To better appreciate what's going on at Alberta's oil sands, it's necessary to actually go there. This columnist did exactly that when he joined several other Canadian and US journalists in Edmonton and Fort McMurray Nov. 4-5 as guests of the Alberta and Canadian governments.
It quickly became apparent that oil sands developers, the province's government, and the leading nongovernmental organization there expect to see the resource developed, but want to make sure it's done right. They don't necessarily agree on how, but at least they're talking.
"There is consensus now that environmental impacts are unacceptable, but projects keep being approved," said Simon Dyer, policy director at the Pembina Institute. "It is Canada's fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions."
The group's "19 Steps Toward Responsible Oil Sands Development" recommend land, water, air, GHG, and monitoring policies it considers essential. Most of Canada's environmental laws are discretionary and lightly enforced, according to Dyer. "Environmental assessments occur only after leasing," he said.
Officials at two producers' sites near Fort McMurray—Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.'s Horizon mine, and Cenovus Energy's Christina Lake steam-assisted gravity drainage plant—said they try to meet or exceed anticipated regulations years in advance.
"From a GHG point of view, we want to keep our footprint as small as possible. It costs us money if we don't," said Joy P. Romero, CNRL's vice-president of technology development.
Producers compete to develop processes that save money while relying less on natural gas and otherwise curbing emissions. They also share technology through the Canadian Oil Sands Innovation Alliance.
'To our best'
"As an industry, we're judged by our worst performer," Romero explained. "We try to bring everyone to our best performer's level. We've taken a stance toward the environment similar to safety."
Both Horizon and Christina Lake officials emphasized their commitment to complete site reclamation—down to blending soil and overburden into a mixture identical to what was on their swamp spruce-covered sites before they arrived. They also cited expansions that will increase their production capacities in the next few years.
Alberta Premier Allison Redford has called for an integrated resource management approach following years of agencies addressing issues in pockets, said Andy Ridge, who directs water policy research within the province's Environmental and Sustainable Resource Department.
"Rather than get into a debate about what's right or wrong, we want to get the best data we can to make sound decisions," Ridge said.
That includes considering cumulative effects. "We may be good with 1.5 million b/d of oil sands production, but what happens with 3-5 million b/d?" he said, adding, "We need triggers to know when we're approaching limits."
