeline
Apache Canada, EOG Canada and Encana plan to build the Kitimat LNG facility on IR#6 Bish Cove, approximately 650 kilometres (400 miles) north of Vancouver. The facility is planned to be built on First Nations land under a unique partnership with the Haisla First Nation. The initial phase of the facility has a planned capacity of approximately 5 million metric tonnes of LNG per annum or the equivalent of nearly 700 million cubic feet per day. PTP is planning to build a 463-kilometre (287-mile), 914-mm (36-inch) diameter underground line from Summit Lake, B.C. to Kitimat. Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. (PNG) will operate and maintain the planned pipeline under a seven-year agreement with Apache Canada, EOG Canada and Encana, with provisions for five-year renewals.
Kitimat LNG project background and other information
Additional information about the Kitimat LNG project, including illustrations, an animated video, and previously issued news releases can be found at --
Key milestones for the project include:
- October 2011 – Canada’s National Energy Board grants Kitimat LNG a 20 year Export Licence to serve international markets.
- July 2011 – Kitimat LNG purchases Eurocan industrial site
- March 2011 – Apache and EOG welcome Encana to the Kitimat LNG development
- March 2011 – Kitimat LNG front-end engineering and design awarded to KBR
- March 2011 – Apache and EOG acquire all of Pacific Trail Pipelines
- December 2010 – KM LNG Operating General Partnership files Canadian Federal Export Licence Application
- December 2010 – EOG closes agreement on purchase of 49 percent of project
- November 2010 – Documents fully executed for land leases with related agreements
- November 2010 – Haisla First Nation votes overwhelmingly to approve land leases
- May 2010 – EOG Resources Canada signs pre-acquisition agreement to purchase remaining 49 percent of project
- January 2010 – Apache purchases 51 percent of project and becomes operator
- August 2006 – Canadian federal environmental assessment decision statement received
- June 2006 – Canadian provincial environmental assessment approval

About Apache Canada Ltd.
Apache Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of Apache Corporation (NYSE, Nasdaq: APA), is one of Canada’s top oil and gas producers with operations in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Apache Corporation is an oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, Egypt, the United Kingdom North Sea, Australia and Argentina, in addition to Canada. Apache common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and quoted on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol APA. Apache posts announcements, updates and investor information, in addition to copies of all recent press releases, on its website --.
About EOG Canada
EOG Resources Canada Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE: EOG), one of the largest independent (non-integrated) oil and natural gas companies in the United States with proved reserves in the United States, Canada, Trinidad, the United Kingdom and China. EOG Resources, Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is traded under the ticker symbol “EOG.” For more information, visit --.
About Encana Corporation
Encana (TSX, NYSE: ECA) is a leading North American natural gas producer that is focused on growing its strong portfolio of natural gas resource plays in key basins from northeast British Columbia to east Texas and Louisiana. By partnering with employees, community organizations and other businesses, Encana contributes to the strength and sustainability of the communities where it operates. Encana common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol ECA. For more information about Encana visit --.

Press Release

10/14/2011
KITIMAT LNG PARTNERS ANNOUNCE EXPORT LICENCE APPROVAL BY NATIONAL ENERGY BOARD

Kitimat LNG partners Apache Canada Ltd. (Apache Canada), EOG Resources Canada Inc. (EOG Canada) and Encana Corporation (Encana) today announced that the National Energy Board (NEB) has granted Kitimat LNG a 20-year export licence to ship liquefied natural gas from Canada to international markets.



--
CALGARY, ALBERTA (October 13, 2011) – Kitimat LNG partners Apache Canada Ltd. (Apache Canada), EOG Resources Canada Inc. (EOG Canada) and Encana Corporation (Encana) today announced that the National Energy Board (NEB) has granted Kitimat LNG a 20-year export licence to ship liquefied natural gas from Canada to international markets.
“The Kitimat LNG project represents a remarkable opportunity to open up Asia-Pacific markets to Canadian natural gas and we’re leading the way in being able to deliver a long-term, stable and secure supply to the region,” said Janine McArdle, Kitimat LNG President. “This export licence approval is another major milestone for Kitimat LNG as we move forward and market our LNG supply. LNG customers can have even more confidence in a new source of supply.”
“Today marks a historic day for Canada’s natural gas industry and this is fantastic news for our project and the communities where we operate. Kitimat LNG will bring revenues and jobs and the associated benefits to Canada,” said Tim Wall, Apache Canada President. “The Kitimat LNG partners are very pleased with the NEB’s approval of our export licence and we’d like to thank them for their support and confidence in the project.”
The Kitimat LNG export facility is planned to be built on First Nations land under a partnership with the Haisla First Nation.
The facility will be served by Pacific Trail Pipelines Limited Partnership’s natural gas pipeline which will run from Summit Lake to Kitimat. The 463-kilometre underground line will provide the terminal with a direct connection to the Spectra Energy transmission pipeline system and excellent access to natural gas supplies in British Columbia.
Kitimat LNG is currently carrying out a Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) study which will provide certainty around project design, construction timelines and costs and labour force requirements. The FEED study is expected to be complete by early in 2012 followed by a final investment decision by the partners.
About the Kitimat LNG facility and the PTP Pipeline
Apache Canada, EOG Canada and Encana plan to build the Kitimat LNG facility on IR#6 Bish Cove, approximately 650 kilometres (400 miles) north of Vancouver. The facility is planned to be built on First Nations land under a unique partnership with the Haisla First Nation. The initial phase of the facility has a planned capacity of approximately 5 million metric tonnes of LNG per annum or the equivalent of nearly 700 million cubic feet per day. PTP is planning to build a 463-kilometre (287-mile), 914-mm (36-inch) diameter underground line from Summit Lake, B.C. to Kitimat. Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. (PNG) will operate and maintain the planned pipeline under a seven-year agreement with Apache Canada, EOG Canada and Encana, with provisions for five-year renewals.
Kitimat LNG project background and other information
Additional information about the Kitimat LNG project, including illustrations, an animated video, and previously issued news releases can be found at --
Key milestones for the project include:
- October 2011 – Canada’s National Energy Board grants Kitimat LNG a 20 year Export Licence to serve international markets.
- July 2011 – Kitimat LNG purchases Eurocan industrial site
- March 2011 – Apache and EOG welcome Encana to the Kitimat LNG development
- March 2011 – Kitimat LNG front-end engineering and design awarded to KBR
- March 2011 – Apache and EOG acquire all of Pacific Trail Pipelines
- December 2010 – KM LNG Operating General Partnership files Canadian Federal Export Licence Application
- December 2010 – EOG closes agreement on purchase of 49 percent of project
- November 2010 – Documents fully executed for land leases with related agreements
- November 2010 – Haisla First Nation votes overwhelmingly to approve land leases
- May 2010 – EOG Resources Canada signs pre-acquisition agreement to purchase remaining 49 percent of project
- January 2010 – Apache purchases 51 percent of project and becomes operator
- August 2006 – Canadian federal environmental assessment decision statement received
- June 2006 – Canadian provincial environmental assessment approval

About Apache Canada Ltd.
Apache Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of Apache Corporation (NYSE, Nasdaq: APA), is one of Canada’s top oil and gas producers with operations in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Apache Corporation is an oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, Egypt, the United Kingdom North Sea, Australia and Argentina, in addition to Canada. Apache common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and quoted on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol APA. Apache posts announcements, updates and investor information, in addition to copies of all recent press releases, on its website --.
About EOG Canada
EOG Resources Canada Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE: EOG), one of the largest independent (non-integrated) oil and natural gas companies in the United States with proved reserves in the United States, Canada, Trinidad, the United Kingdom and China. EOG Resources, Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is traded under the ticker symbol “EOG.” For more information, visit --.
About Encana Corporation
Encana (TSX, NYSE: ECA) is a leading North American natural gas producer that is focused on growing its strong portfolio of natural gas resource plays in key basins from northeast British Columbia to east Texas and Louisiana. By partnering with employees, community organizations and other businesses, Encana contributes to the strength and sustainability of the communities where it operates. Encana common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol ECA. For more information about Encana visit --.

First Nation backs out of Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline deal

January 19, 2012 9:24 AM

An agreement struck by Enbridge Inc. last month that was supposed to prove there is aboriginal support for the $5.5-billion Northern Gateway pipe-line has collapsed, the Calgary-based company confirmed Wednesday.

Gitxsan hereditary chiefs voted at a meeting in Hagwilget on Tuesday evening to reject the deal that would have given the First Nation $7 million in profits over 30 years.

Negotiator Elmer Derrick, who struck the deal with Enbridge, spoke at the meeting attended by about 125 Gitxsan members, according to the northern B.C. radio station CJFW-FM.

Chiefs voted 28-8 to reject the deal, according to the report.

"Enbridge has learned that the Gitxsan hereditary chiefs have reconsidered their prior endorsement of Gitxsan participation as equity partners in our project," an Enbridge spokesman, Paul Stanway, said Wednesday in a statement.

"While we are disappointed at this shift in stance in relation to our 2009 protocol agreement with the Nation and in relation to 2011 meetings with Hereditary representatives, we respect this decision.

"We look forward to receiving written communication from the Gitxsan hereditary chiefs, so that we have greater clarity in relation to their current perspectives. And we will continue to engage with the Gitxsan Nation in relation to the project."

Stanway said the company will also continue to work with corridor First Nations groups, including more than 20 groups who have executed and endorsed equity participation agreements deals with Enbridge.

Gitxsan chiefs who blockaded the First Nation's treaty office in Hazel-ton, B.C., say they want a written confirmation the agreement is no longer in effect before the blockade will end, according to the radio report.

Enbridge chief executive Pat Daniel said last month the agreement was the first of many equity-sharing deals to be announced with First Nations along the pipeline route from the Alberta oilsands to Kitimat.

"This now makes it obvious to the public and to others that we do have support, and we hope that momentum will build from here," Daniel told the Vancouver Sun.

Daniel boldly predicted in the interview that at least 30 of the 45 First Nations along the 1,170-kilometre pipeline route would have struck deals by June.

However, Derrick has so far been the only First Nation chief to publicly reveal an agreement has been struck, and that announcement triggered an angry backlash in his community.

--

--

Province shows support for Northern Gateway Pipeline


The Vancouver Sun has published a story on an Ipsos-Reid Poll, commissioned by Calgary based Enbridge Incorporated, the proponent of the Northern Gateway pipeline project. In the Article, published Wed. Jan. 4, it shows that B.C. residents support the controversial five and a half billion dollar twin pipeline, by a margin of 48 to 32 percent.

Yes, we already went over the reality of 48% < 51%.

The fact that the only aboriginal group that was on board has now rescinded is not a good sign.

Read the press release from Apache.

The precedent is already set.

--

Instead of pipelines, build refineries here

The continuing controversy in the U.S. surrounding TransCanada’s proposed Keystone pipeline may just be the best thing that ever happened to Canada. Perhaps it will force us to finally just say no to being hewers of wood and drawers of water. While Keystone’s success is important, it’s time Canada comes of age and starts to transform more of its resources into value-added products at home.

When it comes to our oil resources, this is no small undertaking. The price tag to build the infrastructure and refining complex scaled for our vast oil reserves could be as much as $100-billion and could take 20 years.

We have the resources, the natural proximity to ports, rail infrastructure and voracious customers south of the border and within 36 hours of our export terminals. All it takes is vision, capital, know-how, tenacity and chutzpah. And a big bold plan.

We don’t need to look very far for vision. Northwest Red Water Partnership (NRWP) is a perfect example. Founded by Ian Macgregor’s Northwest Upgrading and in partnership with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and the Alberta government, NRWP is the first new refinery to be built in North America in 30 years. The $15-billion project is the stuff legends are made of. Alberta decided it wanted its share of the higher, less-volatile margins that come from converting bitumen to refined products. NWRP won the government’s tender and as a result a new refinery is being built at home, which will process a portion of Alberta’s royalty production.

Alberta and CNRL have committed a total of 50,000 barrels a day to the project for the first of three phases. The returns to the province are enormous — jobs, taxes and a share in the refining margins, which to date have accrued to large multinational oil companies (i.e. not Canadians). If Phase 1 of the refinery had been in operation last year, the province would have raked in an additional $500-million on its royalties.

A refining complex in Canada would also be better for the environment. Refined products are roughly half the volume of raw bitumen and Canadian environmental standards are the highest in the world. The NRWP refinery will be the first refinery in the world with an integrated CO2 solution.

Canada is awash in capital. Our pension funds are scouring the planet for long-term yield-generating assets to offset their liabilities. We are investing our retirement funds all over the world. For example, the $150-billion Canada Pension Plan portfolio has only 14% invested in Canadian equity. Approximately 40% of CPP’s portfolio is invested in foreign equities and the balance in debt, real estate and infrastructure, a large portion of which is offshore. CPP, along with the other large Canadian pension funds, have invested in foreign infrastructure projects partly due to a lack of opportunities at home.

Canada is the new hot spot for educated professionals. We have so much to offer with respect to lifestyle, security and opportunity. We can develop an entire generation of professional expertise around oil-refining processes. We can set the agenda re R&D for greener, cleaner refining practices and become a global leader in energy. All of this made in Canada.

As for chutzpah … well, we are Canadians, after all. We built the railways and discovered insulin. What’s a mere $100-billion, 20-year plan to keep investment, jobs and control over our resources at home? Plan B for our oil resources shouldn’t be exporting bitumen barrels to China versus the U.S. Gulf Coast. It should be exporting value-added petroleum products to the world.

--

--

You have to research to see if straw construction is feasible. It's certainly a renewable resource. But even then there are issues between using acreage for stuff that's used for fuel and construction and using acreage for things like food.

I still think that is not as important as supplying fresh water. Much of the planet is currently under stress concerning fresh water and even if the population stays the same, it will get worse. Increase the pop. to 10 billion and it's catastrophic. Mass die-off of not only humans but damned near every other species as well.

"Isn't our oil wonderful," Cannon gushed.

That would be immensely expensive in the short term. In the long term, it would be good for the economy.
Environmentally, the pollution potential is still high.

It depends on how many refineries are built.

It would be a good idea to use it as leverage to help the new energy economy kick in by 2030. You can also continue to produce, but lower production to sustainable levels.

What we're doing right now is short term gain with long-term pain. It's basically the equivalent of giving a crack addict tons of crack.

And right now we actually have more than enough crack..


Northern Gateway endangers environment, energy security: geologist

The proposed $5.5-billion Northern Gateway Pipeline will jeopardize Canada’s long-term energy security while at the same time leading to an unprecedented expansion of the oil sands with its dangerous social and environmental impacts, a former senior federal government geologist says.

David Hughes, who worked as a petroleum geologist for the Geological Survey of Canada for 32 years, says in his 30-page study of the pipeline proposal that Canada already has enough pipeline capacity to supply current and near-future needs.

He says that there is sufficient capacity in existing pipelines and in approved pipeline expansions to meet even the most optimistic growth scenarios by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and the Alberta government.

CAPP estimates that oil sands production will grow to 152 per cent of 2010 levels by 2025. The Alberta government predicts production will more than double by 2020, to 3.5 million barrels per day from 1.6 million. Enbridge Inc. claims its Northern Gateway pipeline is needed to meet this growth and open markets to Asia and the U.S. west coast to oil sands bitumen.

Hughes says, however, that the expansion of pipelines that already go to the West Coast will help meet expansion needs as well as help open foreign markets.

Enbridge says its pipeline will ship 525,000 barrels per day of diluted bitumen from the oilsands. This means that oil sands production will have to grow an additional 33 percentage points over and above current growth predictions just to meet the capacity of this pipeline. In other words, as Enbridge claims, oil sand production will more than triple over the next 25 years.

Hughes argues that such unprecedented growth is impossible given the enormous social and environmental impacts already evident from a decade of oil sands expansion.

In the event that such a high rate of expansion is achieved, it will mean that Canada will export billions of barrels of it highest quality bitumen to Asia at a time when we are running out of conventional oil, he says in his report on the pipeline.

Canadians consume 1.75 million barrels a day, of which 780,000 is imported. The National Energy Board predicts that by 2025 consumption will rise to between 2.2 and 2.8 million barrels per day.

The imports, which supply oil to the Maritimes, Quebec and half of Ontario, have risen steadily over the last 20 years and the National Energy Board predicts they will continue this pattern.

About 98% of the Canada’s oil resources are in the oil sands, which means they now represent the nation’s strategic energy reserve.

The vast majority of oil sands production to date is from the minable surface reserves, which are the best quality. The Alberta government estimates these mining reserves contain about 34 billion barrels. At the predicted rate of production of 3.73 million barrels per day by 2025, these resources will likely be depleted by 2045, Hughes says.

“The proclivity to liquidate these resources as fast as possible in the name of economic growth is a very short-sighted policy practised by the Alberta and federal governments at the expense of the long-term energy security of Canadians,” Hughes states.

The 132 billion barrels that are too deep to be mined will required a more energy-intensive, more costly and more environmentally destructive method of recovery, Hughes says.

This method, referred to as Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage, pumps steam into underground pipes to extract the bitumen. The rate of recovery is much lower than mining and the amount of energy used to extract the bitumen is much higher — about 3.8 barrels of oil equivalent recovered to every barrel burned compared with a ratio of five to one for mining, Hughes says. Conventional oil is about 20 to one.

Hughes said the predicted expansion of the sands “may be good for the corporate growth ambitions of Enbridge but represents a travesty in the management of this non-renewable resource for Canadians, who are its owners, both in terms of the environment consequences of such an expansion and its long-term energy security implications.”

The proposed $5.5-billion Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline will travel 1,177 kilometres over the Rocky Mountains from Bruderheim — just north of Edmonton — to Kitimat, B.C., with a completion date of late 2016. Oil tankers will have to navigate about 160 kilometres through narrow channels to get to the Kitimat oil depot. The company and the federal government says the pipeline is vital to the expansion of Canada’s oil markets. At the moment all of Canada’s oil exports go to the U.S.
Enbridge claims the project will create 940 long-term jobs.

Hughes has submitted his report to the Joint Review Panel, which the federal government created to decide if the pipeline should be built. More than 4,000 individuals and organizations have submitted briefs and requests to give testimony.

--

You're an advocate of INSITE, aren't you MF? Perhaps there's some merit in getting this p/l entirely funded by the Feds and province of BC as this is an addiction.


Yawn.

Another useless article from a disgruntled 'former employee' and ecotard.

Quelle surprise.

A retired petroleum geologist who worked for 32 years is an eco-tard and former disgruntled employee? No need to discuss the issues I guess when you can just ad-hominem instead, and I'll add that we'd have to take you at your word even that he is a disgruntled former employee and an eco-tard.

And no need for him to recognize that the petroleum expert correctly identifies that the economy is well supported without the pipeline, and that we're actually sacrificing long term growth with its existence.

Why care about facts?

It isn't difficult to shop for an opinion.

The fact remains that the US Federal Regulators initially gave KXL a clean bill of health until the politics suggested that the issue could be a campaign target for Obama... Magically, their stance changed based on that opportunity.

You certainly don't as evidenced by the solitary perspective that you have ever considered on this issue.



Geologists are have knowledge in the area of geology, that is one of the reasons that they operate as geologists and not economists.

You'd just rather assume this is true than back up your silly statements.

Yes, that's a fact. An unrelated fact to the issues Hughes was referring to.

Wrong. It changed once Nebraska piped up about environmental concern.

Wrong again.

Considering this matter deals with the extraction of a resource and it's supply relative to demand, there is less burden of accuracy on some economic prediction of demand, than actually knowing what the supply is in the first place. And since this individual has actually been familiar with the consumption of this resource (petrol) for 32 years now, he has a pretty good resume on his hands.

But let's not let facts get in the way.

Took less than a second to find this one (of many)

--

Therein lies the difference between you and I. I have no problem seeking a balanced view of the project, industry, sector, etc.

Unrelated is it?

It was environmentally sound and provided econ benefits in many forms one day, and magically, is ecologically damaging and has no econ value the next.

Really man, grow up.

Whatever

If you sought a balanced view you would respond to criticisms in a balanced fashion, instead of stating someone is an ecotard and a disgruntled former employee.

Yes. You're talking about an American political decision on a different pipeline, and Hughes was examining reserves, pace of growth, and economic factors in Canada that surround the issues for the pipeline through Canada.

Smarten up. Or read something at least before you go blabbing nonsense.