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Canada's Oil Bonanza

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Canada's Oil Bonanza

By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Monday, May 18, 2009 4:20 PM PT

Energy Policy: Talk about alternative energy! Canada has the oil the American economy desperately needs — and then some. So why do we treat this and other energy allies like pariahs?

The next Saudi Arabia? Why, Canada. Don't believe it? A new study by the respected energy consultancy IHS-CERA (formerly Cambridge Energy Associates) says Canada's oil sands could provide the U.S. with billions of barrels of oil — oil we must have or our economy will shudder to a halt.

In 2000, Canada's sands produced just 600,000 barrels of oil a day; today, it produces 1.3 million. By 2030, it could be producing as much as 6 million.

It's a good thing they're doing it, because we'll need it — despite all the blather you hear about so-called alternative energy picking up the slack. It won't. It can't.

Virtually no major reputable forecaster sees anything other than a very minor role for alternative energy over the next three decades. Like it or not, fossil fuels are the name of the game.

Both the U.S. Energy Department and the American Petroleum Institute forecast that, barring some miracle breakthrough, at least until 2030 oil, coal and natural gas will be needed for at least 80% of our energy output — even as our own oil production shrinks.

To keep our economy growing, we must have more oil. Weirdly, however, the U.S. seems bent on making it harder to get it here. The budget unveiled by the White House earlier this year contained a slew of taxes, regulations and punishments for our domestic oil industry. This makes no sense.

The U.S. has taken more than 31 billion barrels of oil, 154 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 11 billion tons of coal off the market intentionally through laws that make it difficult, if not impossible, to prospect and produce energy on federal lands. Years from now, people will scratch their heads in wonder at such foolishness.

Never mind that a study by ICF International last year said tapping our own energy resources could generate $1.7 trillion in federal revenues, create thousands of jobs and make us more energy secure. Instead, our sick obsession with the chimera of global warming keeps us from doing what's economically sensible.

Meanwhile, we've gone after energy-rich Canada — already our No. 1 supplier of oil — with "buy American" provisions in our recently passed stimulus plan.

Rubbing sand in the wound, U.S. officials have even suggested we might not want Canada's oil, since it's so "dirty" and likely to increase our carbon footprint.

Here's a little yellow Post-It for U.S. policymakers: Make nice with Canada. Given our ridiculous refusal to exploit our own vast energy resources, it's going to be the best friend we can have.

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=327540838239093
 

don

Well-known member
the first link is a book review of a book by an economist whose record isn't as shiny as the article says but he does make the point that if economies don't lessen their reliance on oil then peak oil means peak gdp. the second link talks more about the whole ihs-cera report that says the oilsands could also be in deep trouble depending on how the next five or so years go.


http://beta.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/a-coming-world-thats-a-whole-lot-smaller/article1141752/

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Business/Alberta+oilsands+critical+juncture+report+says/1606640/story.html
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
I hope Canada does not go the way of other countries and sign deals with China, to lock up some much needed cash for these projects.

BEIJING -- State-owned Brazilian oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA announced today that it finalized a $10 billion loan from China in return for a long-term supply of oil, signaling the success of China's new strategy of using its cash-rich banks to help secure the natural resources needed to keep its economy growing.

However, the deal did not give Chinese companies stakes in Brazilian oil fields or lucrative oil field services contracts, as had been widely expected.

China has recently offered a $10 billion oil-for-loan deal with Kazakhstan, and $25 billion to Russian oil and pipeline companies.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124274623930634997.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
 

Silver

Well-known member
The US fascination with mid-east oil has always perplexed me. North America has oil and gas, let the middle east do what they will to each other and quit sending all those dollars over there and there will be less problems going forward.
 

Mike

Well-known member
Silver said:
The US fascination with mid-east oil has always perplexed me. North America has oil and gas, let the middle east do what they will to each other and quit sending all those dollars over there and there will be less problems going forward.

It's all about price. The Mideast can sell oil much cheaper than can North America's oil.

I once read where one of Saudi's oil fields had produced so much oil that the actual costs of the oil from that field was down to 50 cents per barrel cost......................

But now the Dept of Interior and Zer0 has basically cut off further exploration and drilling in N.A. Make any sense to you?

Before WWII the bulk of the U.S. oil was coming from the Phillipines area. Thus the reason for the war with Japan....................
 

TexasBred

Well-known member
Mike said:
Silver said:
The US fascination with mid-east oil has always perplexed me. North America has oil and gas, let the middle east do what they will to each other and quit sending all those dollars over there and there will be less problems going forward.

It's all about price. The Mideast can sell oil much cheaper than can North America's oil.

I once read where one of Saudi's oil fields had produced so much oil that the actual costs of the oil from that field was down to 50 cents per barrel cost......................

But now the Dept of Interior and Zer0 has basically cut off further exploration and drilling in N.A. Make any sense to you?
Before WWII the bulk of the U.S. oil was coming from the Phillipines area. Thus the reason for the war with Japan....................

Mike the answer is in your post....The mid east doesn't have to answer to OUR Dept. fo Interior and Zero.
 

Silver

Well-known member
Mike said:
Silver said:
The US fascination with mid-east oil has always perplexed me. North America has oil and gas, let the middle east do what they will to each other and quit sending all those dollars over there and there will be less problems going forward.

It's all about price. The Mideast can sell oil much cheaper than can North America's oil.

I once read where one of Saudi's oil fields had produced so much oil that the actual costs of the oil from that field was down to 50 cents per barrel cost......................

But now the Dept of Interior and Zer0 has basically cut off further exploration and drilling in N.A. Make any sense to you?

Before WWII the bulk of the U.S. oil was coming from the Phillipines area. Thus the reason for the war with Japan....................


The price is my point. In order to secure mid east oil, billions are spent trying to stabilize states. Not to mention the cost in human lives.
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
You've got a damn good point, Silver. One could make a very strong arguement that all of the money that we've spent in Iraq and Afghanistan is a subsidy for Middle East oil. If we had instead bought North American oil, we would of spent more up front, but would of avoided the billions spent and thousands of lives lost while protecting our supply lines over there.

But then, there I go again being protectionist and anti-trade.
 

Silver

Well-known member
I don't think you're protectionist or anti trade to think that there are more stable, better places to do business. That just makes good sense. If the other guys are left out of the loop maybe they'll get their own houses in order to the point some of us 'good guys' will do business with them.
Look at the changes going on in some of the eastern European states so they can become part of the EU. Incentive is everything.
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
It just makes good sense for the government to buy their supplies from the people who pay it taxes, too, as those taxes create "rebates" but that was labeled anti-trade.

Hey, you need to buy from where it makes the most sense. You can't let one consideration hijack the entire decision.
 

Mike

Well-known member
It sorta makes sense to use the rest of the world's supply up before you deplete yours also.......................
 
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