Study for Canada questions European move against bitumen

Nov. 25, 2013
The Canadian government is attacking assumptions driving a European plan to discourage the use of fuels made from bitumen.

The Canadian government is attacking assumptions driving a European plan to discourage the use of fuels made from bitumen.

A study it commissioned criticizes values that the European Commission's Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) assigns different types of petroleum for their contributions to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

As proposed, the FQD would make fuel suppliers cut GHG intensities of vehicle fuels and off-road gas oil by 6% from a 2010 baseline by 2020. For calculating reductions, it evaluates GHG intensities on the basis of feedstock in three categories: conventional crude oil, oil shale, and natural bitumen. Fuels made from bitumen are assumed to have the highest GHG intensities.

The study, by ICF International, questions this approach. Focusing on gasoline and diesel, it points out that conventional crudes vary greatly in their associated GHG emissions.

"Some light and heavy conventional crudes have GHG intensities that are similar or even higher than those of crudes derived from natural bitumen," it says.

Among other things, the study recommends that the FQD assess crude oils individually.

"Not distinguishing the GHG intensities of the different conventional crudes in the FQD could result in shifts to high GHG-intensity crudes from countries such as Russia, Nigeria, or Venezuela, which would increase actual GHG emissions instead of reducing them," it says.

Canada's minister of natural resources, Joe Oliver, said the study shows the FQD's implementation measures "are unscientific and discriminatory, would discourage disclosure, harm the European refinery industry, and not achieve its environmental objective."

Cal Dallas, Alberta's minister of international and intergovernmental relations, said, "This study confirms our contention that the [directive] unfairly and unjustifiably discriminates against Alberta's oil sands because it is based on a flawed and unscientific premise and poor data."

Europe imports no Canadian bitumen. But exaggeration of bitumen's contribution to climate change is central to political campaigns against bitumen development in general and important pipelines, such as the Keystone XL project, in particular.

The Canadians are right to fight the hype wherever it appears.