Canadian Oil Sands Could Lead U.S. Oil Imports This Year
EV Project Expands To LA, DC
Smart EV Coming to the US in Fall 2010
DOE Awards $76M for Energy-Efficient Building Technologies
5 More States Reach Weatherization Milestone
FERC Proposes Transmission Planning, Cost Sharing Methods
Canadian Oil Sands Could Lead U.S. Oil Imports This Year
By the end of this year, Canadian oil sands will probably be the leading source of crude oil imports into the US, according to a new study by IHS CERA.
Canada is already the primary source of crude oil imports into the US, and has been steadily increasing its production of crude oil from oil sands while its conventional oil production has declined.
Production from oil sands more than doubled over the past nine years, growing from 600,000 barrels per day in 2000 to 1.35 million barrels per day in 2009. Assuming that production rate is sustained this year, oil sands will produce more petroleum than conventional sources in Canada this year, and U.S. imports of petroleum from Canadian oil sands will be greater than imports from any other country. According to IHS, Canadian oil sands could provide 20%-36% of U.S. oil imports by 2030. See the IHS press release and report (PDF 558 KB).
The production of crude oil from Canadian oil sands is at issue due to its environmental impacts, including water and land use, the production of tailings, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
A 2005 study by DOE's National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) found the production of crude oil from Canadian oil sands (actually a mix of tar-like crude bitumen and synthetic crude oil) has GHG emissions equivalent to 104 kilograms of carbon dioxide per barrel, more than four times the GHG emissions caused by producing conventional crude oil in the US.
The study also found that crude oil production in Nigeria has even higher GHG emissions-equivalent to 130 kilograms of carbon dioxide per barrel-due to the flaring of any natural gas released during production of the oil.
Overall, the mix of crude oils used in the US released the equivalent of 40 kilograms of carbon dioxide per barrel during production. The NETL study examined the life-cycle emissions of gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel, and for each fuel, the emissions caused by burning the fuel were roughly 10 times greater than the emissions caused by producing the crude oil used in those fuels. See pages ES-3 and 12-13 (PDF pages 27 and 46-47) of the NETL report (PDF 3.5 MB).
EV Project Expands To LA, DC
The EV Project, under which the Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation will provide free home charging stations and installations for electric vehicles (EVs), is expanding to Los Angeles, California, and Washington, D.C.
While previously limited to Nissan Leaf EVs, the program is also broadening to include Chevrolet Volts, which are extended-range EVs. An additional 1,000 Leaf cars are included, boosting the number to 5,700 nationwide.
The expansion is funded by an additional $15 million grant from DOE, which will be matched by private funds. The EV Project began in October 2009 with a $99.8 million grant from DOE, provided through the Recovery Act. The goal is to create green jobs and cut dependence on fossil fuel by delivering and evaluating nearly 15,000 residential and commercial chargers to 13 cities in five states and the District of Columbia. See the ECOtality press release (PDF 235 KB) and The EV Project Web site.
