A proposed Bakken oil pipeline through New York State appears to be based on wishful thinking.
Author: Lorne Stockman
Lifting the Crude Oil Export Ban: Supply Side and Climate Commonsense
In which we demonstrate that dismissing the climate impact of lifting the crude oil export ban is wrong.
Tracking Emissions: The Climate Impact of the Proposed Crude-by-Rail Terminals in the Pacific Northwest
The states of Washington and Oregon are facing a quadrupling of their crude-by-rail terminal capacity to over a million barrels a day. This report examines the impact that expansion will have on unlocking carbon and thereby exacerbating climate change.
Shell project cancellation confirms our latest report findings
Last week, we released a report entitled, Lockdown: the end of growth in the tar sands. The report, based on our unique Integrated North American Pipelines model (INAP), concludes that the tar sands sector is running out of room for growth. This is because with every proposed major pipeline delayed by citizen opposition, an imminent … Read More
Data Trends: Oil Price Crash Triggers U.S. Gasoline Binge
We expect that most of our readers are aware that oil prices are way down this year and that the new OPEC strategy may mean that it may be several years until we see $100 per barrel oil again, if ever. The impact on gasoline prices in the U.S. is also easily garnered from the price … Read More
What happened to Canadian heavy crude prices this summer and where might they go from here?
We reported in our June Newsletter that the difference in price between the Canadian heavy oil benchmark Western Canadian Select (WCS) and the U.S. light crude benchmark WTI had narrowed to $8 a barrel (bbl). This was remarkable in light of the much wider differential of $15-25/bbl that had become common since around 2010 (see … Read More
The EIA’s oil forecast is a climate disaster, why does Obama use it to justify drilling?
The EIA’s Reference Case forecasts show us the energy future we need to avoid for a safe climate. Yet the Obama Administration uses these forecasts as the basis for drilling in the Arctic and elsewhere on Federal Lands and the Outer Continental Shelf.
U.S. East Coast is key crude-by-rail destination
An examination of crude-by-rail data shows that the U.S. east coast has become one of the busiest regional destinations for hazardous crude-by-rail traffic. Oil Change International used publicly available Department of Energy (EIA) data as well as subscription data from Genscape to examine the growth of crude-by-rail to one of the most densely populated areas … Read More
Newsletter: Narrowing Canadian oil price spreads likely to be short-lived
Canadian oil industry watchers noted a Canadian oil price recovery in April and May as the heavy oil benchmark Western Canadian Select (WCS), climbed back from a 2014 trough of $28/bbl below West Texas Intermediate (WTI) in July 2014 to a high of $8/bbl below WTI in mid-May 2015 (see Figure 1). Of course, in … Read More
On the Edge: 1.6 million barrels per day of proposed tar sands oil on life support
Oil Change International- May 2015 Download Briefing The Canadian tar sands is among the most carbon-intensive, highest-cost sources of oil in the world. Even prior to the precipitous drop in global oil prices late last year, three major projects were cancelled in the sector with companies unable to chart a profitable path forward. Since the … Read More