Pain at the pump....Canada has moved up to No. 2 in oil reserves

[SoCalDem]

http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/editorials/stories/PE_OpEd_Opinion_op_27_ed_oil.e465.html

Pain at the pump

10:39 PM PST on Friday, March 26, 2004



Afunny thing happened to the world's oil reserves recently. Canada, which had ranked last in reserves just in North America, quietly shot up the charts to No. 2 in the world, behind only Saudi Arabia. Next thing you know, Canada will be joining OPEC. What in the world's going on?

Just this: We're getting far enough toward the bottom of the barrel in world oil supplies that a lot of heavy, thick crude we've always ignored is starting to look pretty good. And yes, that does have real meaning in places like this, where motorists are starting to pay more than $2 a gallon for gasoline. It means this nation should be more actively researching alternative energy forms. We're going to need them.

Recently we noted that refinery capacity in California had shrunk, even as this state was adding cars and drivers. That was one large, overlooked factor behind the surge in gasoline prices here. The changing condition of world oil reserves hasn't been noticed much either. It stands to have dramatic, longer-term effects on our fuel prices.

This watershed reappraisal of useful reserves happened just last year. Canada's recoverable reserves soared by 3,600 percent, from 4.8 billion barrels to 180 billion barrels. That happened because Alberta province, north of Montana, is underlain by vast deposits of oil sands. This is what used to be called, more accurately, tar sands. It's dense, thick and impure. It's far removed from much-coveted Arabian light crude. It costs a lot to extract and move and refine. It's the stuff nobody wanted. Until now. Now, with promising new extraction techniques, oil sand is becoming economically viable. What's more, another low-grade resource, extra-heavy oil, is massively concentrated in Venezuela's Orinoco belt. The oil patch is moving back to the Western Hemisphere.


snip....

[Kenneth ken]

1. on a positive note

when the US invades Canada to get control its oil, the supply logistics ought to be a lot easier than nvading iraq. oh yay. </sarcasm>

[SoCalDem]

2. and... if our soldiers stay away from the "frenchie" parts,

they will be able to communicate with the locals, eh....:P

[Kenneth ken]

3. LOL - n/t

[strategery blunder]

5. Why invade? We already economically control Canada.

nt

[freeforall]

7. Glad you were being sarcastic

Bush better not even THINK about it. They may think of us as polite namby-pambies, but they'd be in for one hell of a surprise.

Remember - when we were fed up of Mulroney and our Conservative Party, we not only voted them out in the next election, we annihilated them.

Now - let's see you guys do that to the Rethugs!

[Wonk]

4. kick

[Lisa]

6. shhh! shhhh!

Not so loud, you guys! We're so close that even Shrub might be able to find us! I am really starting to regret Prime Minister Chretien's having told him that we actually have more oil than the Saudis if we count the Tar Sands (something taught to most Canadians around 8th grade).

[strategery blunder]

11. Don't worry, shrub can't find Canada on a map

he always has to have the dick point it out for him.:D

[whatelseisnew]

8. peakOil Kick

[mmonk]

9. That's good to know

in case I move my family there.

[Solon]

10. Where can you get CHEAP supplies of oil in Canada?

Not that Net-Energy SINK they are talking about is it?