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Harper's private sector escort in Bali to boost tar sands production by 25 per cent

December 12, 2007
Posted by Brent Patterson

The Globe and Mail reported today that EnCana, "Canada's biggest independent oil and gas producer," intends to boost its tar sands production next year by 25 per cent to about 34,000 barrels a day. It is enormously telling of the Harper government's priorities (and modus operandi) that EnCana was also one of three corporations to join the Prime Minister's delegation to the Bali climate conference this week.

On Monday, the Globe and Mail reported: "After banishing environmentalists and opposition MPs from Canada's delegation to the Bali climate conference, Ottawa has decided to allow an oil company and several business executives to join the official delegation." One of those companies was EnCana Corp. of Calgary. "By joining the Canadian delegation," wrote the Globe, "the corporations could influence Canada's position at the Bali conference, where about 190 countries are trying to hammer out a new agreement to replace the Kyoto accord to solve the global-warming crisis."

Now today the paper is reporting that EnCana's budget, "will show an increased emphasis on natural gas, both in the United States and the Deep Panuke project off Nova Scotia, and on its integrated oil sands, where spending is expected to double to about $1.2-billion, split evenly between boosting production by 25 per cent to about 34,000 barrels a day and expanding capacity at the Wood River, Ill., refinery it co-owns with ConocoPhillips Co."

Some things that need pointing out:

• The SPP calls for a fivefold increase in Alberta tar sands production for export to the United States;
• The extraction of oil from the tar sands produces five times as many greenhouse gas emissions as conventional oil;
• It is estimated that by 2011, annual greenhouse gas emissions from the tar sands plants alone will be over 80 million tones of CO2 equivalent, a greater quantity of emissions than that produced by all of Canada's passenger cars today;
• The tar sands can single handedly prevent Canada from meeting its international obligations to reduce greenhouse gases.

Avaaz.org has launched an international on-line campaign, which states that, "Prime Minister Harper’s climate plan (is to) wreck any chance of an international agreement being reached at the UN summit in Bali this week." By clicking here you can "call on [Harper] to uphold Canada's values, stop blocking UN climate talks and immediately start working with other countries towards a new international climate agreement."