Energy Tomorrow Blog

Blogger Conference Call on Oil Sands

canada  domestic energy  energy  energy development  oil sands 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted August 14, 2009

Yesterday, API hosted bloggers for a conference call featuring Robert Renner, Alberta Minister of the Environment. Minister Renner was available to take questions about Canada's oil sands from the bloggers who recently toured ConocoPhillips and Syncrude operations in Alberta. 

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Oil Sands Facts Not Often Disclosed

alberta  canadian oil sands  domestic energy  energy  energy development  oil sands  technology innovation 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted August 13, 2009

During the past several days, I've written extensively about Canada's oil sands, how they are produced, and the environmental programs that convert the disturbed land into meadows, forests and lakes. Today, in my final post about last week's oil sands tour, I want to provide you with some basic facts that often don't appear in news articles about oil sands development. 

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Where the Buffalo Roam

alberta  canadian oil sands  domestic energy  energy  energy development  natural gas  oil sands  technology innovation 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted August 12, 2009

So you mine the oil sands, extract the oil, reclaim the land--and then what do you do? At the Syncrude oil sands operation in Alberta, you start a bison ranch--wood bison, to be specific. 

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Bitumen Production via Steam

alberta  canadian oil sands  domestic energy  energy  energy development  oil sands  technology innovation 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted August 11, 2009

Day Two of the oil sands tour, August 7 - About 60 kilometers southeast of Ft. McMurray, Alberta, ConocoPhillips is producing crude oil from oil sands using a process called in-situ development. In concept, in-situ development sounds fairly simple. The oil sands are heated underground with steam, gravity pulls the hot oil down toward a wellbore, and the oil is brought to the surface.

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Harvesting Oil Sands

alberta  canadian oil sands  domestic energy  energy  energy development  oil sands  technology innovation 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted August 10, 2009

Day one of the oil sands tour, Aug. 6 - We're standing in a quarry where a steady stream of 380-ton to 400-ton, multi-story vehicles roll in and out, accepting loads of oil sands. As soon as one vehicle is loaded, another one takes its place next to the huge shovel that scrapes the oil sands from the black, sandy quarry wall. 

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On the Road in Alberta

alberta  canadian oil sands  domestic energy  energy  energy development  oil sands  technology innovation 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted August 7, 2009

6:35 a.m., Ft. McMurray, Alberta -- In just a few minutes, I'll leave this hotel room to join today's tour to ConocoPhillips' Surmont oil sands facility. But before I go, here are a few observations about the oil sands deposits here in Alberta. 

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Legal Limbo Relief

domestic energy  drilling  energy development  leasing  offshore drilling 

Mark Green
Posted July 29, 2009

In a move that relieves some of the legal worries about offshore oil and natural gas development, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled that the 2007-2012 offshore leasing plan can move forward uninterrupted.

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Halting Proven Energy Technologies?

domestic energy  energy  energy development  hydraulic fracturing  over regulation  revenue  technology 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted July 29, 2009

In a recent Houston Chronicle op-ed, Richard Burleson, managing partner of Houston-based and energy-focused law firm Burleson Cooke L.L.P., cautions the administration and Congress against over-regulating hydraulic fracturing. As we've explained in this blog, hydraulic fracturing is a process where fluid is pumped under pressure down through the wellbore to make tiny fissures in the rock, allowing natural gas and oil to flow more easily up through the well. 

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Developing California's Offshore Resources: More Revenue, Jobs, Energy Security

access  domestic energy  drilling  energy development 

Mark Green
Posted July 23, 2009

California wisely has decided to use a portion of its abundant natural resources to pay for services to its citizens. An estimated $1.8 billion in state royalty payments are expected over the life of developing these resources, and the funds will help defray the state's budget shortfall as well as increase our nation's energy security.

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Debunking the Numbers

domestic energy  efficiency  energy  energy development  energy production  energy reality  exploration 

Jane Van Ryan
Posted July 23, 2009

Individuals who oppose U.S. oil and natural gas development often cite the following sentence: "The United States represents 5 percent of the world's population but uses 25 percent of the world's energy." 

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