Ewart: There are a trillion reasons why Alberta won’t slow oilsands development – Calgary Herald
“I’d like it to slow down.” Darren Pentelechuk, an Edmonton-area farmer who made the appeal for restraint at a hearing this week for TransCanada’s proposed Grand Rapids pipeline, isn’t likely to get his wish given the forecast for relentless oilsands production growth over the next three decades.
Despite oil prices of $100 US a barrel (West Texas Intermediate), and with the only greenfield projects making sense in situ SAGD, the Canadian Energy Research Institute released a study Thursday that projects a steady increase from 2.1 million barrels a day now to 4.8 million by 2048.
It’s actually a modest estimate. In June, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers forecast that oilsands would reach 4.8 million bpd by 2030.
The same day CERI released its report, the Edmonton Journal’s Sheila Pratt reported that Pentelechuk informed the Alberta Energy Regulator the designated pipeline corridor adjacent to his farm in Strathcona County had 10 pipelines, and was full, but four more had been proposed
