Canadian Oil Sands
Our nation needs more supplies of all energy sources, including oil and natural gas, to meet growing energy demand and provide consumers with reliable supplies of fuel. What many Americans don’t know is that the U.S. gets more oil from Canada than from any other country.
Canadian oil is a reliable and plentiful strategic resource for meeting our nation’s growing energy demand and making the United States more energy secure.
Here are some of the most asked questions and answers about Canadian oil sands:
How abundant are Canada’s oil reserves, and what portion do oil sands constitute? Canadian oil reserves are vast and are second only to Saudi Arabia, using current technological assessments. According to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, oil sands now account for more than half of western Canada’s total oil production. By 2025, production from Canadian oil sands is expected to rise from about 1.2 million barrels per day to about 3.3 million barrels per day.
Why is Canadian oil important to the United States? Canada and the United States have an excellent trading and political relationship, and Canada’s reliable and plentiful oil is crucial to improving our nation’s energy security and meeting its growing energy demand.
How much of its oil does Canada export to the United States? Currently, Canada sends more than 99 percent of its oil exports to the United States—the bulk of which goes to Midwestern refineries. By getting more of their oil from Canada, Midwest refineries would move from the back of the crude oil supply line to the front—making them less vulnerable to supply disruptions caused by geopolitical upheaval or storms in the Gulf of Mexico.
What are oil sands and how are they used? Oil sands are naturally occurring mixtures of sand, clay, water and a form of petroleum called bitumen—which can be upgraded for synthetic crude oil and refined to make asphalt, gasoline, jet fuel and some chemicals.
How do oil sands factor into the U.S. energy mix? According to EIA, Canada is the number-one supplier of imported oil and natural gas to the United States. Of the Canadian crude oil brought into this country, approximately half is derived from oil sands. According to a study released in May 2009 by the Cambridge Energy Research Associates, if oil sands development is maximized, the amount of oil the Unites States imports from Canada could potentially double by 2035.
Are there economic benefits associated with producing crude derived from Canadian oil sands? Oil companies are investing huge sums to expand and upgrade refineries in the Midwest and elsewhere to make more gasoline and other refined products from the oil derived from Canadian oil sands. Pipeline companies are also investing in the construction of new infrastructure to transport Canadian oil into the United States. In addition to the increased tax revenue and economic growth such activity bring to localities, these expansion and upgrade projects are expected to create over 10,000 new construction jobs and an additional 500 permanent full-time refinery positions. Beyond this, a recent study by the Council on Foreign Relations highlighted the value of close ties with a friendly neighboring country that does a considerable amount of business with the United States, stating that “a greater fraction of money used to buy Canadian oil will likely later be spent directly on U.S. goods and services and hence contribute directly to U.S. growth.”
Are there environmental concerns regarding the use of crude derived from oil sands? The extraction and processing of oil sands do, on average, result in higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than light, sweet (low-sulfur) crude oil. But so do many of the heavy, high-sulfur crudes that are being produced in the United States and around the world. On a life cycle (or well-to-wheels) GHG emission basis, oil derived from Canadian oil sands is comparable with other crudes refined in the United States. We believe that the United States is equipped to manage the emissions from crude derived from oil sands with greater care than if it were processed in regions of the world with less stringent environmental standards— not to mention the environmental costs of transporting the crude elsewhere.
What steps are being taken to limit the environmental impact of the practice? The oil and natural gas industry remains committed providing the energy our nation needs to power its economy in a reliable and environmentally-responsible manner. To this end, Canadian and U.S. companies are making the investments necessary to meet stringent environmental and regulatory requirements to offset the impacts of increased oil sands production and processing. Additionally, API member refiners have set a goal to improve energy efficiency by 10 percent between 2002 and 2012 and are making progress toward meeting that goal. In 2006, for example, improvements in energy efficiency at API member refineries—as compared to the technology used in 2002—produced energy savings equivalent to taking more than 528,000 cars off the road, or the electricity used by more than 950,000 homes. And since 1990, industry has reduced oil sands CO2 intensity by 27%, according to the Canadian government.
Does the use of oil sands affect the quality of the refined product? Using oil sands as a feedstock does not affect the quality of the refined products. In fact, gasoline and other fuels made from oil sands already are being used in the United States. Every project is required to adhere to applicable federal, state and local regulations and permitting conditions. And the vast investments refiners and pipeline operators are making to increase capacity and flexibility to process oil sands includes the equipment necessary to make products that meet all required specifications.
Congress should avoid policies that, by blocking use of Canadian oil, would jeopardize the creation of new American jobs and the oil and natural gas industry’s ability to continue meeting our country’s growing energy needs.
Please sign our petition now to voice your support for Canadian Oil Sands.