Green Blog: Oil Sands, Carbon Capture and the Keystone XL Verdict

In the view of environmentalists, Canada?s oil sands operations are one of the biggest threats to the planet. The synthetic fuel they produce emits more carbon than almost any conventional fuel oil, and the mining in northern Alberta destroys vast sections of the boreal forest, which harbors many species of birds and other wildlife.

But with the battle for approval of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline likely to return after the American presidential elections, the Canadian authorities and the big oil companies are moving to limit the environmental impact.

On Wednesday, Royal Dutch Shell announced that, along with Chevron and Marathon, it will proceed with the first carbon capture and storage project ever attempted for oil sands. The national and provincial governments will put up most of the money for the $1.36 billion project, which would capture more than a million tons of carbon dioxide a year and and permanently store it underground. Shell compared the environmental impact to taking 175,000 cars off the road.

?We recognize that our growth requires that it be accompanied by improved environmental management,? John Abbott, Shell?s executive vice president for heavy oil, said at a news conference in Calgary, Alberta.

In a nod to the controversies surrounding oil sands, Ken Hughes, Alberta?s energy minister, said, ?We know the world is watching.?

Oil sands production has expanded rapidly over the last 15 years, making Canada the No. 1 provider of foreign oil to the United States. But the Keystone XL pipeline, which would run to refineries along the Gulf Coast, will be needed to expand production even further unless Canada builds other pipelines to export the oil to China and elsewhere in Asia.

President Obama rejected TransCanada?s application for a pipeline permit last January, but the company has reapplied and proposed a different route that largely avoids a vital aquifer in Nebraska. Mitt Romney has said he will approve the pipeline project should he win the presidency, and the carbon capture and storage effort might help sway President Obama should he win a second term.

But environmentalists opposed to the pipeline are unmoved. ?You can wash the mud off a pig, but it?s still going to wallow in manure,? said Glenn Hurowitz, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy. ?Producing tar sands oil still means wrecking an area of forest the size of Florida that?s chock full of boreal songbirds, caribou and clean water.?

Source: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/for-oil-sands-a-1-36-billion-carbon-capture-effort/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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