CAPP thinks it is important that a more complete perspective be seen and understood. What readers do not see is that all oil sands developments are ultimately reclaimed and returned to a natural state.
Photographs communicate emotion, awe, simple truths and complex realities. They can both reveal and obscure the big picture. They capture moments in time, and can leave lasting impressions. Few photographic journals are as influential as National Geographic, due to a reputation that has been built on balanced and objective photojournalism. These qualities were unfortunately not evident in the perspective on the oil sands presented in the March edition this year. We think it is important that a more complete perspective be seen and understood.
Benefiting Canadians
Reclaimed mine site
Bill's Lake, Syncrude
Oil sands mines are expensive, large-scale, long-life projects with a significant impact on the landscape before they are fully reclaimed. Industry has never argued this point. However, environmental impacts must be considered in context, both with regard to their relative impact and with regard to their economic and energy security benefits. Oil sands development creates hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic investment and government revenues. The Canadian oil sands have a significant role to play in providing North America a means to reduce dependence on petroleum energy supply from the middle-east and other less secure regions. It is also worth noting that many of these regions have significantly less stringent environmental regulations in place than exist currently in Canada.
The "After"
Bison on reclaimed land, Syncrude
Images of oil sands development are inevitably striking. But looking at the larger picture – and understanding the new technologies that are shaping the future of the oil sands – creates a broader understanding of why this resource is important to Canadians and what the industry is doing to develop it responsibly. What is missing in National Geographic’s photographs of the boreal forest before and during development is the “after” picture. What readers do not see is that all oil sands developments are ultimately reclaimed and returned to a natural state.
Reclaimed overburden dump
Gateway Hill, Syncrude
The magazine provided no images of reclaimed sites, even though full reclamation is required by law and the reclamation process is already well underway. Companies must submit detailed reclamation plans to government regulators prior to starting their projects and must pay a deposit into a government administered reclamation fund over the project’s life. To date, more than 65 square kilometers (25 square miles) have been reclaimed. The photos on this page speak to industry’s commitment to sustainable reclamation practices.
Oil Sands: 20 per cent Mining
As noted in National Geographic’s article: “The Canadian boreal forest covers two million square miles. The oil sands mines have so far impacted over 150 square miles—a hundredth of a per cent of the total area.” To put this in perspective, oil sands mines currently impact an area that is equivalent to one-tenth the size of Rhode Island, or in a Canadian context, a city the size of Edmonton. The Canadian boreal forest is roughly equivalent to two-thirds of the entire landmass of the United States.
White Sands in situ drilling facility, Petrobank
National Geographic’s focus on mining also leaves the impression that mining is the only method of resource development currently deployed. In fact, about half of current production is from insitu drilling, which has a surface impact similar to conventional oil drilling and doesn’t involve mines or tailings. Insitu drilling is used where the resource is too deep to mine on the surface. Overall, insitu drilling represents 97.5 per cent of the total potential land use in oil sands development.
Economy
The story of the oil sands is also a story about people and communities. When industry talks about the economic benefits of the oil sands, it does so at the risk of being accused of downplaying the importance of environmental issues. Clearly, Canadians and Americans expect oil sands development to occur responsibly and our industry is focused on meeting those expectations without sacrificing jobs, economic benefits, or strategic energy supply advantages.
In situ drilling facility
Mahkeses Pad, Imperial Oil
The Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) estimated that over a 20-year period through 2020, the national economic benefit of the oil sands could reach $885 billion, generating 6.6 million person-years of employment, with 44 per cent of that employment created outside Alberta. Taxes and royalties ultimately support health care, roads, education, arts and culture, and the national infrastructure that underscore Canadian’s high quality of life. The same CERI report estimates that every dollar invested in the oil sands creates $9 in economic activity and that as much as $96 billion will be invested outside Canada, mostly in the United States, in spin-off economic development. In uncertain economic times the oil sands have a critical role to play in North American economic recovery, employment, and long-term prosperity.
Is this a reasonable balance? Our industry has been listening carefully to Canadians who, while expecting industry to continue to improve environmental performance, clearly believe the oil sands can be developed in a responsible manner that balances environmental protection with economic growth and increased energy security. The oil sands industry is strongly committed to improving environmental performance. Even allowing for journalistic license, the description of oil sands processing facilities as “dark, satanic mills” in this broader context ignores the considerable environmental performance improvements that have been made since initial oil sands projects in the late 1960s, as well as the positive impact the oil sands have had on Canada’s employment, social infrastructure and economy.
Environment
Can higher environmental standards be achieved? The record shows that the industry has a strong history of continuous improvement on environmental performance: significant reductions in greenhouse gas emission intensity, 80–90 per cent recycle rate on process water, use of undrinkable water from deep salty aquifers for insitu drilling projects, ongoing reclamation of project sites, as well as a suite of emerging technologies that promise to further reduce energy input requirements and subsequent emissions as well as improve water management.
Greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands have become a favorite target for critics, but considered in context, oil sands produce five per cent of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions, or one-tenth of one per cent of the world’s total emissions. As stated in the article, taking into account the full life-cycle from production through to consumption, oil sands crude is only about 15 per cent more emissions intensive than conventional crude from Saudi Arabia. Emissions from oil sands are comparable to heavy oil produced in Mexico, Iraq, Venezuela and parts of California. It is also true that industry is closing this gap as innovative new technologies reduce industry’s use of energy and subsequent emissions.
One method of reducing greenhouse gas emissions that is being actively pursued in Canada is capturing carbon and sequestering it deep underground in natural reservoirs that exist here in Alberta. The government of Alberta has committed $2 billion Canadian and the federal government about $1 billion, to carbon capture and sequestration research and development, with the expectation that demonstration projects will move forward in the near future. Canada’s efforts in developing this type of technology are in step with other global leaders such as the United States. Carbon capture and sequestration not only has positive applications in the Canadian oil sands industry, but also for other energy sources, such as coal, especially in developing countries like China and India.
Water use is another issue the Canadian public is passionate about. Water use is strictly controlled and monitored by the government of Alberta. Water use currently equals less than one per cent of the annual flow of the Athabasca River, with additional regulatory constraints on use during low flow periods. In the years ahead, all oil sands mining projects, including current and approved projects, are forecast to use no more than about three per cent of the river’s flow, making it one of the least utilized major rivers in North America. Additionally, most insitu drilling projects are not near the river and do not use fresh water at all, instead accessing undrinkable water from deep underground.
A Balanced Perspective
North America’s future energy needs will be met by a wide range of sources, including: petroleum, nuclear, wind, hydro, solar, coal and geothermal. Most Canadians understand and believe that higher environmental standards can and should be achieved, while continuing to develop Canada’s natural resources. They accept this and they expect it.
For more information on new technologies and advances in environmental stewardship we invite readers to learn more through the Environment & Community section of this website. We also welcome and encourage public engagement in the on-line discussion now underway at www.canadasoilsands.ca.
David Collyer
President
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers
Gateway Hill Reclamation, Syncrude
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