Canada has the world’s third largest oil proved reserves, 96% of which are in the oil sands [1*]. In the recent years, oil sands has held a significant role in the Canadian economy and energy security due to pioneering movements and emerging technologies in this industry [2, 3]. However, the oil industry, with its history of booms and busts [4], is currently in its worst economic standing since 1990s. The recent drop in oil prices in the global market has directly affected the energy sectors and highly influenced different industries. Despite the increasing global oil demand [5], Canadian oil has been trading at a discounted value to compete with other conventional oil producers in the market [6, 7]. The position of oil sands in the energy market …show more content…
As a result, there is a need to thoroughly investigate the current and future feasibility of oil sands’ production and transportation not only in Canada but also around the world.
There is a high level of uncertainty and volatility involved in energy markets [11, 12], the interactions of which with energy price and emissions regulations are significant. To address these uncertainties and investigate their impacts on the role of oil sands, a global dynamic energy market is proposed. This model aims at studying the behavior of different energy sources (including oil sands) in competition with each other in the planning horizon. In this model, uncertain parameters (i.e., energy demand, regional prices, regulations, and innovations) are forecasted and inputted into the model and the behavior of oil sands industry (i.e., in terms of production level) in competition with alternative energy sources (i.e., conventional fossil fuels, renewables, etc.) is determined. To develop this model, several tools and techniques are applied, the combination of which has not been thoroughly considered in the literature.
The Athabasca Delta is a breeding ground for species of birds, which was destroyed to clear the land for oil development. These development practices are a leading factor towards increases in pollution. A scientific panel stated on Tuesday that pollution must be corrected, as there are major debates against the oil sands development. Proponents argue that business through the Oil Sands has made Canada a major player in foreign supplement. Unemployment rates have decreased across Canada and companies generate huge profits. The Alberta Oil Sands provide Canada with a secure source of energy. Throughout the world, Canadian oil reserves are the second largest in the world. Oil mining operations in Canada also help create more trading partnerships with different countries. This is a great way Canada can strengthen relationships and ties with various nation-states. The Oil Sands is a stabilizing force for Canada’s economy, yet it has a tremendous effect on the environment. Corporations are held responsible for their actions, and environmental protection should be their main concern. The procedures that the Oil Sands has taken are not effective, to an extent, where the pace of investment and development in the oil sands
These factors result in several issues and challenges. These matters have brought a conflict between the various stakeholders in this industry (Oilsandstruth.org, 2015). This discussion aims to identify the primary issues associated with the Canada oil sands and the involved stakeholders. Secondly, the stakeholders’ political view will be established. Finally, the discussion will recommend policies that can be effective in solving the challenges associated with the issues.
The social community improvements of alberta as a result of the oil sands. The albertan government committed around 2.5 billion dollars in fixing up the communities of alberta as a result of the oil sands making so much money(Alberta government,march 15 2013). Some examples of this are the 1 billion in road projects, 241 million in building new neighbourhoods, and 103 million in wastewater treatment and to improve the old ones(Alberta government,march 15 2013). Air is rated good 99% of the time, drinking water consistently meets the the guidelines for canadian drinking water(Alberta government,march 15 2013). Which means the quality of life is good in the oilsands region. In conclusion the oil sands affect the communities of that region positively, by bringing in enough money to make improvements to the infrastructure.
The Alberta Oil Sands have affected many stakeholder groups such as government, residents, researchers and employees. However, we will focus on how it affects the Alberta Government; specifically, Ed Stlemech of the Conservative Government. As my stake holder, Ed Stlemech does not live within the Alberta Oil Sands area as well as have any direct relevance to it, I will instead examine how it has affects the citizens of Alberta and more importantly, those who live in and near the Fort Chipewyan area. In this way, the environmental, the economical as well as the societal impacts will impact Albertan voters and therefore impact the Conservative Government in way of the Alberta General Election.
Diverse and multi-faceted, the Canadian business market is one of the strongest functioning mixed market economies in the world. Within the Canadian economy, the oil and gas sector stands as one of the largest and most influential sectors. The oil and gas industry is unique as it affects almost every person and sector of the economy worldwide, whether it is through commodity or material input costs. In Canada, this growing industry could allow for the country to be the one of the “biggest energy producers in the world” leading to a massive paradigm shift globally.
The research is conducted on the Bituminous Sand Extraction (BSE) of Canada to see the importance of BSE Company for Canada how this company helps in employing the people and what is its culture or environmental effect of this company for Canada. Bituminous sand extraction is oil Extraction Company of the Canada bituminous is the combination of sand oil and clay and this industry is develop to extract the petrol from these stones. There are many other
While the Alberta oil sands are critical to the Canadian economy, environmental policies must be strengthened in order to diminish the immense risk in the transportation of crude oil, the harming of human health, and the deterioration of the surrounding
The Canadian “Alberta Oil Sands” are the third largest oil reserves in the world and has an investment value of over $27 billion. Over 100,000 employment opportunities are generated as a result of the oil sands and it leads to a production rate of approximately 2.3 million barrels per day. One of the largest controversies in Canadian politics is whether to oust the oil sands production or expand it. However between the two articles, “Why Canada needs to develop the oil sands” by Konrad Yakabuski and the article “Stop oilsands expansion, Canadian and U.S. researchers say” by CBC News, the debate is whether to expand the reserves or remain the same. After analysing the two articles it is evident that the author Konrad Yakabuski wrote his article
The statement ‘Canada oil sands are much more of a blessing rather than a curse’ is not true because the disadvantages of oil sands outweigh the advantages. For this reason, this paper aims at indicating points against the statement. To understand the defects of oil sand exploration in Canada, one has to delve into the explanation of what oil sands are as well as how the entire process of mining and refining and thereafter, determine the disadvantages based on socioeconomic factors, environmental factors, as well as the infrastructure and energy required for its production.
The Alberta tar sands, is currently the largest construction project taking place in the world, and as such is a very important development. The Alberta tar sands are a necessary evil, because the world is running out of conventional oil, and they are the last remnants of oil. All of the easy oil has been discovered, and exploited, and the tar sands is the crude oil that we are left with. As we all know oil is what makes the world go round, and without it we would be unable to produce enough food, or perform many other important processes. Therefore, the Alberta tar sands are very essential for keeping the world supplied with oil. However, there are many negative effects from the development, and refining of the oil from the tar sands, which has caused much environmental damage.
Canada’s oil sands are among the largest oil reserves in the word. This is evident from the fact that Canada is ranked third for the largest oil reserve in the world, after Venezuela and Saudi Arabia (“Oil Sands,” n.d.). “Oil sand”, is a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, water and bitumen (Gosselin et al., 2010). It is a very dense and extremely viscous oil that must be treated before it can be used to produce usable fuels such as gasoline and diesel (Gosselin et al., 2010). In North America, high oil prices, growing demand, and diminishing oil reserves results in greater interest to mine local oil reserves. Increased production of oil generates significant economic benefits but, at the same time, the development of the oil sands
Canada has a large stake in the international oil market. It is currently the 6th largest producer of crude oil and last year the Canadian oil industry produced 3.8 million barrels of oil per day (Canadian Association of Petroleum Produces, 2016). Since oil is a significant part of the Canadian economy, fluctuations in the international price of oil will affect all Canadians. However, due to the fact that some provinces produce more oil than they consume and others consume way more than they produce, the impact of a significant increase in international oil prices on Canadians will be dependent on which province they reside in. More specifically an increase will positively impact the economic welfare of Canadians living or operating in resource rich provinces but will have a negative impact on the economic welfare of Canadians living or operating in
When trading oil it pays to keep an eye on the major consuming nations, as any increase or decrease in usage is sure to have an impact on the commodities performance. Something that is also worth monitoring – with this tying into the performance of major consuming nations – is OPEC, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. This international organisation works to ensure both the stablisaiton of the oil markets, along with coordinate and unify petroleum policies. Current members of OPEC include mass-producing oil nations (13 in total, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Iraq, and Qatar). Considering that OPEC has the power to decide policies related to the production and sale of petroleum oil, it certainly has the power to impact the price, flow, and distribution of oil worldwide.
The Alberta Tar Sands are large deposits of bitumen,a sticky, black and viscous semi-solid form of petroleum.(Merriam Webster) The bitumen is extracted from the earth and separated from materials that are not petroleum. This process consumes both water from the Athabasca River drainage basin and energy. While emissions from the water used are low the airborne pollutants contain more than 350 kilograms of cancer causing chemicals every four months.(Kelly) Also, bitumen is one of the least efficient power sources in the world.(Rapier) The Tar Sands are dangerous for people to live near, are environmentally damaging and unsustainable and are an inefficient source of power compared to other sources available in Canada. While the Tar Sands are currently good for the canadian economy, in the long-term they will cost us more than they make.
The US oil and gas exploration and production industry consists of about 5,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $290 billion and is expected to have a high-growth rate over the next two years. Key growth drivers include rising demand for energy (Hoover’s Company Profiles).” The companies involved also deal with many different factors in production, manufacture and distribution; including weighing the different global economic, political and environmental factors that are tied to profit. The fortunes of oil and gas companies are tied to overall supply and demand issues that are reflected in oil and gas prices. Price changes affect industry sectors differently. High prices for oil and natural gas benefit the upstream (exploration and production) companies but hurt the downstream (refiners) in the form of raw material costs. This affects the overall strength and profit of these companies, but many Oil & Gas companies are considered integrated, which means they are involved in all three sectors of the industry. The business diversification between the upstream and the downstream tends to mitigate the effects of oil and gas price fluctuations. Because they are usually more leveraged to the upstream, such companies general benefit from higher prices for oil and natural gas.