A report on extracting oil from oil sands and oil shale says the methods are environmentally and economically unsustainable and will undermine efforts to combat global warming because of the increased levels of atmospheric CO2 that is produced during production.
According to the World Wildlife Fund and Manchester-based Co-operative Financial Services, oil companies are increasingly looking to exploit new oil sources, previously deemed uncommercial, to meet world demand.
However, the extraction of oil from oil sands and oil shale creates up to eight times as many emissions as conventional oil production does. It also involves three times as much water to produce a barrel of oil and involves forest clearance.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: alberta government, co-operative financial, dirty oil, Exxon, imperial, oil sands, oilsands, shell, stelmach, sustainability, tar sands, unconventional oil | No Comments »
Posted by mhudema on July 31, 2008
Unconventional oil sources ‘threaten environment’
Tuesday, 29 Jul 2008 12:52
The search for unconventional oil could harm the environment, report claims
Using unconventional fuel sources such as oil sands or oil shale could have “catastrophic” effects on the environment, a report warned today.
The sources have been viewed as an attractive option due to the rising price of oil but the WWF and the Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) say investing in them is both environmentally and economically unsustainable.
Their report claims that if all 1.1 trillion barrels of potentially extractable North American unconventional oils were exploited within the next century, it would result in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels of between 49 and 65 parts per million.
This could result in climate change being accelerated to levels that would threaten a mass species extinction.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: climate chaos, co-operative investments, environmental sustainability, low-carbon, oil sands, shareholders, tar sands, unconventional oil | No Comments »
Posted by mhudema on July 31, 2008
Should the Oil Industry Make a Profit?
As Gas Prices Soar, the Oil Industry Rakes in Billions in Profits
By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ
ABC NEWS Business Unit
April 30, 2008—
The price of gasoline has never been higher, with many Americans feeling the pinch on their wallets. But not those who own stock in oil companies.
As soaring gas prices have turned into massive profits for big oil, the shareholders of these companies are cashing in. And if you own a mutual fund, that may even be you.
BP yesterday reported a staggering 63 percent surge in first quarter net profit to $7.6 billion, and Royal Dutch Shell posted a 25 percent increase to $9.1 billion. Last week, ConocoPhillips reported a 16 percent rise in net income to $4.1 billion.
The earnings bonanza is expected to continue when ExxonMobil and Chevron report earnings later this week.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: big oil, gas prices, gas pump, oil sands, record profits, tar sands | No Comments »
Posted by mhudema on July 31, 2008
Shell reports $11.6 billion profit despite output dip
Bloomberg News
July 31, 2008, 7:35AM
Royal Dutch Shell said second-quarter profit climbed 33 percent on
record oil prices and pledged to increase investment spending to revive
production growth.
Net income rose to $11.56 billion, or $1.87 a share, from $8.67 billion,
or $1.38, a year earlier, The Hague-based company said today. Excluding
gains or losses from holding inventories and one-time items, profit was
$7.83 billion, which didn’t include additional fair value adjustments of
$750 million. The median estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg
was for profit of $8.3 billion.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: billions, blood for oil, oil sands, profit, profits, shell, soar, tar sands, water for oil | No Comments »
Posted by mhudema on July 31, 2008
Stepping up efforts to win over critics; Lobby Group
National Post
Thu 31 Jul 2008
Page: FP1
Section: Financial Post
Byline: Claudia Cattaneo
Dateline: CALGARY
Source: Financial Post
CALGARY - Faced with an unflattering image as a global environmental disaster area, the oil sands sector is stepping up its offensive to counteract critics.
The sector has re-branded the Oil Sands Developers Group, a Fort McMurraybased coalition of 28 companies developing the business, and put forward its president, Don Thompson, to get out the message that reality on the ground is different from that portrayed by green groups and others who want development stopped.
Members of the coalition, which Mr. Thompson said are used to solving complex problems, range from industry pioneers such as Syncrude Canada Ltd. and Suncor Energy Inc. to new entrants including Norway’s Statoil Hydro ASA and Korea National Oil Corp.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: climate catastrophy, environmental devastation, greenwash, oil sands, stat oil, syncrude, tar sands | No Comments »
Posted by mhudema on July 30, 2008
New sources of fossil fuel ‘risk climate catastrophe’
by ROSS MCGUINNESS - Monday, July 28, 2008
An oil plant: oil giants plan to explore more ‘unconventional’ sources
Oil giants including Shell and BP plan to extract fossil fuels from new sources that could trigger catastrophic climate change, a report warns today.
Pumping out tar sands and oil shale from reserves in the US and Canada is becoming increasingly attractive as oil prices soar, researchers say.
But refining the material is eight times more polluting than processing conventional oil, according to a report by WWF and Co-operative Financial Services.
Nonetheless, Shell and BP are planning to invest £62billion in ‘unconventional’ fuels by 2015, warns the study.
‘Unconventional fuel sources may seem attractive in the short term but ultimately the environmental and economic costs are unthinkable,’ said James Leaton of WWF-UK.
If the estimated 1.1trillion barrels of recoverable fuel in Canada and the US were extracted, it would release 980billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, it is claimed. This could push atmospheric CO2 levels well past the point believed to trigger dangerous climate change and mass extinction of species.
Mining tar sands - a mix of oil, water, sand and clay - will also damage substantial areas of Canadian forest which act as carbon sinks.
WWF and the Co-op are calling for a global halt to licensing the fuels and legislation to stop them being sold here.
But a BP spokesman said: ‘Oil sands represent a significant untapped resource from a politically stable country.’
And a spokeswoman for Shell said: ‘Supplies of “easy oil” cannot keep up with the demand growth.
‘Society has little choice but to add other sources of energy, including “unconventional” fossil fuels like oil sands.’
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: tar sands, oil sands, wwf, british petroleum, bp, big oil, shell, co-operative financial services, resource intensive, climate catastrophe | No Comments »
Posted by mhudema on July 30, 2008
Oil: Campaigners seek an end to production of CO2-intensive ‘unconventional fuels’
· Ethical investment groups try to halt tar sand projects
· Oil firms to spend $125bn to exploit new sources
Shell, BP and other oil companies at the centre of the tar sands revolution in Canada are facing a backlash from the Co-operative and other members of the ethical investment community determined to bring a halt to these operations for environmental reasons.
A joint report from Co-operative Investments and the wildlife charity WWF released today will be followed up in September by a meeting of the UK Social Investment Forum (UKSIF) to press for an end to this carbon-intensive activity.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: tar sands, oil sands, carbon capture, bp, big oil, shell, water intensive, UK, Social investment forum, extraction | No Comments »
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