America’s largest energy trade association is suing the US government, contending its timeline for upgrading oil tank cars for freight trains isn’t realistic and, in some cases, too expensive. In its suit filed on May 11 in the US District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the American Petroleum Institute (API) asked the […]
Comment: Oil sands phase-out may be Canada’s greatest contribution to the world
The occasion of writing this column prompted reflection on my engineering career, in particular three critical junctures. The first was in 1970, when my teacher pointed to Northern Alberta on a map at the front of our classroom, declaring that the oil embedded in the soil there would be Canada’s most important contribution to the […]
Comment: Canadian crude is an attractive alternative to imported oil
Canada has the third-largest oil reserves in the world, but we import large volumes of oil from foreign sources into Eastern Canada, including Quebec, every day. Oil refineries in Quebec and Atlantic Canada import more than 600,000 barrels per day from foreign sources. But with Canadian oil production growing, using Canadian crude oil in Quebec, […]
Can a new sponge soak up an oil spill?
Is it possible a sponge has been made to soak up an oil spill? That’s what researchers say they have done in Switzerland. Empa Materials Science & Technology has created a highly absorbent sponge like material which is capable of separating oil from water. The good news continues as the sponge is made in an […]
Comment: Train riskier than pipeline for oil
People who are adamantly protesting the Northern Gateway pipeline’s tentative approval seem to forget one very important thing. Both the Canadian National and the Canadian Pacific Railways are ready to use “unit trains,” similar to the coal trains that rumble along to the Roberts Bank super port, but instead of coal, the trains will be […]
Canadian crude by the numbers, a CAPP report
Production There are 173 billion bbls of proven oil reserves in Canada. The oil sands hold 167 billion bbls . Canadian crude oil production is expected to increase to 6.4 million bpd to 2030. Oil sands production is expected to increase to 4.8 million bpd by 2030. The bitumen upgrading is not likely to increase […]
Damage worse than thought
Some regions in the Gulf of Mexico affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are still feeling it’s affects. It was four years ago when BP’s well ignited and pumped oil into the Gulf of Mexico for three months. Six months after the spill, a survey showed severe damage was done to coral up to […]
Comment: Pick your choice for crude transport – pipeline, train, truck or ship
Crude oil is moving around the world, around North America, around pristine wilderness, around our cities and towns. It’s going to keep moving, so what is the safest way to move it? The short answer is: truck worse than train worse than pipeline worse than boat (Oilprice.com). But that’s only for human death and property […]
Comment: A renewed appeal for Keystone
What’s going on with oil and energy these days? Last week, SNL Financial noted that, “Canada’s crude oil producers are looking to markets other than the U.S. to sell increased output amid delays in pipeline expansions, according to the president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. “In terms of growth potential, Keystone is obviously […]
Social license requires integrity and follow through
If the oil industry isn’t going to operate on a zero spill mandate, when there are issues at sites and cleanups are not done quickly enough to satisfy area residents, a companies social license can be in jeopardy. That’s what’s happening in Louisiana. Many landowners in the southern state have been locked in a battle […]
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