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

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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.

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

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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

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New study finds GHG emissions from palm oil production significantly underestimated; palm oil biofuels could be more climate-damaging than oil sands fuels

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Based on visual interpretation of high-resolution (30 m) satellite images, a new study in the journal Global Change Biology: Bioenergy determined that industrial plantations covered over 3.1 When peat swamps are drained for agriculture, the peat begins to decompose, and is an enormous source of carbon emissions. Earlier post.).

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Shell launches commercial operation of Quest carbon capture and storage in Alberta oil sands

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Using activated amine (ADIP-X), Quest will capture one-third of the CO 2 emissions from Shell’s Scotford Upgrader, which turns oil sands bitumen into synthetic crude that can be refined into fuel and other products. Te Storage zone is a formation called Basal Cambrian Sands (BCS).

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Enbridge to twin southern section of its Athabasca oil sands pipeline for about $1.2B

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will twin the southern section of its Athabasca Pipeline from the Kirby Lake, Alberta terminal to the Hardisty, Alberta crude oil hub at an estimated cost of approximately C$1.2 billion project, originally proposed in 2005, was seen as a way to diversify markets for oil sands crude, with exports targeted for Asia and California.

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

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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

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Rice University to Collaborate with nanoAlberta on Oil Sands Research

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The collaboration will tackle issues surrounding the production of petrochemicals from Alberta’s oil sands. The MOU grew out of Stelmach’s missions to Texas in 2008 and 2009, where he met with Texas Gov. Adams noted America is the biggest market for Canadian oil. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology.

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