The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition Canada sent almost 1.2 million
barrels of unprocessed bitumen a
day to the United States last year,
or about 60 per cent of daily oil
sands production.
The Globe's Brent Jang writes the conventional
wisdom among Canadian
oil producers is that in the years
ahead, increasing market access
south of the border and
expanding to Asia will be crucial
to moving bitumen out of
landlocked Alberta. Meanwhile in British Columbia, there
are high hopes that where
Alberta faltered with only one
refinery in the works, the West
Coast will prevail in producing
refined products such as diesel,
gasoline and jet fuel.
Exporting to Asia is the goal of three
B.C. refining projects.
Some industry officials believe
these projects
are a long shot because proponents
need to lure financial
backers and find a way to win
over first nations groups. Another
challenge is competing
against huge Asian refineries in
their own backyard.
"If it were economic to have a
new refinery, I assure you there
would be one," says Ian Anderson,
president of Kinder Morgan
Canada, which is proposing to
expand its Trans Mountain
pipeline from the Edmonton
area to Burnaby.
© 2024 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.