Oilsands not so dirty: study
Posted Sep 21, 2010 3:45 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A new American study finds our oilsands may not be as dirty as some would like to believe.
According to an analysis done by Massachusetts-based IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, fuel produced here emits the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as fuel made in West Africa and Latin America
The “wells to wheels” report found the majority of emissions produced comes when the vehicle you are in is running, no matter where the fuel in the tank is made.
“In order to have a true comparison between sources of crude oil it is necessary to account for the industry average as a whole rather than any single operation,” said IHS CERA Director Jackie Forrest. “Certain operations have higher carbon intensity, while others are lower. You must account for the entire spectrum.”
Oil Sands, Greenhouse Gases, and US Oil Supply: Getting the Numbers Right is the second report from the IHS CERA Canadian Oil Sands Dialogue and looked at 13 studies from government, academic and industry sources, and found the total emissions from refined products wholly derived from oilsands are five to 15 percent higher than the average crude consumed in the United States.
