Tar sands are dirty business

Published: February 14th, 2009
http://guardian.co.tt/commentary/letters/2009/02/15/tar-sands-are-dirty-business

I am absolutely surprised that Minister Conrad Enill will even suggest that tar sands represent a viable option for Trinidad and Tobago’s energy economy. It is even more surprising that Minister Enill would hold up Alberta as a model.

The facts are that even though production costs for crude from oil sands have moved down to around US$18 a barrel, Alberta was only able to attract investors and earn substantial revenues from oil sands because of its incentives for producers and the high cost of crude. When Alberta tried to increase its take from producers in 2008, many sought to move out of the province and even when the provincial government relented, it prove to be too late, as many producers moved to British Columbia and other provinces to work on other energy projects.

The other fact is that oil sands crude production is well established as a highly polluting industry, with high risks of acid rain, respiratory problems and ozone depletion. In fact, many US politicians are also moving against the tar sands and Congress has upheld a law barring the use of fuel from Canada’s oil sands. The new law prohibits the federal government from procuring fuels with higher greenhouse gas content than conventional fuels, such as that from Canada’s oil sands. Minister’s Enill comments are, therefore, out of step with reality and the public needs to be informed, before they go on believing that somehow Trinidad and Tobago is at the forefront of this great thing called oil sands.

Clarence Rambharat
via e-mail