[Vision2020] Oilsands Lauds Obama Energy Security Plans

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of the Edmonton Journal (Edmonton, Canada) at:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Oilsands+lauds+Obama+energy+security+plans/4533606/story.html

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Oilsands lauds Obama energy security plans

A plan by U.S. President Barack Obama to slash U.S. oil imports by more
than 30 per cent over the next decade is excellent news for crude oil
producers in Canada, including those in the oilsands, Alberta industry
spokesmen said Wednesday.

Amid rising gasoline prices in America and ongoing turmoil in the Middle
East, Obama announced a goal of cutting American oil imports -currently 11
million barrels a day -by boosting domestic production, increasing the use
of natural gas, investing in biofuels and making vehicles more energy
efficient.

"We cannot keep going from shock to trance on the issue of energy
security, rushing to propose action when gas prices rise, then hitting the
snooze button when they fall again," Obama said at Georgetown University
on Wednesday.

"The United States of America cannot afford to bet our longterm prosperity
and security on a resource that will eventually run out. Not anymore.

"Not when the cost to our economy, our country and our planet is so high."

Obama singled out Canada among a handful of nations America must continue
to rely on as "stable and steady" foreign sources of secure energy, a
point that wasn't missed by Alberta observers.

"The president defined a problem, the U.S. has a problem with insecure
supply and to some extent, has a problem with price," said Tom Huffaker,
vice-president of policy and environment for the Canadian Association of
Petroleum Producers.

"I think he singled out Canada pretty clearly as part of the solution,
rather than part of the problem. So we feel very good about that."

Huffaker said as oil from trouble spots is reduced, Canadian producers
stand to send more oil to the U.S., not less. Obama avoided mentioning the
controversial oilsands in his speech, but Don Thompson, president of the
Fort McMurray-based Oil Sands Developers Group, was not discouraged by
that fact.

"Let's be clear, right now the oilsands are well over half of Canada's
production and something like 70 per cent of Canada's crude oil
requirements. And it's 97 per cent of our reserves," he said. "So when you
speak about Canadian oil, you are speaking of Canadian oilsands."

Thompson has been criss-crossing the U.S. in a series of speaking
engagements on behalf of the industry.

Oilsands crude makes up about a third of the 2.4 million barrels of oil
per day exported from Canada to the United States.

Premier Ed Stelmach agreed Obama's speech is good news.

"He's recognizing Alberta is a very stable supplier of oil," he said.
"It's very positive. It makes me feel good this morning."

The speech marked a deliberate attempt by Obama to shift the public focus
in America from the crisis in Libya and across the Middle East to a
domestic issue dear to the president's heart.

Gasoline prices in the U.S. jumped seven per cent in March to an average
of $3.60 US a gallon, an increase attributed in part to concerns about
security of supply caused by ongoing political unrest overseas.

With rising demand for oil in China and India, Obama said there will be
"more ups than downs" in gas prices in the coming years.

"We will keep on being a victim to shifts in the oil market until we get
serious about a longterm policy for secure, affordable energy," he said.

But the president's pledge to lower oil imports came with a significant
caveat. Even as the U.S. seeks to reduce its dependence on oil from
unstable sources, Obama said America would continue to "partner" with
reliable suppliers in Canada, Mexico and Brazil.

"I set this goal knowing that imported oil will remain an important part
of our energy portfolio for quite some time," Obama said.

He said the U.S. must continue to look to Canada, Mexico and Brazil
because they are "stable and steady and reliable sources" of oil for the
American market.

Canada is currently the biggest single source of U.S. oil imports,
providing about 20 per cent of the nation's foreign supply, followed by
Mexico. Obama did not raise the controversy currently raging among
lawmakers in Washington over Alberta's oilsands.

The State Department earlier this month announced further environment
review on a proposed $7-billion pipeline -TransCanada's Keystone XL
project -that would carry more than 500,000 barrels of oilsands crude per
day from northern Alberta to the Gulf coast of Texas.

But Obama's mention of Canadian oil, in a major speech on America energy
security, constitutes at least something of a victory for Prime Minister
Stephen Harper.

During a White House meeting last month, Harper said the U.S. faced a
"choice" between importing oil "from the most secure, most stable and
friendliest location it can possibly get that energy, which is Canada, or
from other places that are not as secure, stable or friendly to the
interests and values of the United States."

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown