Our allies at Brussels-based Transport & Environment report that a ship carrying 523,000 barrels of crude will arrive in Cartagena, Spain on May 1. They note that according to Reuters the ship was loaded in Freeport, Texas on the Gulf of Mexico with Western Canadian Select – a blend that includes tar sands crude.
How did this happen?
In October 2014, Bloomberg reported, “Canadian oil producers, facing delays on new export pipelines, are poised to reap higher prices in Europe and Asia as growing rail deliveries to the U.S. are sent overseas, according to FirstEnergy Capital Corp. …The re-exports are the best way for rising Canadian light and heavy crude output to approach world prices right now, [a company spokesperson] said. …The U.S. restricts most exports of unrefined crude except to Canada, and allows shipments of foreign oil from its ports that hasn’t been commingled with domestic volumes.”
On May 29, 2014, Friends of the Earth Europe reported, “The first shipment of highly polluting Canadian tar sands oil to Europe is due to arrive in Spain today. …The 600,000 barrels of oil will arrive in Bilbao and have been purchased by Spain-based multinational Repsol. It is the first major shipment of tar sands oil to the EU.”
It is believed the shipment due to arrive tomorrow is also destined for a Repsol refinery. Bilbao is located in northern Spain near France, whereas Cartagena is in south-eastern Spain on the Mediterranean coast.
Tar sands crude was also shipped to Italy via the St. Lawrence River in September 2014.
Research by the Natural Resources Defense Council released by Transport and Environment, Greenpeace EU and Friends of the Earth Europe warns that European imports of tar sands could increase to about 700,000 barrels per day in 2020. They note, “New pipelines planned or under construction in North America, in combination with refinery developments in Europe, could turn Europe into a significant market for Canadian tar sands oil. …For example, TransCanada’s current Energy East tar sands pipeline could bring 1.1 million barrels per day from Alberta to eastern Canadian ports. It has Europe as one of the main intended destinations for the crude oil.”
The Council of Canadians is opposed to tar sands export pipelines and the “re-exporting” of tar sands bitumen through the US via rail and pipeline.
We stand in solidarity with our European allies who oppose these shipments of tar sands crude.
Further reading
Tar sands bitumen “re-exported” to Europe via the United States (October 2014 blog)
Tar sands oil arrives in Spain, more expected with the Energy East pipeline (May 2014 blog)
