Getting a barrel of oil out of the Alberta oil sands takes roughly a barrel of water, and southern Alberta’s already getting dry. Now, along comes this:
[quote=“CBC: U.S. urges ‘fivefold expansion’ in Alberta oilsands production”]The U.S. wants Canada to dramatically expand its oil exports from the Alberta oilsands, a move that could have major implications on the environment.
U.S.and Canadian oil executives and government officials met for a two-day oil summit in Houston in January 2006 and made plans for a “fivefold expansion” in oilsands production in a relatively “short time span,” according minutes of the meeting obtained by the CBC’s French-language network, Radio-Canada.
The meeting was organized by Natural Resources Canada and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Canada is already the top exporter of oil to the American market, exporting the equivalent of one million barrels a day — the exact amount that the oilsands industry in Alberta currently produces.
A fivefold increase would mean the exportation of five million barrels a day, which would supply a quarter of current American consumption and add up to almost half of all U.S. imports.[/quote]
There’s even been serious discussions of building a dedicated nuke simply to power extraction.
So, anyone have have any bright ideas about companies cooking up smart means of getting more oil with less water?