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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery lost 74 cents to $60.27 on the New York Merc, while Brent for August lost 96 cents to $63.49 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $11.55 to WTI ($48.72), down from a discount of $10.30. Natural gas for July added 3.3 cents to $2.76. The TSX energy index added 1.71 points to close at 214.65.

Oil sands producers are having a glum day in the wake of a new study, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), that says oil sands crude leads to greenhouse gas emissions that are, on average, 20 per cent higher than those produced by conventional U.S. crude. The peer-reviewed study, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, was conducted by scientists from the DOE's Argonne National Laboratory, Stanford University and the University of California Davis. The scientists used public data on energy intensities from 27 oil sands projects and conducted a "well-to-wheel" analysis from extraction to consumption. Their results showed that gasoline and diesel derived from the oil sands emit 18 per cent to 21 per cent more greenhouses gases over their life cycle than gasoline and diesel derived from conventional U.S. crude. (The study did not look at unconventional U.S. crude, but the researchers told the Wall Street Journal that they are working on an emissions study of U.S. shale oil and expect to finish it later this year.) The main reason for the higher emissions, said the study, was the "much greater energy intensity of extraction, separation and upgrading" of the oil sands compared with conventional crude. Without improvements in those three areas, "higher emissions for gasoline and diesel production in the U.S. are expected when oil sands products become a larger fraction of the U.S. fuel mix," the study concludes. It is worth noting that the study looked at some of the 27 oil sands projects from 2008 to 2012 and others from 2009 to 2012 -- nothing after. Technology moves quickly, and the study itself notes that the more recent efforts to curb emissions require evaluation. Despite this, the study will surely become another arrow in the quiver of activists opposed to TransCanada Corp.'s (TRP: $54.00) Keystone XL and other oil-sands-related projects.

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