Remove Global Remove Oil-Sands Remove Production Remove Water
article thumbnail

Researcher urges more effort on assessment of land and water impacts of oil sands production; reference point for other unconventional fuels

Green Car Congress

Bitumen production from the Canadian oil sands provides a point of reference that could be used to observe and better manage the land and water impacts of a rapid transition to unconventional fuels, suggests Dr. Sarah Jordaan of the Energy Technology Innovation Policy Research Group, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University.

Oil-Sands 231
article thumbnail

China’s CNOOC to acquire Canada-based Nexen for $15.1B; offshore oil and gas, oil sands, and shale gas

Green Car Congress

CNOOC Limited—China’s largest producer of offshore crude oil and natural gas and one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the world—is acquiring all of the Common Shares of Canada-based energy company Nexen Inc. It is the second-largest oil producer in the UK North Sea.

Oil-Sands 325
article thumbnail

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

Green Car Congress

In a paper published in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology , Stanford University assistant professor Adam Brandt reviews a number of recent life cycle assessment (LCA) studies calculating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from oil sands extraction, upgrading, and refining pathways—the results of which vary considerably.

Oil-Sands 225
article thumbnail

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

Green Car Congress

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. —Miettinen et al.

Oil-Sands 314
article thumbnail

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

Green Car Congress

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.

Oil-Sands 150
article thumbnail

Canada backs demonstration-scale algal biorefinery project in the oil sands; Algal Carbon Conversion

Green Car Congress

The Government of Canada is supporting a three-year project that will result in the construction of a $19-million, demonstration-scale facility in Alberta that will use algae to recycle industrial carbon dioxide emissions from an oil sands facility into commercial products such as biofuels. Click to enlarge.

Oil-Sands 199
article thumbnail

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

Green Car Congress

Quest was made possible through strong collaboration between the public and private sectors aimed at advancing CCS globally. 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.

Oil-Sands 150