Oil Sands Question and Response (OSQAR) Blog

Report for Nobel Prize-winning physicist warms to oil sands

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TransCanada’s Keystone Pipeline Project is one of the most polarizing North American undertakings in recent years. It seems everybody has an opinion on the project.  And public figures on both sides of the border, from politicians to celebrities, have not been shy about adding their voices to the debate about whether it’s in the United States’ best interests to import more Canadian oil sands-derived crude.

Energy insights from campus: More than beer and Doritos

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For any generation, it’s unsettling to think that the next one will some day be in charge. It seems the up-and-comers traditionally don’t inspire a lot of confidence in their older, wiser counterparts and vice versa.

Dirty oil, eh? Satirist Jon Stewart takes a look at Canadian energy

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If our countries had Facebook, we’d be BFFs - Best Friends Forever. Aside from that slight misunderstanding in 1812, the relationship between the United States and Canada is among the closest and most extensive in the world. It’s reflected in the staggering volume of bilateral trade—according to the U.S. Department of State, it’s the equivalent of $1.6 billion a day in goods.  We are the world’s largest trading partners: Canada is the leading export market for 35 of the 50 U.S. states and is a larger market for U.S. goods than all 27 countries of the European Union.

Survey Says: They like us, they really do!

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The plan to ramp up Canadian crude oil exports to the United States received support recently, when some senior Oklahoma political leaders came out in favour of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project.

Why it does matter where your oil comes from

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Current upheavals in North Africa and the Middle East (where Suncor also has operations) have once again reminded us how much the price of gasoline is intimately linked not only to demand for oil but also to the stability, or otherwise, of its supply.

Trying to get a handle on your energy future? (Hint: Shell helps)

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In last week’s OSQAR we took a light hearted look at the importance of discussing the energy ‘facts of life’ with your kids - what we called “Having the Talk”.  

Growth: Have we learned anything from the last boom?

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With rising world energy demand and a return to growth for the oil sands industry, some commentators (see this article in the Globe & Mail) are wondering if we are about to see a re-run of the ‘hyper-growth’ in the Fort McMurray area of just a few years ago.

Need help passing the energy literacy test? (Hint: Read this week's Economist)

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We’re hardly short of media articles about the oil sands these days. However when one of the world’s leading current affairs publications, The Economist, weighs in on the topic, we have no choice but to stop and pay attention.

Can we grow oil sands production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

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A sure sign the world is coming out of recession is that demand for oil has been rising sharply for over the past year. Amid increasing oil prices, Suncor and other developers are planning further investments in Alberta’s oil sands, which is one of the world’s largest petroleum reserves.