article thumbnail

US BLM issues draft PEIS for oil shale and oil sands; significantly scales back public land available for commercial leasing

Green Car Congress

The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has published the Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) and Possible Land Use Amendments for Allocation of Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources on Lands Administered by the BLM in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.

Oil-Sands 252
article thumbnail

New lifecycle analysis of WTW GHG emissions of diesel and gasoline refined in US from Canadian oil sands crude

Green Car Congress

In a new, comprehensive study, a team from Argonne National Laboratory, Stanford University and UC Davis ITS has estimated the well-to-wheels (WTW) GHG emissions of US production of gasoline and diesel sourced from Canadian oil sands. g CO 2 e/MJ for US conventional crude oil recovery. This range can be compared to ∼4.4

Oil-Sands 150
article thumbnail

Suncor Energy Receives Conditional Regulatory Approval for Oil Sands Tailings Management Plan; Projected 30% Reduction in Volume

Green Car Congress

Suncor Energy has received conditional approval for its oil sands fluid tailings management plan from Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board ( ERCB ). Tailings are a mixture of fine clay, sands, water and residual bitumen produced through the oil sands extraction process, and are held in massive “ponds”.

Oil-Sands 210
article thumbnail

EIA projects world energy use to increase 53% by 2035; oil sands/bitumen and biofuels account for 70% of the increase in unconventional liquid fuels

Green Car Congress

Worldwide energy consumption will grow by 53% between 2008 and 2035 with much of the increase driven by strong economic growth in the developing nations, especially China and India, according to the reference case in the newly released International Energy Outlook 2011 (IEO2011) from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Oil-Sands 220
article thumbnail

US State Department Issues Permit for Alberta Clipper Pipeline for Oil Sands Crude Delivery to US

Green Car Congress

The US State Department has issued a Presidential Permit to Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership to enable construction of the Alberta Clipper pipeline for the transport of crude oil from the Canadian oil sands to US refineries. This week, the RFA happened to issue two pieces, each touching on the impact of oil sands production.

Oil-Sands 220
article thumbnail

Syncrude to Expand Its Oil Sands Synthetic Crude Output to 425,000 Barrels per Day by 2020

Green Car Congress

Canadian Oil Sands Trust, the largest stakeholder (36.74%) in the Syncrude oil sands project, announced plans to increase the synthetic crude oil production capacity at Syncrude Mildred Lake upgrader to 425,000 barrels per day by 2020 from 350,000 now. Marcel Coutu, Canadian Oil Sands’ President and CEO.

Oil-Sands 199
article thumbnail

New Study Finds That Oil Sands Development a Greater Source of Contamination Than Previously Realized; Challenges Existing Monitoring Program

Green Car Congress

A study by researchers in Canada and the US shows that oil sands development is a greater source of polycyclic aromatic compound (PAC) contamination to the Athabasca River and its tributaries than previously realized. Bitumen production in the Alberta oil sands has increased rapidly, rising from 482,000 to 1.3

Oil-Sands 220