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1. No unless an Abra shows up. 2. No. 3. Pick speed or defense, they fill similar roles. I feel so special, everyone`s naming their rival after me these days (for the full Nuzlockers this is also referring to Scramble events).
Round 2 Update First Gym (easily) in the bag for the team. Much like my first go through the early stages of the game, my team had little problem getting through Roxanne. I'm assuming (hoping) Brawly will be the same with my current team (below), but ultimately it'll be how I fare against Watson when I get to him that will determine if this team has the goods long term. So far I've made only one team decision, deciding to go with Yunti the Poochyena over Laurie the Zigzagoon. One reason being Pickup, which has netted me too many tempting items already. The other being that Mightyena will get Intimidate, which will make him (and my team) that much bulkier. And of course, should disaster hit, I've got some Pokemon in the PC to rebuild around. Hopefully that doesn't happen. Also hoping for a bulky Pokemon in Dewford, but the RNG works in funny ways... Current Roster (Move your mouse to reveal the content) Current Roster (open) Current Roster (close) Current Roster Kipula LV16 Yunti LV11 Jarrila LV12 PC Pokemon (Move your mouse to reveal the content) PC Pokemon (open) PC Pokemon (close) PC Party Laurie LV10 Leonard LV7 Cemetary (Move your mouse to reveal the content) Cemetary (open) Cemetary (close) Round 1 Pokes mentioned in previous post. None for Round 2!
I did suffer a scare with Phi earlier in the Lance double battle. Phi is at half health from Subbing alongside Dragonite when Ariana sens out Murkrow as her last. Lance being the moron he is decides to make Dragonite Fly. Murkrow the crit Wing Attacks Phi down to around 8 hp left before Fly finished him off.
O.k ill drop Lapras. Stil a little stuck though as im not sure if Fire attacks are useful seeing as I still have to drop one of either Magmar (Flamstrike), Crush (Marrowak with Thick Bone and Rock Head), Chill (Shellder with Skill kink + impish), Staryu (Star) with Natural Cure + Recover and Rediamond (Kanga). They are all pretty good but I gotta drop one of them. hmm still a bit stuck Also RE the Safari Zone I go for one pokemon per area. If it runs then I go for the next pokemon in that area and so on till I finally catch a pokemon. Maybe it makes things to easy but w/e I like diverse teams.
Id drop Kanga and Magmar. Kanga lacks the BST to carry you much farther than you are while even Magmortar will be hard to support with its low speed and poor defensive coverage.
Yeah, Kanga and Mag aren't worth using in Nuzlocke really. The stats don't back them up. Keep your party open.
lol I only need to drop one not two (unless I get something cool later on!) So im tossing up between Kanga and Magmar. I have used Kanga before (Sub/Focus Punch/Outrage/Return) which pretty much took out the Elite 4 Twice and was instrumental in winning the Lance + Clair tag battle. However this is the first time I have got a Magmar in a HG Nuzlocke and was not sure just how useful its Fire attacks would be Anyway after much thought I have decided to run a newly caught Misdreavus instead of Magmar. Works nice with Umbreon and gives me a fighting check which I lack. Cue MASSIVE grind where I try and get my safari pokemon up to the levels of Shadow and Sunbeam
Kanga has fewer weaknesses though, and you are running a good set there. What nature/ability/item is it running?
Previous Parts (Move your mouse to reveal the content) Previous Parts (open) Previous Parts (close) Part 1: Choice Part 2: Morning Part 3: First Blood I'm limiting my image count for this and future updates, they take up too much space to spam. Route 3 revealed a Spearow. It seemed redundant with Sky around, but I caught it and named him Cloud. Mount Moon gives up a Zubat. Of course. Speaking of things for which I am low on nicknames... Puta the Zubat will be boxed as well. Shortly after learning Hyper Fang, Mara was killed by a Bellsprout in Mt. Moon. First death :( Shelly was moved up to active status to replace her. Michael evolved! We beat Super Nerd Miguel and escaped out on to Route 4. Encountering an Ekans, we caught her; Hollie will join the team immediately. Shelly, who is about 200 exp from evolving, will sit in the box again. There's a fair bit of grinding to do before I'll feel confident enough to take on my rival, so I'll close this update for now. Current Team (Move your mouse to reveal the content) Current Team (open) Current Team (close) Michael the Wartortle, Bashful, Level 18 Sky the Pidgey, Brave, Level 17 Hollie the Ekans, Brave, Level 8 Boxed (Move your mouse to reveal the content) Boxed (open) Boxed (close) Cloud the Spearow, Naive, Level 6 Puta the Zubat, Careful, Level 7 Shelly the Kakuna, Modest, Level 9 Dead (Move your mouse to reveal the content) Dead (open) Dead (close) Mara the Rattata, Mild, Level 2-13
Update 5: A fallen friend leads to a new ally. After I crushed Brawly, found Steven, and added Axel the Sableye to my party, I decide to make my way to Slateport. When I arrive on the sandy beaches of Slateport, I start challenging the various trainers, trying to get Axel caught up with my team. Things are going good, until I switch in Maxx against a Machop. Now I know, Dark loses to fighting, but I just wanted the little exp. that I would get, then switch back to Axel. I misclicked, leaving Maxx to take a Low Kick, and pass away before my very eyes. My poor Adamant Maxx... You will be missed. R.I.P. :'[ Well, after this shocking loss, I decide that it's time to take on Team Aqua. They prove to be a piece of cake for Axel, Leonidas, Tia, and Athena. After establishing my dominance over the puny Team Aqua, I head off to Route 110 to replace Maxx. That's where I encounter yet another Pokemon I have never used, Gulpin. I catch the bugger. (Jose, Lv. 12, Jolly) Battling the Trainers along the Route, and May was easy. No losses, and not even a close call. Mauville and Watson, here I come. I feel some grindin' time coming on. (Cause I am lazy atm and I didn't wanna go sprite hunting. lol)
Obligatory daily Update. This one takes me from the Nugget Bridge to Route 6. Update #1 Update #2 Update #3 The Rules (Move your mouse to reveal the content) The Rules (open) The Rules (close) If a Pokemon faints, It will be boxed, never to come out of the PC again. Only catch the first wild Pokemon encountered in an area. Battle Style will be "Set". No Items used outside of battle, with the exception of giving a Pokemon an item or to use a TM. Only Pokeballs are to be bought in a mart. I can leave a Gym to Heal only if I've beaten all the minor trainers. Nicknames are compulsory. A summary of what's happened (Move your mouse to reveal the content) A summary of what's happened (open) A summary of what's happened (close) Picked off at Cerulean City. Went up the notorious Nugget Bridge, where Stingers dies to the fifth member's Mankey...Enter Sparrow, who avenges Stingers death, pecking Mankey into oblivion. Got a Nugget from a team Rocket member! Caught Worm the Caterpie on Route 24, who was boxed immediately. Caught Root the Oddish on Route 25, who stayed on the team as a back up for RootOfEvil. Eventually found a house where a err...Clefairy resided. I helped the Pokemon out & got a Ticket. Then went into the Cerulean Gym, beat the minor trainer with ease & confronted Misty, who wasn't feeling confident after Texas beat him with a Fire Type... I lead out with RootOfEvil & decimated her team with it, following a simple strategy: Leech Seed, Sleep Powder, ATTACK!!! It was such an effective strategy that not even a Critical Hit Swift from Starmie was enough to cause any troubles. I got the Cascade Bade & the TM for water Pule & moved on. I found a digging thief & stopped him in his tracks, despite a close scare for Rock Pile. Caught Ninth Life the Meowth on Route 5, & boxed him, planning to use him as a HM Slave. On Route 6 at the moment. Pokemon (Current Party) (Move your mouse to reveal the content) Pokemon (Current Party) (open) Pokemon (Current Party) (close) Sparrow (Female Spearow) @ Nothing Lv:17/Bashful/Keen Eye -Peck -Growl -Leer -Fury Attack Comments: Has replaced Flapper as recommended, doing a fine job, but appears to be a weak link in the side at the moment. Root (Female Oddish) @ Nothing Lv:17/Bashful/Chlorophyll -Absorb -Sweet Scent -PoisonPowder -Stun Spore Comments: Serving as back up to RootOfEvil, she's doing a good job with a recovery move & Stun Spore. A worthy back up. Rock Pile (Female Geodude) @ Nothing Lv:19/Rash/Rock Head -Mega Punch -Defence Curl -Magnitude -Rock Throw Comments: Rock Pile, like RootOfEvil, is a very powerful member & is critical to my success in this Nuzlocke. Had a few scares, but is doing fine. RootOfEvil (Male Ivysaur) @ Nothing Lv:22/Calm/Overgrow -Tackle -Sleep Powder -Leech Seed -Razor Leaf Comments: The starter & the undisputed leader of the team, always willing to help his team mates when they're near death. RootOfEvil will be critical to my success in this Nuzlocke. Too strong against Misty, takes Critical hit Swifts like a champ. Pokemon (Boxed) (Move your mouse to reveal the content) Pokemon (Boxed) (open) Pokemon (Boxed) (close) Worm (Male Caterpie) @ Nothing Lv:7/Careful/Sheild Dust -Tackle -String Shot Comments: Boxed because it's pathetic. What else? Flapper (Female Pidgey) @ Nothing Lv:13/Jolly/Keen Eye -Tackle -Sand Attack -Gust -Quick Attack Comments: Flapper has been boxed in favour of Sparrow, is a back up in case Sparrow bites the dust. Ninth Life (Male Meowth) @ Nothing Lv:13/Timid/Pickup -Scratch -Growl -Bite Comments: Boxed because it's useless, will be used as an effective HM Slave though. Pokemon (Dead) (Move your mouse to reveal the content) Pokemon (Dead) (open) Pokemon (Dead) (close) Joey (Female Rattata) @ Nothing Lv:9/Modest (Bah...)/Run Away -Tackle -Tail Whip -Quick Attack Comments: First casualty as expected. No-one on the team really liked her anyway. Caught on Route 22 when I really wanted a Nidoran, Joey was weak, & useless. Weak enough to be killed by a Lv14 Spearow. RIP. Stingers (Male Beedrill) @ Nothing Lv:14/Quiet/Shed Skin -Poison Sting -String Shot -Harden -Fury Attack Comments: Stingers was a useful member early game, with a powerful Fury Attack, he was a great member. Sadly, he fell on the Nugget Bridge to a random crit from a Lv18 Mankey's Fury Swipes. He will sorely be missed. RIP. That's all for today's update. Stay tuned for more Nuzlockiness.
I`m covinced that I have (almost) the ultimate HG Nuzlocke team. With Golem, Gengar, Poliwrath, Umbreon and Ambipom my team has amazing defensive and offensive synergy. The only potential to replacement would be an Alakazam over Ambipom. When I get Mamoswine I won`t have any issues with Lance either. While it is true that the team is rather Fighting weak (less so if Alakazam>Ambipom) Specs`d Gengar shits all over and Fighting type with double stab Shadow Ball. Currently running through Radio Tower with my team sittingb between 33-34 after having Poliwrath, Golem and Gengar completely destroy Chuck, Jasmine and Pryce. Specs`d Shadow Balls, Magnitudes (now EQs) and a bunch of Sub Punching. Final note, USE POLIWRATH. He is so amazing as a Sub Puncher, I used a Miltank with sub in a previous Scramble and loved it for shitting all over Lance but I love this thing more with its amazing ingame typing, use him.
I am now taking on the Nuzlocke Challenge on Pokemon FireRed. :D I am now about to take on Misty with RAWR, the Charmeleon, Marmalade, the Butterfree, Rags, the Jigglypuff, and Hermes, the Zubat. Wish me luck! ;D
Nice Team Texas. Mind sharing your team's sets? As for me im still grinding away. The p;lus side is that I now have TWO Water Stones (thanks to me pokethoning whenever I got bored with Grinding. I'm trying to get my team (namely my recently added pokemon) to Level 30. So far my little Ghosty and Crush have both made it. Star and Shellder are both Level 20 odd so I might be able to update late in the day tomorrow.
Lets see Umbreon: Payback, Dig, Confuse Ray, Pursuit (Fanit Attack in 3) Poliwrath: Surf, Body Slam, Focus Punch, Substitute (Waterfall post-Clair) Gengar: Shadow Ball, Focus Blast, Confuse Ray, Curse (Dark Pulse in 1) Golem: Earthquake, Rock Blast, Strength, Rock Smash (Double Edge and Stone Edge be level up) Ambipom: Double Hit, U-Turn, Shadow Claw, Iron Tail (Whatever TMs I find that are useful) Replacement moves in brackets.
I have a few questions about my HG-Nuzlocke. My team is currently Croconaw/Scyther/Nidorina/Stantler/Kadabra/Gastly. Now I wonder if it is worth keeping the Gastly, if I can get it to Gengar at lv 25. By level-up it doesn't learn much more than Shadow Ball and Dark Pulse, and it's kinda frail, so I wonder if I should keep it. Also, I just got my Eevee from Bill, what should I evolve it in, looking at my current team?
Definitely keep Gengar. Ground, Normal, and Fighting immunities, a host of resists, absolutely wastes half of the E4, amazing Speed and Special Attack, and combining Shadow Ball with Focus Blast gives you unresisted type coverage with two spare move slots. If you're going to get rid of anyone, get rid of Alakazam and not Gengar. Slap a Choice Specs on Gengar and watch him rape wholesale face. As for Eevee, you're missing a reliable special sponge and psychic resistance, so I'd suggest Umbreon (unless you're getting Scizor). If you're getting Scizor, go for Jolteon if you can trade for a T-Bolt TM. His movepool isn't that versatile but he fills his niche pretty nicely, and you could always use a reliable electric type for Lance.
I wasn't really planning on using Stantler for long; I just got it, so I though I'd try something with that. I guess I'll drop that for a future Umbreon then. Too bad it has to be max happiness and all that jazz :/ Time to walk around a lot lol.
So, I started a Diamond Nuzlocke today, and am currently grinding to face Mars, as I have only two competent party members, as my Turtwig was killed... BY A FUCKING LEVEL 7 PACHIRISU. DAMN YOU, RAZOR LEAF MISSES + BIDE. Argh, whatever. Fianna the Zubat, and Wingala the Staravia, it's all you, chicas! Rules are just the basics, really. Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to grind FOREVER.


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Customer Reviews
Simply the best liver formula !!!
17 people found the following review helpful
Posted by vinetu28 From Bulgaria on Aug 31, 2012
Purchased at iHerb
I have been a wine lover for many years. I can drink quite a bit more than you average guy. It is not out of the question to drink 8-10 glasses of wine in a day. I always drink at night after work and never had any negative effects on the job as I can function fine the next day. The problem came a year ago when in a routine physical my doc did blood tests and my liver function tests showed VERY elevated levels...like over 3-4 times what they should be. I didn't pay heed much but did taper my drinking for awhile. Time went by, I put it out of my mind and when I really did try to control my number of drinks I again went to a doctor to explore my options. I took another liver function test and they were all sky high. He asked me to reduce my drinking and return in 2 1/2 weeks to repeat the tests. I immediately researched fatty liver and started to find that this product had a lot of buzz on the internet. I ordered it priority overnight shipping and I also went to Trader Joe's and bought Milk Thistle. I took the recommended dose for the next 2 1/2 weeks and returned to get my blood tested again. My liver enzymes were all down significantly in just 2 weeks! To make it more amazing I did reduce my drinking some but was still drinking 4-6 a day. When my doctors and the nurses told me that this was something they have never seen in patients that fast when they stopped drinking. They said "I don't know what you are doing, but keep doing it!" That was enough for me. I continued to take these as well as 1000 mg of milk thistle a day since and I can not believe how much better I feel. I still struggle to moderate drinking but this product clearly made me feel better by helping my liver detoxify my system. I definitely recommend this for any reason you have to think your liver function is compromised from medications or other toxins we all put in our bodies !
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Helped to lower my enzyme levels
7 people found the following review helpful
Posted by Reviewer3110915 From Pennsylvania on Dec 29, 2009
Purchased at iHerb
This product helped to bring my enzyme levels back into the normal range. If I stop taking for a time my levels begin to creap back up. I get blood tests frequently so I am able to track results pretty closely.
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Himalaya USA, Livercare, 90 Veggie Caps
5 people found the following review helpful
Posted by Reviewer1972894 From Switzerland on Feb 17, 2011
Purchased at iHerb
I get the best results from this product after a heavy, greasy meal when my liver needs a little support. (2 capsules for a normal heavy meal, 3 for a very heavy meal...e.g. Schnitzel or a Fondue) I don't get that very tired, sleepy feeling then! :-))
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Pure products
1 person found the following review helpful
Posted by Krisinsight From Minnesota on Dec 07, 2011
Purchased at iHerb
I really like Himalaya Herbal supplements as there are no fillers or additives like so many other ones on the market.
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Not sure...
1 person found the following review helpful
Posted by Reviewer1315766 on Feb 24, 2011
Purchased at iHerb
but I'm giving it a whirl
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subset: commoncrawl


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Posted March 31, 2012
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"Our support for the [the Afghan] government ... reminds me horribly of our involvement with South Vietnam: an unpopular and corrupt government we backed at the expense of our nation's own internal peace," Hoh wrote.
The U.S. government's ongoing strategy to reform Afghanistan to stop an al-Qaeda resurgence would "require us to additionally invade and occupy western Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan [and] Yemen.
"Our presence in Afghanistan has only increased destabilization and insurgency in Pakistan," Hoh wrote in his letter of resignation.
Hastings also criticizes the speech Obama delivered at West Point in December 2009 to escalate the war.
Obama's message, Hastings writes, was that he was "going to triple the scope of the war, an unprecedented escalation that will create an almost entirely new conflict.
"The loophole for an indefinite stay is kept wide open."
The real Petraeus scandal
Last month, news reports revealed that David Petraeus, McChrystal's successor, had an affair with Paula Broadwell, who recently published a glowing biography of Petraeus: "All In: The Education of General Petraeus."
Petraeus resigned as director of the Central Intelligence Agency on Nov. 9, just after the sex sandal broke.
Hastings said Petraeus' questionable military policies are vastly more important than his Broadwell affair -- another point overlooked by most of the mainstream media.
When Petraeus, who also commanded U.S. forces in Iraq, took charge in Afghanistan, Hastings writes, "He turned to a network of warlords, drug runners and thieves known as the Afghan government to implement his strategy."
Claiming progress, Petraeus stepped up the level of violence in Afghanistan, ordering more attacks by Special Forces teams and more armed strikes from tanks, airplanes and helicopters.
"Rather then decreasing the threat of terrorism, our large-scale troop interventions spawned an unprecedented level of suicide bombers," Hastings writes.
"The Operators" also raises questions about the long-term stability of the Afghan military. Hastings points out just 20 percent of its recruits can read, a quarter of all recruits desert "on a regular basis," child rape is endemic in the military and up to 60 percent of troops regularly smoke hash.
Hastings praises Vice President Joe Biden, who has become increasingly critical of the Afghanistan war.
Meanwhile, Obama seems to ignore many critics of the war, including Richard Holbrooke, an ambassador and foreign-policy adviser to several presidents. Between January 2009 and December 2010, Holbrooke served as a "special envoy" to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"Obama's failure to embrace and listen to Holbrooke represented a larger failure to get control of the war in Afghanistan," Hastings argues.
The "media-military-industrial complex" has gained too much control today.
"Trash Sarah Palin all you want," Hastings writes, "but tread carefully when writing about the sacred cows like McChrystal and Petraeus. You're supposed to keep the myths going."
Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.


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aewm is a minimalist window manager for X11. It has no nifty features, but is light on resources and extremely simple in appearance. It should eventually make a good reference implementation of the ICCCM. A few separate programs are included to handle running programs, switching between windows, etc.
A tool that makes it easier to resolve TCP/IP connection errors.


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Straight out of Palermo, we are proud to present our latest discovery, Di Bruno Bros. Unfiltered Extra Virgin Sicilian Olive Oil. Learn More
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Dangerous driving conditions in snowy Christchurch
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Athabasca oil sands
Athabasca oil sands | |
Country | Canada |
Region | Northern Alberta |
Offshore/onshore | Onshore, mining |
Coordinates | 57°01′N 111°39′W / 57.02°N 111.65°WCoordinates: 57°01′N 111°39′W / 57.02°N 111.65°W |
Operators | Syncrude, Suncor, CNRL, Shell, Total, Imperial Oil, Petro Canada, Devon, Husky, Statoil, Nexen |
Partners | Chevron, Marathon, ConocoPhillips, BP, Oxy |
Field history | |
Discovery | 1848 |
Start of production | 1967 |
Production | |
Current production of oil | 1,300,000 barrels per day (~6.5×10 7 t/a)[1] |
Estimated oil in place | 133,000 million barrels (~1.81×10 10 t)[2] |
Producing formations | McMurray, Clearwater, Grand Rapids |
The Athabasca oil sands (also called the Athabasca tar sands or Alberta tar sands) are large deposits of bitumen or extremely heavy crude oil, located in northeastern Alberta, Canada – roughly centred on the boomtown of Fort McMurray. These oil sands, hosted in the McMurray Formation, consist of a mixture of crude bitumen (a semi-solid form of crude oil), silica sand, clay minerals, and water. The Athabasca deposit is the largest known reservoir of crude bitumen in the world and the largest of three major oil sands deposits in Alberta, along with the nearby Peace River and Cold Lake deposits.[3]
Together, these oil sand deposits lie under 141,000 square kilometres (54,000 sq mi) of boreal forest and muskeg (peat bogs) and contain about 1.7 trillion barrels (270×10 9 m3) of bitumen in-place, comparable in magnitude to the world's total proven reserves of conventional petroleum. Although the former CEO of Shell Canada, Clive Mather, estimated Canada's reserves to be 2 trillion barrels (320 km3) or more, the International Energy Agency (IEA) lists Canada's reserves as being 178 billion barrels (2.83×1010 m3).[3]
With modern unconventional oil production technology, at least 10% of these deposits, or about 170 billion barrels (27×10 9 m3) were considered to be economically recoverable at 2006 prices, making Canada's total proven reserves the third largest in the world, after Saudi Arabia's and Venezuela's Orinoco tar sands.[4] Canada's oil sands are found in three deposits –The Athabasca oil sands deposit is the largest of Canada's three oil sands. The two others are in the Peace River and Cold Lake areas in Alberta and part of Saskatchewan. By 2009, the two extraction methods used were in situ (Latin, meaning "in place") extraction, when the bitumen occurs deeper within the ground, (which will account for 80 percent of oil sands development) and surface or open-pit mining, when the bitumen is closer to the surface. Only 20 percent of bitumen can be extracted using open pit mining methods,[5] which involves large scale excavation of the land with huge hydraulic power shovels and 400-ton heavy hauler trucks. Surface mining leaves toxic tailings ponds. In contrast, in situ uses more specialized techniques such as Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). "Eighty per cent of the oil sands will be developed in situ which accounts for 97.5 per cent of the total surface area of the oil sands region in Alberta."[6] In 2006 the Athabasca deposit was the only large oil sands reservoir in the world which was suitable for large-scale surface mining, although most of it can only be produced using more recently developed in-situ technology.[4]
On 17 June 2013 the newly formed corporation, Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) [7] was phased in with a mandate to regulate oil, gas and coal development in Alberta including the Athabasca oil sands.[8][9] The AER brings together "the regulatory functions from the Energy Resources Conservation Board and the Alberta Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development into a one-stop shop" [10] The Alberta Energy Regulator is now "responsible for all projects from application to reclamation." They will respond to project proponents, landowners and industry regarding energy regulations in Alberta.[10] The Responsible Energy Development Act gave the Alberta Energy Regulator "the authority to administer the Public Lands Act, the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act and the Water Act, with regards to energy development."[10] The Alberta Energy Regulator will enforce environmental laws and issue environmental and water permits, responsibilities formerly the mandate of Alberta Environment.[8][11]
- 1 History
- 2 Oil sands production
- 3 Future production
- 4 Governance
- 5 Development
- 6 Bitumen extraction
- 7 Environmental impacts
- 8 Population
- 9 Estimated oil reserves
- 10 Economics
- 11 Geopolitical importance
- 12 Indigenous peoples of the area
- 13 Oil sand companies
- 14 Court ordered sanctions
- 15 See also
- 16 Notes
- 17 References
- 18 Further reading
- 19 Video material
- 20 External links
The Athabasca oil sands are named after the Athabasca River which cuts through the heart of the deposit, and traces of the heavy oil are readily observed on the river banks. Historically, the bitumen was used by the indigenous Cree and Dene Aboriginal peoples to waterproof their canoes.[12] The oil deposits are located within the boundaries of Treaty 8, and several First Nations of the area are involved with the sands.
The Athabasca oil sands first came to the attention of European fur traders in 1719 when Wa-pa-su, a Cree trader, brought a sample of bituminous sands to the Hudson's Bay Company post at York Factory on Hudson Bay where Henry Kelsey was the manager. In 1778, Peter Pond, another fur trader and a founder of the rival North West Company, became the first European to see the Athabasca deposits after exploring the Methye Portage which allowed access to the rich fur resources of the Athabasca River system from the Hudson Bay watershed.[13]
In 1788, fur trader Alexander MacKenzie (who later discovered routes to both the Arctic and Pacific Oceans from this area) wrote: "At about 24 miles (39 km) from the fork (of the Athabasca and Clearwater Rivers) are some bituminous fountains into which a pole of 20 feet (6.1 m) long may be inserted without the least resistance. The bitumen is in a fluid state and when mixed with gum, the resinous substance collected from the spruce fir, it serves to gum the Indians' canoes." He was followed in 1799 by map maker David Thompson and in 1819 by British Naval officer John Franklin.[14]
John Richardson did the first serious scientific assessment of the oil sands in 1848 on his way north to search for Franklin's lost expedition. The first government-sponsored survey of the oil sands was initiated in 1875 by John Macoun, and in 1883, G.C. Hoffman of the Geological Survey of Canada tried separating the bitumen from oil sand with the use of water and reported that it separated readily. In 1888, Robert Bell, the director of the Geological Survey of Canada, reported to a Senate Committee that "The evidence ... points to the existence in the Athabasca and Mackenzie valleys of the most extensive petroleum field in America, if not the world."[13]
Count Alfred von Hammerstein (1870–1941), who arrived in the region in 1897, promoted the Athabaska oil sands for over forty years, taking photos with descriptive titles such as "Tar Sands and Flowing Asphaltum in the Athabasca District," that are now in the National Library and National Archives Canada. Photos of the Athabasca oil sands were also featured in Canadian writer and adventurer, Agnes Deans Cameron's, best-selling book(Cameron & 1908 71)[15] entitled The New North: Being Some Account of a Woman's Journey through Canada to the Arctic which recounted her 10,000 mile-round trip to the Arctic Ocean. Following this journey and the publication of her book, she travelled extensively as lecturer, with magic lantern slides of her Kodak images, promoting immigration to western Canada at Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrew's University and the Royal Geographical Society.[16] Her photographs were reproduced in 2011-2012 in an exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, Canada.(Gismondi & 2012 71)[17] Cameron was particularly enthusiastic about the Athabaska region and the Athabaska oil sands which included photos of Count Alfred Von Hammerstein's oil drill works along the Athabasca River. "While the Count was unsuccessful drilling for "elephant pools of oil," Cameron's book and its images... made her a media celebrity."(Gismondi & 2012 71)[17] "In all Canada there is no more interesting stretch of waterway than that upon which we are entering. An earth-movement here has created a line of fault clearly visible for seventy or eighty miles along the river-bank, out of which oil oozes at frequent intervals. […] Tar there is […] in plenty. […] It oozes from every fissure, and into some bituminous tar well we can poke a twenty foot pole and find no resistance.(1909 & Cameron 71)[15] cited in (Gismondi & 2012 71)[17]
In 1926, Karl Clark of the University of Alberta received a patent for a hot water separation process which was the forerunner of today's thermal extraction processes. Several attempts to implement it had varying degrees of success, but it was 1967 before the first commercially viable operation began with the opening of the Great Canadian Oil Sands (now Suncor) plant using surfactants in the separation process developed by Earl W. Malmberg of Sun Oil Company.
Oil sands production[edit]
Commercial production of oil from the Athabasca oil sands began in 1967, when Great Canadian Oil Sands Limited (then a subsidiary of Sun Oil Company but now incorporated into an independent company known as Suncor Energy) opened its first mine, producing 30,000 barrels per day (4,800 m3/d) of synthetic crude oil.[18] Development was inhibited by declining world oil prices, and the second mine, operated by the Syncrude consortium, did not begin operating until 1978, after the 1973 oil crisis sparked investor interest.
However the price of oil subsided afterwards and although the 1979 energy crisis caused oil prices to peak again, during the 1980s, oil prices declined to very low levels causing considerable retrenchment in the oil industry. The third mine, operated by Shell Canada, did not begin operating until 2003. However, as a result of oil price increases since 2003, the existing mines have been greatly expanded and new ones are being planned.
According to the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, 2005 production of crude bitumen in the Athabasca oil sands was as follows:
2005 Production | m3/day | bbl/day |
Suncor Mine | 31,000 | 195,000 |
Syncrude Mine | 41,700 | 262,000 |
Shell Canada Mine | 26,800 | 169,000 |
In Situ Projects | 21,300 | 134,000 |
Total | 120,800 | 760,000 |
As of 2006, oil sands production had increased to 1.126 million barrels per day (179,000 m3/d). Oil sands were the source of 62% of Alberta's total oil production and 47% of all oil produced in Canada.[19] As of 2010, oil sands production had increased to over 1.6 million barrels per day (250,000 m3/d), where 53% of this was produced by surface mining and 47% by in-situ. The Alberta government believes this level of production could reach 3.5 Mbbl/d (560,000 m3/d) by 2020 and possibly 5 Mbbl/d (790,000 m3/d) by 2030.[20]
Canada is the largest source of oil imported by the United States, supplying nearly a million barrels a day from oil sand sources. Keystone XL, a pipeline from Alberta to Gulf coast refineries, is under consideration,[21] as is the North Gateway project to Kitimat, B.C. which would be built by Enbridge, operator of the Enbridge Pipeline System which also serves the area.[22] Industry observers believe there may be excess pipeline capacity.[23] Kinder Morgan has made another proposal for a west coast pipeline while Enbridge also proposes Eastern Access, a pipeline to refineries in Montreal and possibly to a terminal in Portland, Maine, as well as expansion of an existing pipeline to Chicago.[24] Environmental and First Nations opposition to all these projects is anticipated, and planned.[25]
Future production[edit]
As of December 2008, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers revised its 2008–2020 crude oil forecasts to account for project cancellations and cutbacks as a result of the price declines in the second half of 2008. The revised forecast predicted that Canadian oil sands production would continue to grow, but at a slower rate than previously predicted. There would be minimal changes to 2008–2012 production, but by 2020 production could be 300,000 barrels per day (48,000 m3/d) less than its prior predictions. This would mean that Canadian oil sands production would grow from 1.2 million barrels per day (190,000 m3/d) in 2008 to 3.3 million barrels per day (520,000 m3/d) in 2020, and that total Canadian oil production would grow from 2.7 to 4.1 million barrels per day (430,000 to 650,000 m3/d) in 2020.[26] Even accounting for project cancellations, this would place Canada among the four or five largest oil-producing countries in the world by 2020.
In early December 2007, London based BP and Calgary based Husky Energy announced a 50/50 joint venture to produce and refine bitumen from the Athabasca oil sands. BP would contribute its Toledo, Ohio refinery to the joint venture, while Husky would contribute its Sunrise oil sands project. Sunrise was planned to start producing 60,000 barrels per day (9,500 m3/d) of bitumen in 2012 and may reach 200,000 bbl/d (32,000 m3/d) by 2015–2020. BP would modify its Toledo refinery to process 170,000 bbl/d (27,000 m3/d) of bitumen directly to refined products. The joint venture would solve problems for both companies, since Husky was short of refining capacity, and BP had no presence in the oil sands. It was a change of strategy for BP, since the company historically has downplayed the importance of oil sands.[27]
In mid December 2007, ConocoPhillips announced its intention to increase its oil sands production from 60,000 barrels per day (9,500 m3/d) to 1 million barrels per day (160,000 m3/d) over the next 20 years, which would make it the largest private sector oil sands producer in the world. ConocoPhillips currently holds the largest position in the Canadian oil sands with over 1 million acres (4,000 km2) under lease. Other major oil sands producers planning to increase their production include Royal Dutch Shell (to 770,000 bbl/d (122,000 m3/d)); Syncrude Canada (to 550,000 bbl/d (87,000 m3/d)); Suncor Energy (to 500,000 bbl/d (79,000 m3/d)) and Canadian Natural Resources (to 500,000 bbl/d (79,000 m3/d)).[28] If all these plans come to fruition, these five companies will be producing over 3.3 Mbbl/d (520,000 m3/d) of oil from oil sands by 2028.
Project Name | Type | Major Partners | National Affiliation |
2007 Production (barrels/day) |
Planned Production (barrels/day) |
Suncor | Primarily Mining | Suncor Energy | Canada | 239,100 | 500,000 |
Syncrude | Mining | Syncrude | Canada (some China, USA) | 307,000 | 550,000 |
Albian Sands | Mining | Shell(60%), Chevron(20%), Marathon(20%)[30] | UK/Netherlands, USA | 136,000 | 770,000 |
MacKay River | SAGD | Suncor Energy | Canada | 30,000 | 190,000 |
Fort Hills | Mining | Suncor Energy(60%), UTS Energy(20%), Teck(20%)[31] | Canada | — | 140,000 |
Foster Creek, Christina Lake[32] | SAGD | Cenovus Energy[33](50%), ConocoPhillips(50%) | Canada, USA | 6,000 | 400,000 [34] |
Surmont | SAGD | Total S.A.(50%), ConocoPhillips(50%) | France, USA | — | 193,000[34] |
Hangingstone[35] | SAGD | Japan Canada Oil Sands (JACOS) | Japan | 8,000 | 30,000 |
Long Lake | SAGD | Nexen(65%), OPTI Canada(35%)[36][37] | Canada | — | 240,000 |
Horizon | Mining and in situ | Canadian Natural Resources Limited | Canada | — | 500,000[38] |
Jackfish I and II | SAGD | Devon Energy | USA | ?? | 70,000[39] |
Northern Lights | Mining | Total S.A.(60%), Sinopec(40%)[40][41][42] | France, China | — | 100,000 |
Kearl | Mining | Imperial Oil, ExxonMobil | USA | — | 300,000[43] |
Sunrise | SAGD | Husky Energy(50%), BP(50%)[44] | Canada, UK | — | 200,000[44] |
Tucker | SAGD | Husky Energy | Canada | ?? | 30,000[45] |
Oil Sands Project | Mining and SAGD | Total S.A. (76%), Oxy (15%), Inpex (10%) | France, USA, Japan | — | 225,000 |
Ells River | SAGD | Chevron(60%), Marathon(20%), Shell(20%) | USA, UK/Netherlands | — | 100,000[46] |
Terre de Grace | SAGD | Value Creation Inc | Canada | — | 300,000[47] |
Kai Kos Dehseh | SAGD | Statoil | Norway | — | 200,000[48] |
Saleski | SAGD | Laricina Energy(60%), OSUM(40%) | Canada | — | 270,000[49] |
Black Gold Mine | Mining? | Korea National Oil Corporation | South Korea | — | 30,000[50] |
Total | 726,100 | 5,068,000 |
The governance of the Alberta oil sands is focused on economic development, and has historically been dominated by the interests of two primary actors; government (federal and provincial) and industry. Canadian federalism forms the functions and roles of each level of government, in that constitutional power is split so that neither is superior to the other.[51] The Constitution Act, 1867, Section 109 ensures the province full ownership of the lands and resources within its borders. The province acts as the landowner and the federal government oversees jurisdiction over trade, commerce and taxation. There is a clear overlap, as resource management influences trade, and trade management influences resources.[52] As of the 1990s, both the federal and provincial government have been aligned, focusing on regulation, technology and the development of new export markets.[53] The majority of "ground-level" governance is carried out by a number of provincial institutions.
Ottawa has avoided direct investment, preferring to improve the investment climate. A prime example of this occurred in 1994, when the federal government rolled out tax breaks allowing 100% of oil sands capital investments to be written off as accelerated capital cost allowances.[54] The provincial government had a much more direct role in development; investing directly in numerous pilot projects, undertaking joint ventures with the industry and consistently making massive investments in research and development. Alberta features one of the lowest royalty rates in the world.[55] This industry-centric royalty system is criticised for "promoting a runaway pace of development".[56][57]
Industry is the core force of oil sands development. The first major players, Suncor Energy and Syncrude, dominated the market until the 1990s. Currently there are 64 companies operating several hundred projects.[58] The majority of production now comes from foreign-owned corporations,[59] and the necessity of maintaining a favourable climate for these corporations grants them strong influence; much stronger than that of non-productive stakeholders, such as citizens and environmental groups.[56]
Governance (policy, administration, regulation) over the oil sands is held almost entirely by the Ministry of Energy (Alberta) and its various departments. Critics noted a clear and systemic lack of public involvement at all key stages of the governance process.[60] In answer to this, the province initiated the Oil Sands Consultations Multistakeholder Committee (MSC) in 2006. The MSC represents four organisations: the Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA), the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA), the Canadian Oil Sands Network for Research and Development (CONRAD) and the Athabasca Regional Issues Working Group (RIWG).[56] The role of the MSC is to consult and make recommendations on management principles.[61] The recommendations contained in the MSC's first 2007 Final Report were lauded by several ministers and government representatives,[62] but none have yet been effectively passed into law.
On October 17, 2012, the Alberta government announced it would follow the recommendations of a working group to develop an agency that would monitor the environmental impact of the oil sands. "The new science-based agency will begin work in the oil sands region and will focus on what is monitored, how it's monitored and where it's monitored. This will include integrated and coordinated monitoring of land, air, water and biodiversity," said a press release from Diana McQueen's office, the Minister of Energy and Sustainable Development.[63] The provincial government moved to develop the agency after widespread public criticism by environmentalists, aboriginal groups and scientists, who claimed the oil sands would have a devastating, long-term effect on the environment if left unchecked.[64]
The key characteristic of the Athabasca deposit is that it is the only one shallow enough to be suitable for surface mining. About 10% of the Athabasca oil sands are covered by less than 75 metres (246 ft) of overburden. Until 2009, the surface mineable area (SMA) was defined by the ERCB, an agency of the Alberta government, to cover 37 contiguous townships (about 3,400 km2 or 1,300 sq mi) north of the city of Fort McMurray. In June 2009, the SMA was expanded to 51.5 townships, or about 4,700 km2 or 1,800 sq mi.[65] This expansion pushes the northern limit of the SMA to within 12 miles (19 km) of Wood Buffalo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The overburden consists of 1 to 3 metres of water-logged muskeg on top of 0 to 75 metres of clay and barren sand, while the underlying oil sands are typically 40 to 60 metres thick and sit on top of relatively flat limestone rock. As a result of the easy accessibility, the world's first oil sands mine was started by Great Canadian Oil Sands Limited (a predecessor company of Suncor Energy) in 1967. The Syncrude mine followed in 1978 and is now the largest mine (by area) in the world at 191 km2.[66]
The Albian Sands mine (operated by Shell Canada) opened in 2003. All three of these mines are associated with bitumen upgraders that convert the unusable bitumen into synthetic crude oil for shipment to refineries in Canada and the United States. For Albian, the upgrader is located at Scotford, 439 km south. The bitumen, diluted with a solvent, is transferred there in a 610 millimetres (24 in) corridor pipeline.
The Energy Resource Conservation Board has approved over 100 mining and in-situ projects despite the negative environmental impacts. [67] As of 2012, there was 9 active open mining projects, more than 50 approved in-situ projects as well as 190 primary recovery projects extracting bitumen that is free flowing. The ERCB has also approved 20 projects that are testing unproven technology as well as new versions of existing technologies.[68]
Bitumen extraction[edit]
The original process for extraction of bitumen from the sands was developed by Dr. Karl Clark, working with the Alberta Research Council in the 1920s.[69] Today, all of the producers doing surface mining, such as Syncrude Canada, Suncor Energy and Albian Sands Energy etc., use a variation of the Clark Hot Water Extraction (CHWE) process. In this process, the ores are mined using open-pit mining technology. The mined ore is then crushed for size reduction. Hot water at 50-80 °C is added to the ore and the formed slurry is transported using hydrotransport line to a primary separation vessel (PSV) where bitumen is recovered by flotation as bitumen froth. The recovered bitumen froth consists of 60% bitumen, 30% water and 10% solids by weight.[70]
The recovered bitumen froth needs to be cleaned to reject the contained solids and water to meet the requirement of downstream upgrading processes. Depending on the bitumen content in the ore, between 90 and 100% of the bitumen can be recovered using modern hot water extraction techniques.[71] After oil extraction, the spent sand and other materials are then returned to the mine, which is eventually reclaimed.
Steam-assisted gravity drainage[edit]
See main article - Steam-assisted gravity drainage. Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is an enhanced oil recovery technology for producing heavy crude oil and bitumen. It is an advanced form of steam stimulation in which a pair of horizontal wells are drilled into the oil reservoir, one a few metres above the other. High pressure steam is continuously injected into the upper wellbore to heat the oil and reduce its viscosity, causing the heated oil to drain into the lower wellbore, where it is pumped out to a bitumen recovery facility. Dr. Roger Butler, engineer at Imperial Oil from 1955 to 1982, invented steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) in the 1970s. Butler "developed the concept of using horizontal pairs of wells and injected steam to develop certain deposits of bitumen considered too deep for mining."[72][73]
More recently, in situ methods like steam-assisted gravity-drainage (SAGD) and cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) have been developed to extract bitumen from deep deposits by injecting steam to heat the sands and reduce the bitumen viscosity so that it can be pumped out like conventional crude oil.[74]
The standard extraction process requires huge amounts of natural gas. As of 2007, the oil sands industry used about 4% of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin natural gas production. By 2015, this may increase 2.5 fold.[75]
According to the National Energy Board, it requires about 1,200 cubic feet (34 m3) of natural gas to produce one barrel of bitumen from in situ projects and about 700 cubic feet (20 m3) for integrated projects.[76] Since a barrel of oil equivalent is about 6,000 cubic feet (170 m3) of gas, this represents a large gain in energy. That being the case, it is likely that Alberta regulators will reduce exports of natural gas to the United States in order to provide fuel to the oil sands plants. As gas reserves are exhausted, however, oil upgraders will probably turn to bitumen gasification to generate their own fuel. In much the same way as bitumen can be converted into synthetic crude oil, it can also be converted into synthetic natural gas.
In 2006, in-situ extraction on a commercial scale was in its early stages.(Nexen 2006) Nearing completion, the Long Lake Project, was designed to provide its own fuel, by on-site hydrocracking of the bitumen extracted.(Nexen 2006)[77] Long Lake Phase 1 is extracting 34,500 barrels per day (5,490 m3/d) of bitumen as of 2012, ramping towards a target of 72,000.(Reuters 2012)[78]
Environmental impacts[edit]
Critics contend that government and industry measures taken to reduce environmental and health risks posed by large-scale mining operations are inadequate, causing unacceptable damage to the natural environment and human welfare.[79][80] Objective discussion of the environmental impacts has often been clouded by polarized arguments from industry and from advocacy groups.[81][82][83]
Approximately 20% of Alberta's oil sands are recoverable through open-pit mining, while 80% require in situ extraction technologies (largely because of their depth). Open pit mining destroys the boreal forest and muskeg, while in situ extraction technologies cause less significant damage. The Alberta government requires companies to restore the land to "equivalent land capability". This means that the ability of the land to support various land uses after reclamation is similar to what existed, but that the individual land uses may not necessarily be identical.[84]
In some particular circumstances the government considers agricultural land to be equivalent to forest land. Oil sands companies have reclaimed mined land to use as pasture for wood bison instead of restoring it to the original boreal forest and muskeg. Syncrude asserts they have reclaimed 22% of their disturbed land,[85] a figure disputed by other sources, who assess Syncrude more accurately reclaimed only 0.2% of its disturbed land.[86]
A Pembina Institute report stated "To produce one cubic metre (m3) of synthetic crude oil (SCO) (upgraded bitumen) in a mining operation requires about 2–4.5 m3 of water (net figures). Approved oil sands mining operations are currently licensed to divert 359 million m3 from the Athabasca River, or more than twice the volume of water required to meet the annual municipal needs of the City of Calgary."[87] and went on to say "...the net water requirement to produce a cubic metre of oil with in situ production may be as little as 0.2 m3, depending on how much is recycled".
The Athabasca River runs 1,231 kilometres from the Athabasca Glacier in west-central Alberta to Lake Athabasca in northeastern Alberta.[88] The average annual flow just downstream of Fort McMurray is 633 cubic metres per second[89] with its highest daily average measuring 1,200 cubic metres per second.[90]
Water licence allocations total about 1% of the Athabasca River average annual flow, though actual withdrawals for all uses, in 2006, amount to about 0.4%.[91] In addition, the Alberta government sets strict limits on how much water oil sands companies can remove from the Athabasca River. According to the Water Management Framework for the Lower Athabasca River, during periods of low river flow water consumption from the Athabasca River is limited to 1.3% of annual average flow.[92] The province of Alberta is also looking into cooperative withdrawal agreements between oil sands operators.[93]
Since the beginning of the oil sands development, there have been several leaks into the Athabasca River polluting it with oil and tailing pond water. The close proximity of the tailing ponds to the river drastically increases the likely hood of contamination due to ground water leakages. In 1997, Suncor admitted that their tailing ponds had been leaking 1,600 cubic meters of toxic water into the river a day. This water contains naphthenic acid, trace metals such as mercury and other pollutants. The Athabasca River is the largest freshwater delta in the world but with Suncor and Syncrude leaking tail ponds the amount of polluted water will exceed 1 billion cubic meters by 2020.[94]
Natural toxicants derived from bitumen in Northern Alberta pose potential ecological and human health risks to northerners living in the area. Oil sands development contributes arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel other metal elements toxic at low concentrations to the tributaries and rivers of the Athabasca.[95]
Natural gas use and greenhouse gases[edit]
The processing of bitumen into synthetic crude requires energy, which is currently being generated by burning natural gas. In 2007, the oil sands used around 1 billion cubic feet (28,000,000 m3) of natural gas per day, around 40% of Alberta's total usage. Based on gas purchases, natural gas requirements are given by the Canadian Energy Resource Institute as 2.14 GJ (2.04 thousand cu ft) per barrel for cyclic steam stimulation projects, 1.08 GJ (1.03 thousand cu ft) per barrel for SAGD projects, 0.55 GJ (0.52 thousand cu ft) per barrel for bitumen extraction in mining operations not including upgrading or 1.54 GJ (1.47 thousand cu ft) per barrel for extraction and upgrading in mining operations.[96]
A 2009 study by CERA estimated that production from Canada's oil sands emits "about 5 percent to 15 percent more carbon dioxide, over the "well-to-wheels" lifetime analysis of the fuel, than average crude oil."[97] Author and investigative journalist David Strahan that same year stated that IEA figures show that carbon dioxide emissions from the oil sands are 20% higher than average emissions from oil, explaining the discrepancy as the difference between upstream emissions and life cycle emissions.[98] He goes on to say that a US government report in 2005 suggested with current technology conventional oil releases 40 kg of carbon dioxide per barrel while non-conventional oil releases 80–115 kg of carbon dioxide. Alberta energy suggests lower releases of carbon with improving technology, giving a value of 39% drop in emissions per barrel between 1990 and 2008,[99] however only a 29% reduction between 1990 and 2009.[100]
The forecast growth in synthetic oil production in Alberta also threatens Canada's international commitments. In ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, Canada agreed to reduce, by 2012, its greenhouse gas emissions by 6% with respect to 1990. In 2002, Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions had increased by 24% since 1990. Oil Sands production contributed 3.4% of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions in 2003.[101]
Ranked as the world's eighth largest emitter of greenhouse gases, Canada is a relatively large emitter given its population and is missing its Kyoto targets. A major Canadian initiative called the Integrated CO2 Network (ICO2N) promotes the development of large scale capture, transport and storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) as a means of helping Canada to help meet climate change objectives while supporting economic growth. ICO2N members represent a group of industry participants, many oil sands producers, providing a framework for carbon capture and storage development in Canada.[102]
In Northern Alberta, oil development activities bring an enormous number of people into a fragile ecosystem. Historically, population figures have been very low for this region. Water is easily polluted because the water table reaches the surface in most areas of muskeg. With the ever-increasing development and extraction of resources, wildlife are recipient to both direct and indirect effects of pollution. Woodland Caribou are particularly sensitive to human activities, and as such are pushed away from their preferred habitat during the time of year when their caloric needs are greatest and food is the most scarce. Humans' effect on the Caribou is compounded by road construction and habitat fragmentation that open the area up to deer and wolves.[103]
Wildlife living near the Athabasca River have been greatly impacted due to pollutants entering the water system. An unknown number of birds die each year. Particularly visible and hard hit are migrating birds that stop to rest at tailing ponds. There have been numerous reports of large flocks of ducks landing in tailing ponds and perishing soon after.[104] Data has been recorded since the 1970s on the number of birds found on tailing ponds.[105]
There has also been a large impact on the fish that live and spawn in the area. As toxins accumulate in the river due to the oil sands, bizarre mutations, tumors, and deformed fish species have begun to appear. A study commissioned by the region's health authority found that several known toxins and carcinogens were elevated.[106] Aboriginal communities that live around the river are becoming increasingly worried about how the animals they eat and their drinking water are being affected.[107]
While there has been no link yet made between the oil sands and health issues, Matt Price of Environmental Defense says the connection makes common sense. Deformities in fish and high concentrations of toxic substances in animals have also been identified.[108]
The Athabasca oil sands are located in the northeastern portion of the Canadian province of Alberta, near the city of Fort McMurray. The area is only sparsely populated, and in the late 1950s, it was primarily a wilderness outpost of a few hundred people whose main economic activities included fur trapping and salt mining. From a population of 37,222 in 1996, the boomtown of Fort McMurray and the surrounding region (known as the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo) grew to 79,810 people as of 2006, including a "shadow population" of 10,442 living in work camps,[109] leaving the community struggling to provide services and housing for migrant workers, many of them from Eastern Canada, especially Newfoundland. Fort McMurray ceased to be an incorporated city in 1995 and is now an urban service area within Wood Buffalo.[110]
Estimated oil reserves[edit]
This section is outdated. (January 2013) |
The Alberta government's Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) estimated in 2007 that about 173 billion barrels (27.5×10 9 m3) of crude bitumen were economically recoverable from the three Alberta oil sands areas based on then-current technology and price projections from the 2006 market prices of $62 per barrel for benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI), rising to a projected $69 per barrel. This was equivalent to about 10% of the estimated 1,700 billion barrels (270×10 9 m3) of bitumen-in-place.[2] Alberta estimated that the Athabasca deposits alone contain 35 billion barrels (5.6×10 9 m3) of surface mineable bitumen and 98 billion barrels (15.6×10 9 m3) of bitumen recoverable by in-situ methods. These estimates of Canada's reserves were doubted when they were first published but are now largely accepted by the international oil industry. This volume placed Canadian proven reserves second in the world behind those of Saudi Arabia.
Only 3% of the initial established crude bitumen reserves have been produced since commercial production started in 1967. At rate of production projected for 2015, about 3 million barrels per day (480×10 3 m3/d), the Athabasca oil sands reserves would last over 170 years.[111] However those production levels require an influx of workers into an area that until recently was largely uninhabited. By 2007 this need in northern Alberta drove unemployment rates in Alberta and adjacent British Columbia to the lowest levels in history. As far away as the Atlantic Provinces, where workers were leaving to work in Alberta, unemployment rates fell to levels not seen for over one hundred years.[112]
The Venezuelan Orinoco Oil Sands site may contain more oil sands than Athabasca. However, while the Orinoco deposits are less viscous and more easily produced using conventional techniques (the Venezuelan government prefers to call them "extra-heavy oil"), they are too deep to access by surface mining.[citation needed]
Despite the large reserves, the cost of extracting the oil from bituminous sands has historically made production of the oil sands unprofitable—the cost of selling the extracted crude would not cover the direct costs of recovery; labour to mine the sands and fuel to extract the crude.
In mid-2006, the National Energy Board of Canada estimated the operating cost of a new mining operation in the Athabasca oil sands to be C$9 to C$12 per barrel, while the cost of an in-situ SAGD operation (using dual horizontal wells) would be C$10 to C$14 per barrel.[113] This compares to operating costs for conventional oil wells which can range from less than one dollar per barrel in Iraq and Saudi Arabia to over six in the United States and Canada's conventional oil reserves.
The capital cost of the equipment required to mine the sands and haul it to processing is a major consideration in starting production. The NEB estimates that capital costs raise the total cost of production to C$18 to C$20 per barrel for a new mining operation and C$18 to C$22 per barrel for a SAGD operation. This does not include the cost of upgrading the crude bitumen to synthetic crude oil, which makes the final costs C$36 to C$40 per barrel for a new mining operation.
Therefore, although high crude prices make the cost of production very attractive, sudden drops in price leaves producers unable to recover their capital costs—although the companies are well financed and can tolerate long periods of low prices since the capital has already been spent and they can typically cover incremental operating costs.
However, the development of commercial production is made easier by the fact that exploration costs are very low. Such costs are a major factor when assessing the economics of drilling in a traditional oil field. The location of the oil deposits in the oil sands are well known, and an estimate of recovery costs can usually be made easily. There is not another region in the world with energy deposits of comparable magnitude where it would be less likely that the installations would be confiscated by a hostile national government, or be endangered by a war or revolution.[citation needed]
As a result of the oil price increases since 2003, the economics of oil sands have improved dramatically. At a world price of US$50 per barrel, the NEB estimated an integrated mining operation would make a rate return of 16 to 23%, while a SAGD operation would return 16 to 27%. Prices since 2006 have risen, exceeding US$145 in mid-2008 but falling back to less than 40 US$ as a result of the worldwide financial crisis, the oil price recovered slowly and many of the planned projects (expected to exceed C$100 billion between 2006 and 2015) were stopped or scheduled. In 2012 and 2013 the oil price was high again, but the US production is increasing due to new technologies, while the gasoline demand is falling, so there is an overproduction of oil. But recovering economy can change this in a few years.
At present the area around Fort McMurray has seen the most effect from the increased activity in the oil sands. Although jobs are plentiful, housing is in short supply and expensive. People seeking work often arrive in the area without arranging accommodation, driving up the price of temporary accommodation. The area is isolated, with only a two-lane road connecting it to the rest of the province, and there is pressure on the government of Alberta to improve road links as well as hospitals and other infrastructure.[113]
Despite the best efforts of companies to move as much of the construction work as possible out of the Fort McMurray area, and even out of Alberta, the shortage of skilled workers is spreading to the rest of the province.[114] Even without the oil sands, the Alberta economy would be very strong, but development of the oil sands has resulted in the strongest period of economic growth ever recorded by a Canadian province.[115]
Geopolitical importance[edit]
The Athabasca oil sands are often a topic in international trade talks, with energy rivals China and the United States negotiating with Canada for a bigger share of the rapidly increasing output. Production is expected to quadruple between 2005 and 2015, reaching 4 million barrels (640,000 m3) a day, with increasing political and economic importance. Currently, most of the oil sands production is exported to the United States.
An agreement has been signed between PetroChina and Enbridge to build a 400,000 barrels per day (64,000 m3/d) pipeline from Edmonton, Alberta, to the west coast port of Kitimat, British Columbia. If it is built, the pipeline will help export synthetic crude oil from the oil sands to China and elsewhere in the Pacific.[116] However, in 2011, First Nations and environmental groups protested the proposed pipeline, stating that its construction and operation would be destructive to the environment. First Nations groups also claim that the development of the proposed pipeline is in violation of commitments that the Government of Canada has made through various Treaties and the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.[117] A smaller pipeline will also be built alongside to import condensate to dilute the bitumen. Sinopec, the largest refining and chemical company in China, and China National Petroleum Corporation have bought or are planning to buy shares in major oil sands development.
On August 20, 2009, the U.S. State Department issued a presidential permit for an Alberta Clipper Pipeline that will run from Hardisty, Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin. The pipeline will be capable of carrying up to 450,000 barrels (72,000 m3) of crude oil a day to refineries in the U.S.[118][119]
Indigenous peoples of the area[edit]
Indigenous peoples of the area include the Fort McKay First Nation. The oil sands themselves are located within the boundaries of Treaty 8, signed in 1899, which states:
It does not appear likely that the conditions of the country on either side of the Athabasca and Slave Rivers or about Athabasca Lake will be so changed as to affect hunting or trapping, and it is safe to say that so long as the fur-bearing animals remain, the great bulk of the Indians will continue to hunt and to trap.
—Treaty 8
We had to solemnly assure them that only such laws as to hunting and fishing as were in the interest of the Indians and were found necessary in order to protect the fish and fur-bearing animals would be made, and that they would be as free to hunt and fish after the treaty as they would be if they never entered into it. (…) It does not appear likely that the conditions of the country on either side of the Athabasca and Slave Rivers or about Athabasca Lake will be so changed as to affect hunting or trapping, and it is safe to say that so long as the fur-bearing animals remain, the great bulk of the Indians will continue to hunt and to trap.
—The Honourable Clifford Sifton, Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, Report of Commissioners for Treaty No. 8, Winnipeg, Manitoba, September 22, 1899
The Fort McKay First Nation has formed several companies to service the oil sands industry and will be developing a mine on their territory.[120] Opposition remaining within the First Nation focuses on environmental stewardship, land rights, and health issues, like elevated cancer rates in Fort Chipewyan and deformed fish being found by commercial fishermen in Lake Athabasca.
The Alberta Cancer Board published research of the cancer rates of those living in Fort Chipewyan, Alberta in 2009. While many companies argue that there is not enough chemicals and toxic material in the water due to the development of the oil sands, this report indicates that there is coincidentally a significantly higher rate of cancer within this community. There have been many speculations as to why there is a higher rate of cancer in this community; some of those speculations are contamination with the river and the oil sands as well as uranium mining that is currently in progress. The world's largest production of uranium is produced in this area as well as along the Athabasca River allowing for easy contamination of the river.[121]
Oil sand companies[edit]
There are currently three large oil sands mining operations in the area run by Syncrude Canada Limited, Suncor Energy and Albian Sands owned by Shell Canada, Chevron, and Marathon Oil Corp.
Major producing or planned developments in the Athabasca Oil Sands include the following projects:[122]
- Suncor Energy's Steepbank and Millennium mines currently produce 263,000 barrels per day (41,800 m3/d) and its Firebag in-situ project produces 35,000 bbl/d (5,600 m3/d). It intends to spend 3.2 billion to expand its mining operations to 400,000 bbl/d (64,000 m3/d) and its in-situ production to 140,000 bbl/d (22,000 m3/d) by 2008.
- Syncrude's Mildred Lake and Aurora mines currently can produce 360,000 bbl/d (57,000 m3/d).
- Shell Canada currently operates its Muskeg River Mine producing 155,000 bbl/d (24,600 m3/d) and the Scotford Upgrader at Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. Shell intends to open its new Jackpine mine and expand total production to 500,000 bbl/d (79,000 m3/d) over the next few years.
- Nexen's in-situ Long Lake SAGD project is now producing 70,000 bbl/d (11,000 m3/d). Plans to expand it to 240,000 bbl/d (38,000 m3/d) have been made. Expansion plans were delayed in early 2009.
- CNRL's $8 billion Horizon mine is planned to produce 110,000 bbl/d (17,000 m3/d) on startup in mid-2009 and grow to 300,000 bbl/d (48,000 m3/d) by 2010.
- Total S.A.'s subsidiary Deer Creek Energy is operating a SAGD project on its Joslyn lease, producing 10,000 bbl/d (1,600 m3/d). It intends on constructing its mine by 2010 to expand its production by 100,000 bbl/d (16,000 m3/d).
- Imperial Oil's 4.6 billion barrel Kearl Oil Sands Project is projected to start construction in 2008 and produce 110,000 bbl/d (17,000 m3/d) by the end of 2012. Imperial also operates a 160,000 bbl/d (25,000 m3/d) in-situ operation in the Cold Lake oil sands region.
- Synenco Energy and SinoCanada Petroleum Corp., a subsidiary of Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner, had agreed to create the 3.5 billion Northern Lights mine, projected to produce 100,000 bbl/d (16,000 m3/d) by 2009. This project has since been indefinitely deferred (as of 2007).[123]
- North American Oil Sands Corporation (NAOSC), a subsidiary of Statoil, is expected to produce in the Kai Kos Dehseh project around 100,000 bbl/d (16,000 m3/d) by 2015. It is expected to ramp up production to around 100,000 barrels per day (16,000 m3/d) by around 2015.[124]
Operator | Project | Phase | Capacity | Start-up | Regulatory Status |
Royal Dutch Shell | Jackpine | 1A | 100,000 bbl/d (16,000 m3/d) | 2010 | Under construction |
1B | 100,000 bbl/d (16,000 m3/d) | 2012 | Approved | ||
2 | 100,000 bbl/d (16,000 m3/d) | 2014 | Applied for | ||
Muskeg River | Existing | 155,000 bbl/d (24,600 m3/d) | 2002 | Operating | |
Expansion | 115,000 bbl/d (18,300 m3/d) | 2010 | Approved | ||
Pierre River | 1 | 100,000 bbl/d (16,000 m3/d) | 2018 | Applied for | |
2 | 100,000 bbl/d (16,000 m3/d) | 2021 | Applied for | ||
Canadian Natural Resources | Horizon | 1 | 135,000 bbl/d (21,500 m3/d) | 2009 | Operating |
2 and 3 | 135,000 bbl/d (21,500 m3/d) | 2011 | Approved | ||
4 | 145,000 bbl/d (23,100 m3/d) | 2015 | Announced | ||
5 | 162,000 bbl/d (25,800 m3/d) | 2017 | Announced | ||
Imperial Oil | Kearl | 1 | 110,000 bbl/d (17,000 m3/d) | 2012 | Operating |
2 | 220,000 bbl/d (35,000 m3/d) | 20?? | Approved | ||
3 | 275,000 bbl/d (43,700 m3/d) | 20?? | Approved | ||
4 | 345,000 bbl/d (54,900 m3/d) | 20?? | Approved | ||
Petro Canada | Fort Hills | 1 | 165,000 bbl/d (26,200 m3/d) | 2011 | Approved |
debottleneck | 25,000 bbl/d (4,000 m3/d) | TBD | Approved | ||
Suncor Energy | Millenium | 294,000 bbl/d (46,700 m3/d) | 1967 | Operating | |
debottleneck | 23,000 bbl/d (3,700 m3/d) | 2008 | Under construction | ||
Steepbank | debottleneck | 4,000 bbl/d (640 m3/d) | 2007 | Under construction | |
extension | 2010 | Approved | |||
Voyageur South | 1 | 120,000 bbl/d (19,000 m3/d) | 2012 | Applied for | |
Syncrude | Mildred Lake & Aurora | 1 and 2 | 290,700 bbl/d (46,220 m3/d) | 1978 | Operating |
3 Expansion | 116,300 bbl/d (18,490 m3/d) | 2006 | Operating | ||
3 Debottleneck | 46,500 bbl/d (7,390 m3/d) | 2011 | Announced | ||
4 Expansion | 139,500 bbl/d (22,180 m3/d) | 2015 | Announced | ||
Synenco Energy | Northern Lights | 1 | 57,250 bbl/d (9,102 m3/d) | 2010 | Applied for |
Total S.A. | Joslyn | 1 | 50,000 bbl/d (7,900 m3/d) | 2013 | Applied for |
2 | 50,000 bbl/d (7,900 m3/d) | 2016 | Applied for | ||
3 | 50,000 bbl/d (7,900 m3/d) | 2019 | Announced | ||
4 | 50,000 bbl/d (7,900 m3/d) | 2022 | Announced | ||
UTS/Teck Cominco | Equinox | Lease 14 | 50,000 bbl/d (7,900 m3/d) | 2014 | Public disclosure |
Frontier | 1 | 100,000 bbl/d (16,000 m3/d) | 2014 | Public disclosure |
Court ordered sanctions[edit]
For improper diversion of water in 2008/2009, Statoil Canada Ltd. was ordered in 2011 to pay a fine of $5000 and to allocate $185,000 for a training project (The verdict was handed down by the Provincial Court of Alberta, Criminal Division).[125][126]
See also[edit]
- Environmental impact of mining
- Canadian Centre for Energy Information
- History of the petroleum industry in Canada (oil sands and heavy oil)
- Mackenzie Valley Pipeline
- Utah Oil Sands Joint Venture
- Melville Island oil sands
- Project Oilsand / Project Cauldron
- List of articles about Canadian tar sands
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- ^ a b Mather, Clive "The Oil Sands of Alberta", Canada Broadcasting Corporation.
- ^ a b "Alberta's Oil Sands 2006" (PDF). Government of Alberta. 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
- ^ "Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD)". Cenovus.On this site is a Cenovus animation on how SAGD works.
- ^ "What are Oil Sands?". CAPP. 2009.
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- ^ "The Alberta Energy Regulator" (PDF). The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER). 2013.
- ^ a b c "Regulatory Enhancement Project". Alberta Energy. 12 June 2013.
- ^ Maximum fines under the Responsible Energy Development Act are limited to $500 000 or less for a corporation and $50, 000 or less for an individual.
- ^ Mackenzie, Sir Alexander (1970). "The Journals and Letters of Alexander Mackenzie". Edited by W. Kaye Lamb. Cambridge: Hakluyt Society, p. 129, ISBN 0-521-01034-9.
- ^ a b Hein, Francis J (2000). "Historical Overview of the Fort McMurray Area and Oil Sands Industry in Northeast Alberta" (PDF). Earth Sciences Report 2000-05. Alberta Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 27 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
- ^ "Oil Sands History". Unlocking the Potential of the Oil Sands. Syncrude. 2006. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
- ^ a b Cameron, Agnes Deans (1909). The New North: Being Some Account of a Woman's Journey through Canada to the Arctic. New York: Appleton.
- ^ "Cameron, Agnes Deans (1863-1912)". ABC Book World.
- ^ a b c Mike Gismondi; Debra J. Davidson (September 2012). "Imagining the Tar Sands: 1880 -1967 and Beyond" (PDF). Imaginations (3-2). Edmonton, Alberta: Campus Saint-Jean, University of Alberta. pp. 68–102.
- ^ Pitts, Gordon (25 Aug 2012). "The man who saw gold in Alberta's oil sands". The Globe and Mail (Toronto). Retrieved 27 Aug 2012. "Sixty-one years ago, a lowly Calgary employee of U.S. multinational Sun Oil Co. wrote a subversive letter to the company brass in Philadelphia. The message spit in the eye of his local managers in Alberta. "I have long felt that our company should take a permit to explore for oil from the Tar Sands of Alberta," 30-year-old Ned Gilbert wrote in September, 1951, in defiance of his immediate superiors, who opposed the idea of going any further than their first tentative steps in the area. * * * Suncor has emerged as the elite player among Canadian-controlled oil companies, valued at almost $50-billion. (Sun Oil divested its stake in the company in the early 1990s.) Suncor's pre-eminence stems directly from Great Canadian Oil Sands, the first commercial oil sands project, which was launched by Sun Oil in 1967."
- ^ "Oil Sands". Alberta Energy. Alberta Government. 2008. Archived from the original on 21 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
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- ^ "Canada's Oily Sands Yield Energy and Protests" article by Hillary Brenhouse in The New York Times October 11, 2010, accessed October 12, 2010.
- ^ "Oil sands bitumen to flow to West Coast by 2015: Enbridge" article by Shawn McCarthy in The Globe and Mail Apr. 29, 2010, updated Monday, May. 17, 2010, accessed October 12, 2010.
- ^ "Oil sands awash in excess pipeline capacity" article by Nathan VanderKlippe in The Globe and Mail Apr. 23, last updated Tuesday, Oct. 05, 2010, accessed October 12, 2010. This article contains an informative map of exiting and projected oil pipelines.
- ^ Jeffrey Jones (May 16, 2012). "C$2.6 bln for Eastern Access, C$600 mln for mainline". Reuters. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
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- ^ Albian Sands Announces Operator Agreement News Release, November 18, 2008
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- ^ Cenovus website on Oilsands projects
- ^ Formerly Encana Corporation
- ^ a b ConocoPhillips – Canadian operations
- ^ Jacos homepage
- ^ Opti sells 15 per cent stake of oilsands joint venture to Nexen for $735 million Yahoo Finance, Dec 17, 2008
- ^ Nexen Clinches Additional Long Lake Interest for $735MM – RigZone, Jan 27, 2008
- ^ Horizon project homepage
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- ^ Synenco page regarding SinoCanada
- ^ Agreement to Buy Synenco Energy Inc. – Total strengthens position in Canadian Heavy Oil – Total E&P Canada News Release, April 28, 2008
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- ^ Terre de Grace project page – Value Creation Inc website
- ^ Heavy Investment – Statoil arrives in the oil sands – WoodMackenzie, Upstream Insight, May 2007.
- ^ http://www.laricinaenergy.com/uploads/saleski/Saleski_project.pdf
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- ^ Alberta Royalty Review Panel (18 Sep 2007). "Our Fair Share". Alberta Royalty Review Panel.
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- ^ Government of Alberta. "News Release. Final oil sands reports set a framework for the future". Retrieved 2 April 2011.
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- ^ Financial Post. Canada launches new oil sands monitoring policy Retrieved 21 Oct 2012.
- ^ ERCB ST-98 (June 2009) pp. 2–2 to 2–7
- ^ "Operational excellence: the land we borrow". Retrieved 2009-02-27.[dead link] (primary source)
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- ^ "Dr. Roger M. Butler". Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame. 2012.
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- ^ Jyotsna Sharma, Ian Gates (August 2011). "Convection at the edge of a steam-assisted-gravity-drainage steam chamber". SPE Journal (Society of Petroleum Engineers). doi:10.2118/142432-PA.
- ^ "Canada's Energy Future: Reference Case and Scenarios to 2030". pp. 45–48. ISBN 978-0-662-46855-4.
- ^ "Questions and Answers". Canada's Oil Sands—Opportunities and Challenges to 2015: An Update. National Energy Board of Canada. 2007-06-30. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
- ^ "Operations—Athabasca Oil Sands—Long Lake Project—Project Overview". Nexen. Archived from the original on 2006-02-03. Retrieved 2006-03-29.
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- ^ "Alberta's tar sands are soaking up too much water". The Globe and Mail (Dogwood Initiative). 2006-07-05.
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Further reading[edit]
- Kunzig, Robert (March 2009). "The Canadian Oil Boom: Scraping Bottom". National Geographic 215 (3): 38–59. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
- Black Bonanza, by Alastair Sweeny (Wiley Canada 2010) ISBN 0-470-16138-8
Video material[edit]
- ted talk 2012 Garth Lenz: The true cost of oil
- Dirty Oil. Documentary by Leslie Iwerks, 2009
- H2Oil. Documentary by Shannon Walsh, 2009
- Tar Sands – Canada for Sale Documentary by Tom Radford, 2008
- People & Power – Alberta's Oil Sands. Al Jazeera English, 2008 (online copy)
- Riz Khan – Canada's dirty oil. Al Jazeera English, 2009 (online copy part 1, part 2)
- 60 Minutes – The Alberta Oil Sands. CBS, 22. January 2006
- To the Last Drop (part 1, part 2). Documentary by Tom Radford about the impact on local communities, broadcast on Al Jazeera English's program Witness, 2011
- The Alberta Oil Sands. Govt. of Alberta Documentary Film ([1]), 2009
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Athabasca oil sands. |
- Pembina Institute: Oil Sands Analysis
- Alberta's Oil Sands: Key Issues and Impacts
- Mud, Sweat and Tears—Guardian Newspaper, 2007
- Hugh McCullum, Fuelling Fortress America: A Report on the Athabasca Tar Sands and U.S. Demands for Canada's Energy (The Parkland Institute)
- Oil Sands History—Syncrude Canada
- Oil Sands Discovery Centre—Fort McMurray Tourism
- The Trillion-Barrel Tar Pit—Article from December 2004 Wired.
- Alberta's Oil Sands—Alberta Department of Energy
- Canada's Oil Sands—Opportunities and Challenges to 2015: An Update—June 2006—National Energy Board of Canada
- What are oil sands and heavy oil?-Canadian Centre for Energy Information
- (French) Du sable dans l'engrenage TV document by Guy Gendron and Jean-Luc Paquette describing the Athabasca oil sands issues.
- Athabasca Oil Sands at NASA Earth Observatory. Includes a series of satellite photos from 1984 to 2011, showing how the project has developed.


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9-10-13 O'Hare's claim 2013 US Masters
8-20-13 Pacific Coast Championship
8-20-13 Gord Richards Wins the 77th Briody Memorial Regatta
Contact: Don Hackbarth
highly competitive Snipe racing on Biscayne Bay.
Area Map | NOR | SIs | Results | Race Report
2012 (XLIII ANNUAL) COMODORO RASCO SNIPE REGATTA REPORT: 19 boats registered for this Regatta, but all the way from Rhode Island, Carol Cronin and Kim Couranz came to show us how to do it! and they were the best with LA BOMBA too! Blowing pretty good on Saturday with Easterly winds (15 to 20) and Southeasterly on Sunday (10), I tell you, you can't ask for anything more! Biscayne Bay at its best! Take a look at the results: Carol and Kim in first, Hal and Amy from Jacksonville in second, Eric Heim from San Diego with Alan Capellin in third. The most improved Snipe Sailors from Palm Beach, Freddie and Dorian Sambolin won the Bill Aicardi Trophy. I love husband and wife sailing together and after the races they kiss each other!! That is true love! And that also shows that Freddie is a gentleman! Two of our best sailors, Ernesto Rodriguez and Brian Kamilar ran into problems, OCS and breakdown respectively. Kudos to the Coconut Grove Sailing Club Race Committee that ran perfect races with perfect courses, Olympic and Windward/leeward. Super PRO Susan Walcutt with her team: Marvin Schenker, Dottie Rostorfer, Jo Ann Mathieu, Veronic Aghayan, Helene Schenker, Marybeth Pearson, Jaime Ramon, scorer and line spotter (Bad for Ernesto he was caught over the line!!), Captain Bill Braddon. On Mark and Pin boats: George Bradley, Suzanne Roberts, Geoff Sutcliff, Larry Whipple, Kit Temple, Jim Waldron and all the way from Naples, my old friend snipe sailor Dave Lence. What a team!! This has to be one of the best RC's in a long time!!! All the first three boat team members and Freddie and Dorian drank from La Bomba while we all sang LA BOMBA VA, LA BOMBA VA. But, outstanding was our diva Kim Couranz. Carol, to my surprise, did a very good job singing and drinking LA BOMBA! Now it is going to be a competition between Carol and Kim to see who does the best. La Bomba is not the only attraction of this Regatta. Carmen's Lasagna is also! And one more time she scored A+ this year. Keep on Carmita!!!
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