Cathy Landry | 202-682-8122 | landryc@api.org
WASHINGTON, May 18, 2009 - American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard issued the following statement on Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA)’s new report Growth in Canadian Oil Sands: Finding a New Balance. The report found that the environmental concerns about Canadian oil sands may be overstated, and that the “well to wheels” greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands are comparable with other sources of crude oil. It also notes that up to 37 percent of U.S. oil imports could come from crude derived from Canadian oil sands by 2035, and that technological advances in the Canadian oil sands has allowed Canada to become the world’s second largest holder of recoverable oil reserves, behind only Saudi Arabia.
“This report clearly shows the importance of crude oil derived from Canadian oil sands to America’s energy future. Oil will continue to be a major part of the nation’s energy equation for years to come. Canada already is our top supplier of imported oil. If oil sands development is maximized, we could potentially double the amount of oil we currently import from Canada - a friendly, reliable neighbor – thereby increasing the nation’s energy security. On a life cycle (or well to wheels) basis, oil derived from Canadian oil sands is comparable with other crudes refined in the United States. We believe that greater care in management of emissions from crude derived from oil sands would occur in the United States than if the oil is processed in other regions of the world that have less stringent environmental standards - not to mention the environmental costs of transporting the crude elsewhere.”
Updated: June 1, 2009