What The Big Boys Are Saying

I have taken some of the best points from Shell Canada President Clive Mather's interview with The Edmonton Journal, on the scale of development in the Alberta Oil Sands.


Here they are:



"What we're saying is this is only the beginning," Mather said as he escorted U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman on an oilsands tour north of Fort McMurray."

The oil sands have 400 years worth of oil in that is available for extraction.

"..the world's largest deposits (of oil sands) occur in two countries: Canada and Venezuela, both of which have oil sands reserves approximately equal to the world's total reserves of conventional crude oil. As a result of the development of these reserves, most Canadian oil production in the 21st century is from oil sands or heavy oil deposits, and Canada is now the largest single supplier of oil and refined products to the United States. Venezuelan production is also very large, but due to political problems its oil production has been declining since the start of the 21st century" Wikipedia




"The oilsands are "world class," Texas giant Marathon Oil Corp. added in announcing its $6.5-billion takeover of Western."

To date France, Norway, Japan, China, America, Korea and the EU have put billions into the oil sands.



"Based on an estimated 7,500 local trades people available, additional workers from outside the region or province will be needed." In highly skilled occupations needed by industrial projects, Edmonton oilsands jobs will be more like careers than the traditional feast-or-famine pattern of construction contracting."

This boom is for the long term, the workers who come to work in the oil sands will make Edmonton their home. The most common cycle is to rent for a few years then to buy. If you own real estate in Edmonton you are guaranteed of two things - renters and buyers.

"Environmental effects on local air, water, vegetation and wildlife are also forecast to be modest compared to total accumulated results of decades of Edmonton development."

Canada is proud of it's natural beauty and will protect it. The oil sands are constantly being improved to ensure that the environment will not be damaged. New technology and innovative sources of energy, like geo thermal energy, are being investigated off set the energy required to extract the oil.