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S&P Global report forecasts absolute emissions from Canadian oil sands to decline even as production grows

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By the middle of this decade greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Canadian oil sands production should be in decline even as production continues to grow, according to a new comprehensive report by S&P Global Commodity Insights that takes into account current technology trends and production growth. —Kevin Birn.

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Alabama, Mississippi to assess oil sands resources in their states

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Alabama and Mississippi are forming a partnership to further study the oil sands resources in the two states, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley and Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant announced on Saturday while speaking to the Southern States Energy Board. The most recent shows an estimated 7.5

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New study suggests reported PAH emissions in oil sands region greatly underestimated

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Results from a new modeling assessment of contamination in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) suggest that officially reported emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in that region have been greatly underestimated. Average emissions densities from Shen et al. are represented by the dashed black line. Click to enlarge.

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Oil sands GHG lifecycle study using operating data finds lower emitting oil sands cases outperform higher emitting conventional crude cases; a call for more sophisticated tools and reporting

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Well-to-wheel (WTW) greenhouse gas emissions for in situ SAGD and surface mining pathways generated employing GHOST/TIAX/ GHGenius combination and comparison with SAGD, mining and conventional crude oil literature pathways (all results are on a HHV basis). 74% of WTW emissions in our oil sands pathways. Click to enlarge.

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Understanding the variability of GHG life cycle studies of oil sands production

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Full-fuel-cycle GHG emissions estimates for reformulated gasoline pathways by LCA study. Nominal value of 70 g CO 2 /MJ for combustion emissions is applied evenly across all studies. He found that the variation in oil sands GHG estimates is due to a variety of causes. Credit: ACS, Brandt 2012. Click to enlarge.

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Study concludes permanent loss of peatlands in open-pit oil sands mining adds significantly to carbon burden of oil sands production

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Researchers at the University of Alberta (Canada) have quantified the transformation of the boreal landscape by open-pit oil sands mining in Alberta, Canada to evaluate its effect on carbon storage and sequestration. Oil sands mining and reclamation cause massive loss of peatland and stored carbon. —Rooney et al.

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Univ. of Calgary team developing nanocatalysts for underground upgrading of heavy oil and bitumen; possible “next generation” of oil sands production

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Researchers at the University of Calgary are developing ultra-dispersed (UD) nanocatalysts for the in situ upgrading of heavy oil and bitumen from deep reservoirs. One of the challenges of such an approach is the placement of the catalyst deep into the heavy oil plume by transporting a catalyst suspension through the sand medium.

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