My life in Alberta has provided me with many opportunities to benefit this province as well as an industry that I so strongly believe in. The article went as far as to title me an Oil Sands Evangelist as I spend my time “criss-crossing the continent in an effort to spread affection [for the oil sands]”. I have not found it difficult at all to get involved with, and promote, an industry that benefits so many. I consider my time well spent and a contribution to my own personal growth.

I am very appreciative of this acknowledgement and I’m humbled to be named among the group that was chosen.

These are great numbers. This means that our industry is continuing to deliver economic benefits for the province and across the country. And, the expectation is that these numbers will just continue to grow. The ERCB forecasts a total of 1.3 billion barrels per year (i.e., on average, 3.56 MBbl/d) by 2020. The results underline the need for our resource to meet growing energy demands. Since 1967 when the industry began, Alberta has produced 7.5 billion barrels of raw crude bitumen from the oil sands and crude oil production has produced 16 billion barrels. I know that our industry will continue to play a key role as an economic driver through the development of this great resource.

For more information on the report and other highlights, please visit www.ercb.ca.

Ken’s extensive experience as a lawyer, a consummate political analyst and social justice advocate has allowed him to contribute to building thriving communities across Canada. We are thrilled that he will be working out of the OSDG office in Fort McMurray to help build a flourishing oil sands community – for the people who live, work and play in Wood Buffalo.

His primary focus will be facilitating collaboration between OSDG and our key stakeholders in the region.

I’m looking forward to getting to know him while we continue finding solutions to the issues surrounding oil sands development.

Please join me in welcoming Ken!

I’m pleased to tell you the Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) released a report on May 16, showing oil sands production ramping up from the current 1.7 million bpd to 2.1 million bpd by 2015, 4.8 million by 2030 and 4.9 million by 2035. What does this mean? More money, more jobs, more contribution to the GDP than even the large contributions previously forecast. All of this is great news.

CERI’s report has two main themes: the impact of oil sands development on Canadian provincial and national economies and the ripple effects on U.S. state and federal economies.

Over the next 25 years, $2.077 trillion will be invested in building and maintaining the oil sands. That includes $253 billion in initial capital for construction and $1.8 trillion for operation, maintenance and sustaining capital.

In terms of jobs, the oil sands currently support 75,000 jobs in Canada with this growing to over 900,000 in 2035. Do the math. That’s 825,000 more jobs (both directly and indirectly related to oil sands); 825,000 people with work, and there is nothing that gives an individual more dignity and self-respect than a job.

It may also surprise you that our friends to the south actually receive the second largest economic impact from Alberta’s oil sands after the province itself. In the United States, new jobs are expected to leap from 21,000 in 2010 to 465,000 by 2035. 

Over this 25-year period, the total GDP impact as a result of new oil sands projects is estimated to be $2.1 trillion for Canada, and $521 billion for the U.S.

These are remarkable numbers. This is why I am proud to be a part of Canada’s dynamic oil sands industry; an industry that’s delivering large-scale economic growth while providing reliable, affordable energy to North American businesses and families alike. I know that our industry will continue to play a major role in providing economic stability through responsible development of Canada’s greatest resource.

If you have any comments, please be sure to leave them for me. And, if you want to see the full CERI report (a long but informative read), you can do so here.

 This is an important subject because unlike most competitive industries, producers in the region are highly aware that working together on non-competitive matters is an advantage. My members understand cooperation benefits the environment, the people of the region and the industry.

 To hear more about how we are working together, please in tune in. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please direct them to info@oilsandsdevelopers.ca or leave a comment below.

 Thanks again for listening.

Tune in below to hear how the Oil Sands Developers Group is constantly working to resolve regional issues including housing, transportation, environment, taxation, aboriginal consultation and health care.

If you have any questions or comments, please direct them to info@oilsandsdevelopers.ca or leave a comment below.

Thanks again for listening.

You may remember the recent changes required to oil sands tailings technology and management as a result of ERCB Directive 74.  The Government of Alberta has recently followed up by revamping the oil sands mining reclamation and liability management programs. This blog post is my way of congratulating our government here in Alberta on a job well done.

The program changes reclamation reporting by boosting the number of milestones used to track reclamation and increasing the transparency of the reporting of reclamation progress. Beyond this, the liability management was also increased by requiring an upfront payment when the risk of mine closure or abandonment is at a minimum (and its resource potential is at a maximum) followed by full financial security collected later in the mine’s life - but before assets are completely reduced. As has always been the case in Alberta, no matter if oil sands resources are developed using mining or in-situ (drillable) technologies, you simply cannot leave a mess behind … reclamation is and always has been a responsibility of the industry. In Alberta, reclamation is the law. One hundred per cent of the land developed by oil sands producers will, and must, be reclaimed.

Water monitoring in the oil sands region is another issue that has engendered recent criticism. The Government of Alberta has responded by appointing a “blue ribbon” panel to create a robust, credible and transparent environmental monitoring, evaluation and reporting system in the province, beginning with the oil sands region.

As we have discussed, I believe there has already been a lot of good data collected by the monitoring programs in the region; nevertheless, I look forward to the enhanced monitoring program and am certain that it will provide added benefit by integrating monitoring across all media (i.e. air, land, water and biodiversity).

Finally, one last kudos ... the Government of Alberta has also recently announced one of the most proactive and integrated cumulative effects management systems that I know of anywhere in the world. The Lower Athabasca Regional Plan (LARP) includes the setting aside of 17 per cent of northeast Alberta (an area larger than the combined total of Banff and Jasper National Parks), including the potential claw-back of some oil sands leases. This is over and above the 20 per cent of northeast Alberta that has already been set aside via Wood Buffalo National Park (which by itself is nine times larger that the total area of the surface minable oil sands). 

I think this is a step towards balanced land-use planning and cumulative effects management in Alberta. The citizens of Alberta have been asking for this, and the government has responded by providing stable policies and regulatory decisions that will benefit the province and our industry long into the future. I know of no area in the world where this much land has been set aside to offset resource development activities.

In the end this plan could conserve more than two million hectares of habitat for native species and increase recreation and tourism opportunities. As well, the LARP puts strict, science based environmental limits in place for the management of regional scale cumulative effects on air, land disturbance, water and biodiversity.

Does this mean that all of the issues with respect to this plan are resolved? Of course not. Industry looks forward to working with government to define details of compensation for oil sands leases that may be cancelled, issues impacting investment certainty and the workings of the environmental management tools that have been introduced.  I am, however, confident that government and industry will be able to resolve these issues in a manner that is in the overall best interest of the people of Alberta.

Manufacturing - whether it is oil, clothing, agriculture or any other product that supports our way of life - has an impact on the environment. This is why it is crucial to have a deep understanding of what is taking place, the impacts we are having and how we can further protect the environment. The oil sands industry understands that we must all work together to monitor as wholly as possible, deliver tranparent results and meet the expectations of the public. All while continuing to provide a secure and reliable energy source and the economic benefits that have been described as a job creation engine for Canada.

The province and industry are serious about environmental management in the oil sands, and I don't know of any other region on earth that now has as all-encompassing and holistic a suite of environmental management programs as will be in place in the oil sands region of Alberta. I would like to challenge anybody reading the blog who does believe there is, to leave a comment below. I would love to hear about it.

As readers of my blog know, these are topics I come by naturally because consulting with stakeholders and resolving community issues are the fundamental reasons behind OSDG’s existence.

The first podcast of five has been posted. Please have a listen. If you have any questions or comments, please direct them to info@oilsandsdevelopers.ca or leave a comment below.

Thanks again for listening.

I have put together these podcasts to reach out to those interested in hearing more thoughts on oil sands operations in Alberta. With the upcoming federal election, much is at stake; and with important decisions ahead regarding development of the resource, it is vitally important that discussions and decisions regarding development of the oil sands be fact-based. This is my reason for writing on Setting the Record Straight – and now podcasting.

Stay tuned over the next weeks as we post new recordings.

I also wanted to thank you for being part of the discussion. If you have any questions or comments, please direct them to info@oilsandsdevelopers.ca or leave a comment below.

Recent months have seen continued and increased efforts to pressure corporations and government in the U.S. and other international markets to declare themselves against oil sands development and to avoid the oil sands product.

It is unfortunate that many users of the oil sands product are unaware of the amount they rely on this great resource, having limited awareness of energy issues and what the oil sands are doing to reduce our environmental footprint. From what I have seen, this has resulted in embarrassing situations when the users need to retract their statements after discovering how the oil sands are a key energy source for their operations and that the oil sands are not "dirty" after all.

As a reader of my blog, you know that I’ve often used this medium to express my frustration with such campaigns in an attempt to educate readers about the misinformation they are often fed. Ultimately, I want to create a balanced conversation on issues surrounding oil sands development.

The latest campaigning going on in Europe is no different from many of the campaigns we have seen in the past. However, I did discover a breath of fresh air amongst the propaganda.

Outside the European parliament in Brussels, ENGOs have posted signage discouraging the development of Canadian oil sands. In connection with their displays, they are encouraging citizens to write to their appointed Member of European Parliament (MEP) and call for the European Union to ban the importation of Canadian oil sands crude.

Their campaigning has been successful and several constituents wrote to Roger Helmer, MEP for Brussels and East Midlands. His response, the breath of fresh air I was referring to, is worth writing about.

On his personal blog, similarly titled to mine, Straight Talking, MEP Roger Helmer posted a thought-provoking response to the anti-oil sands propaganda and several letters he received from constituents in a post titled After the Nuclear Scare: The Tar Sands Scare. He thanked the constituents for their concern but pointed out several flaws in their argument and told these individuals that this issue needs to be put into perspective.

Quoting from Mr. Helmer’s letter, “Canada is a civilized, environment-conscious and democratic country, and I have every confidence that they will manage this [oil sands] industry in a responsible way… it is not my place to interfere in their internal affairs. Nor am I prepared, in these times of serious energy-security risks, to cut the EU off from a potentially important new energy source.”

It is not often that we see such truth in black and white print, and it’s refreshing to see others across the world recognize Canada’s significant achievements in the responsible development of this important resource. The industry believes that it is vital to have conversations about these issues. Mr. Helmer further points out that, although he received a handful of letters of complaint about Canada’s oil sands, he would hate to think about how many he’d receive should the lights go out.

So, thank you Roger Helmer for your thoughtful response letter to concerned constituents. I hope it helps shed some light and helps them reconsider their position and, at the very least, gets them thinking more objectively about energy use and energy sources – as the world is beginning to discover there are no impact-free energy sources. The most we can hope for is environmentally responsible development, whatever that development is. And the oil sands can, and should, continue to play an important role in providing a secure energy supply.