Tar Sands

World’s most carbon intensive oil company, anyone?

Posted by jossc — 20 May 2009 at 9:42am - Comments
Before and after Shell: tar sands extraction in Alberta, Canada © Jiri Rezac/WWF-UK

Not every barrel of oil has the same carbon footprint - some extraction processes radically increase the amount of greenhouse gases which are released. We've been collaborating on research to identify the worst offenders, and our report (released yesterday to coincide with the company's Annual General Meeting) singles out Shell as the most carbon intensive oil company in the world, based on its total resources.

Article tagged as: canada, nigeria, shell, tar sands

After 100 years, is BP going senile?

Posted by jossc — 5 May 2009 at 11:35am - Comments

Getting to be 100 years old is a proud milestone, but it usually comes with some complications - which can include a loss of critical faculties. As BP directors and shareholders meet to celebrate the company's centenary in London this evening, they'd be well advised to seriously question whether BP's massive investment in Canadian tar sands (pictured here) is evidence of senility setting in.

Article tagged as: alberta, BP, canada, petropolis, shell, tar sands

Tar sands investment and 'oil at any cost' threaten BP's future profitability

Posted by jossc — 3 February 2009 at 3:40pm - Comments

Alberta, Canada - contaminated water from tar sands oil production fills a 2 km wide 'tailings' pool

Alberta, Canada - contaminated water from tar sands oil production fills a 2 km wide 'tailings' pool © Greenpeace

Last month our Emerald Paintbrush award presented to BP highlighted how far the company, which previously styled itself as going 'beyond petroleum', has moved back to its traditional profit source at the expense of its alternative energy division, and most likely its long-term profitability.

Investors may have been patting themselves on the back yesterday as BP posted record profits for 2008, but they should be wary - a quick trawl through the figures reveals major flaws in the company's long term investment strategy. Massive profits during the first half of the year (when oil prices reached over $100 per barrel) were undermined by a collapse in the final quarter, when prices fell back to around $40 per barrel.

Article tagged as: alberta, alternative fuels, BP, canada, climate change, energy, fossil fuels, tar sands

Paradise saved - for now?

Posted by jossc — 2 September 2008 at 12:11pm - Comments

July 08: Greenpeace divers protesting against the planned oil shale mine

Greenpeace divers protesting against the planned oil shale mine

Australia has stepped back from the brink of madness and decided to shelve plans to mine oil shales right on the doorstep of the Great Barrier Reef.

Proposals to extract millions of tonnes of oil shales from the Whitsunday Islands threatened to drain precious water supplies, and to risk toxic leaching and air pollution - as well as increasing Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.

Fortunately, following a strong protest campaign led by the local Save Our Foreshore group, common sense has prevailed and last week Queensland premier Anna Bligh announced a 20-year moratorium, effectively ending the threat for the immediate future.

Article tagged as: co2 emissions, esperanza, great barrier reef, moratorium, oil shales, tar sands, whitsunday islands

Smell the sulphur, taste the toxins

Posted by bex — 9 July 2008 at 12:00am - Comments

Canada's Tar Sands project has been suffering from a bit of a PR problem, what with it being one of the most ludicrous and environmentally catastrophic schemes ever to have occurred to humankind and all.

(If you haven't heard of it yet, the plan is to extract crude oil from bituminous sand and clay in Northern Alberta. To produce one barrel of oil, up to four tonnes of rock and soil - plus the pristine boreal forest on top of it - need to be removed and four barrels of surface and ground water need to be used. The process is so energy intensive that tar sands produce up to five times more greenhouse gases than conventional oil.)

Article tagged as: canada, climate change, fossil fuels, oil, tar sands
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