Alberta

[hobbyguy]

That Alberta's fiscal situation has been set up to be so tied to a single commodity, and a volatile one, is not cause for celebration. It is good that in the short term, the deficit in Alberta has been reduced by the spike in oil prices.

The situation seems to be in an untenable one, as even with the spike in the oil prices, Alberta has not yet reached a sustainable fiscal situation. That is even more concerning given that the long term prospects for oil are in decline.

On the plus side, although slowly, the prospects for some increased market options for oil is getting closer as the TMX construction continues. There may even be some some increased options for natural gas as the BC LNG project also slowly moves ahead.

In context, however, the Alberta dependence on for high prices for oil and gas remains a very risky strategy.

It seems that both sides of the political equation in the US, the largest market, remain committed to maximizing domestic production and minimizing imports. That is a significant risk to Alberta's fortunes.

The "apple cart" is also at risk from the current natural gas situation in the EU. That current NG situation has changed the political discussion in Europe around the future directions of energy sourcing given the massive vulnerability to Putin's Russia. It is not coincidental that at a time when our European NATO allies are extremely vulnerable to natural gas flow disruptions that Putin is ramping aggression toward Ukraine and other states in eastern Europe.

That European situation will most likely spark a new conversation around safe nuclear energy replacing natural gas and oil in the future. If that happens, then the future for fossil fuels becomes somewhat dimmer.

One can only hope that the Alberta government utilizes the additional breathing room provided by the oil price spike to accelerate diversification of the Alberta economy to make it more resilient. I am optimistic that such diversification efforts can succeed. If they do, then oil price spikes would be the icing on the cake, not the cake itself.

[The Green Barbarian]

That Alberta's fiscal situation has been set up to be so tied to a single commodity, and a volatile one, is not cause for celebration.

But the fact that their financial situation is improving is cause for celebration. Rather than pooping all over it, or worse, using this great news to babble on about nonsense about "fossil fuels", let's just bask in the glow of an improving Alberta economy, which benefits everyone, especially us here in BC.

[AlienSoldier]

With Trudeau's support to get more oil to markets :)

Yes, if one thing is consistent and constant over the decades, it's been the Trudeau family supporting Alberta.

Conservatives too, but they just didn't know how to get it done.

[Pappywinkle]

Conservatives too, but they just didn't know how to get it done.

Conservatives just sit around with their thumbs up their , take credit when oil prices are high and blame the feds when oil prices are low.

The sad thing is that such idiocy works on so many Albertan voters.

[AlienSoldier]

That Alberta's fiscal situation has been set up to be so tied to a single commodity, and a volatile one, is not cause for celebration.

But the fact that their financial situation is improving is cause for celebration. Rather than pooping all over it, or worse, using this great news to babble on about nonsense about "fossil fuels", let's just bask in the glow of an improving Alberta economy, which benefits everyone, especially us here in BC.

We are, congrats to the Liberals for leading this federally and the con's for getting lucky provincially.

[The Green Barbarian]

We are, congrats to the Liberals for leading this federally

Not really.

and the con's for getting lucky provincially.

Both governments are "lucky" here. As are the people of Alberta. This is good fortune for them, and long awaited too. Imagine if the Albertans had the ability to get their oil to tidewater, you might even have a starting point to compare them to places like Norway at that point.

[AlienSoldier]

We are, congrats to the Liberals for leading this federally

Not really.

and the con's for getting lucky provincially.

Both governments are "lucky" here. As are the people of Alberta. This is good fortune for them, and long awaited too. Imagine if the Albertans had the ability to get their oil to tidewater, you might even have a starting point to compare them to places like Norway at that point.

That is basically what Trudeau did when he bought the TMX and has been expanding it. It should be operational by 2023 as per the TMX website.

[Pappywinkle]

That is basically what Trudeau did when he bought the TMX and has been expanding it. It should be operational by 2023 as per the TMX website.

Yup. Albertans are so lucky to have the Trudeau government working so hard to keep their economy afloat after the UCP totally ruined it.

[nucksRnum1]

That is basically what Trudeau did when he bought the TMX and has been expanding it. It should be operational by 2023 as per the TMX website.

Yup. Albertans are so lucky to have the Trudeau government working so hard to keep their economy afloat after the UCP totally ruined it.

^^^^^^ THIS

[nucksRnum1]

When it comes to living in Alberta, half of Canadians outside province aren't keen to find out, poll finds

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/w ... li=AAggNb9

[The Green Barbarian]

Yup. Albertans are so lucky to have the Trudeau government working so hard to keep their economy afloat after the UCP totally ruined it.

^^^^^^ THIS

This...is a prevarication...obviously. Is that what you meant?

[erinmore3775]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bakx-o ... -1.6271537

The Federal and Provincial governments are about to walk a very fine line. Regulations are about to be relaxed, which will allow major oil sand extractors to release tailing pond waters back into the environment. The release of these partially treated waters will result in water containing significant amounts of toxic materials being released into the environment.

Industry and government officials state that while the treated effluent contains toxic materials at levels higher than the surrounding environment the discharge is safe because it will be diluted by its surroundings. This points out the huge cavalier attitude which the industry and the Alberta government has had towards the environment. The Alberta government has ignored orphan wells, reduced environmental standards, and as a result allowed environmentalists to put extreme pressure on the oil sands.

Canada and the world depends on 40% of the oil produced for the production of medicines, fabrics, and building and packaging materials. Petroleum based products are essential to our life and health. Alberta and the Federal government need to require full treatment of the tailing pond discharges. Federal support of the industry and Alberta should be contingent on that. In that way the industry becomes cleaner more environmentally friendly. It is also important to note that many of the toxic materials present in the tailings have commercial applications. Therefore, the future costs may well be balanced against future returns. It is time for Alberta and the Federal government to take a principal end stand; support the petroleum industry and the environment.

[hobbyguy]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bakx-o ... -1.6271537

The Federal and Provincial governments are about to walk a very fine line. Regulations are about to be relaxed, which will allow major oil sand extractors to release tailing pond waters back into the environment. The release of these partially treated waters will result in water containing significant amounts of toxic materials being released into the environment.

Industry and government officials state that while the treated effluent contains toxic materials at levels higher than the surrounding environment the discharge is safe because it will be diluted by its surroundings. This points out the huge cavalier attitude which the industry and the Alberta government has had towards the environment. The Alberta government has ignored orphan wells, reduced environmental standards, and as a result allowed environmentalists to put extreme pressure on the oil sands.

Canada and the world depends on 40% of the oil produced for the production of medicines, fabrics, and building and packaging materials. Petroleum based products are essential to our life and health. Alberta and the Federal government need to require full treatment of the tailing pond discharges. Federal support of the industry and Alberta should be contingent on that. In that way the industry becomes cleaner more environmentally friendly. It is also important to note that many of the toxic materials present in the tailings have commercial applications. Therefore, the future costs may well be balanced against future returns. It is time for Alberta and the Federal government to take a principal end stand; support the petroleum industry and the environment.

Looking at the article, the volume of stored toxic water is eye popping.

"The tailings ponds in northern Alberta, adjacent to oilsands mines, store about 1.4 trillion litres of waste water. That's the equivalent volume of more than 560,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, which would stretch from Edmonton to Melbourne, Australia, and back if placed end-to-end."

The other factoid that struck me is that it takes 4 barrels of water to produce 1 barrel of bitumen.

At a time when water is becoming a scarce resource in many parts of the world, like California, the numbers give pause for thought.

The other thing that strikes me is the thought, "...and people worry about a small volume of nuclear waste from safe nuclear power...". Investments in the oil sands are staggering, The peak years saw investments running around $80 billion per year. I wonder how many safe nuclear power plants could have been built... perhaps Jason Kenney is onto something with his expressed interest in developing safe nuclear energy in Alberta.,

Meanwhile, these tailing ponds are massive problem.

[nucksRnum1]

The worst part is that these ponds were actual wildlife ponds 50-60 years ago when there was less environmental accountability.

[Randall T]

And people complain about dog owners not scooping.