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U Calgary study finds oil shale most energy intensive upgraded fuel followed by in-situ-produced bitumen from oil sands

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A team at the University of Calgary (Canada) has compared the energy intensities and lifecycle GHG emissions of unconventional oils (oil sands and oil shale) alongside shale gas, coal, lignite, wood and conventional oil and gas. This is not the same as crude oil occurring naturally in shales, as in the Bakken.

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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 Tropical peatlands cover more than 25 Mha in Southeast Asia and are estimated to contain around 70 Gt of carbon. Earlier post.).

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Transcanada restarts Keystone oil sands pipeline operations

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TransCanada Corporation said that its 590,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) capacity Keystone Pipeline system resumed transporting oil sands crude on Sunday, 5 June, after a shutdown 29 May following an above-ground spill at a pump station in Kansas involving less than 10 barrels of oil. Click to enlarge. Earlier post.)

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Shell secures C$865M funding for Canadian CO2 storage project; >1M tonnes/yr from oil sands

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The carbon capture process at the Scotford oil sands upgrader will capture about 35% of emissions. miles) underground into the deepest saline aquifer formation in Alberta (the Basal Cambrian Sands) beneath several layers of impermeable rock. —John Abbott, Shell’s Executive Vice President of Heavy Oil. Earlier post.)

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Suncor targeting 1M barrels per day by 2020, some 80% from oil sands; new strategic alliance with Total

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Suncor is targeting 1 million barrels per day output in 2020, with its growth in the oil sands underpinned by its alliance with Total. Approximately 80% of that production will be from the oil sands. The agreement with Total is an important element of Suncor’s plans to more than double our oil sands production.

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WRI: global oil consumption hits all-time high

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between 2008 and 2009 due to the global financial crisis, global oil consumption recovered by 3.1% in 2010 to reach an all-time high of 87.4 About one third of this growth came from China, which now uses more than 10% of the world’s oil. of total oil consumption in 2010. After falling 1.5%

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Researchers Suggest That Although CCS and Other Technologies Could Reduce Oil Sands GHG Emissions to Near Zero, That Strategy May Not Make Sense

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Examples of emerging oil sands related technologies and trade-offs. The paper is an examination of how various choices about the scale of the life cycle analysis applied to oil sands (i.e., The source material is neither oil nor tar but bitumen, but is most generally described as an example of ultraheavy oil.”.

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