[Graeme]

"Utah’s Carbon Bomb": State Plots Massive Tar Sands & Oil Shale Projects Despite Climate Concerns

While the fight over the Keystone XL pipeline and the Alberta tar sands has galvanized the environmental movement, far less attention has been paid to a related story here in the West. The state of Utah has begun making preparations for its own major tar sands and oil shale extraction projects. According to one U.S. government report, land in the region could hold up to three trillion barrels of oil — that’s more recoverable oil than has been used so far in human history. Critics say Utah is sitting on a tar sands carbon bomb. The Utah Water Quality Board has recently begun giving out permits for companies to extract from the state’s tar sands reserves. We speak to Taylor McKinnon, energy director of the Grand Canyon Trust.

TAYLOR McKINNON: In Utah, we have vast deposits of oil shale and tar sands, up to 20 billion barrels’ worth of oil in the tar sands deposits. And the USGS, the United States Geological Survey, estimates up to a trillion barrels of developable oil in the oil shale. These are unconventional fuels. Like Alberta’s tar sands, they need to be mined, melted, before they’re turned into a liquid hydrocarbon. So the energy investment on the front end of their development far exceeds that of conventional oil, and as a result, the resulting carbon emissions from developing these fuels also far exceeds that of conventional oil. When we’re facing climate change and the IPCC is saying we have a carbon budget within which to work in coming decades, this is the exact wrong policy direction from a matter of energy and climate.

AMY GOODMAN: So, I mean, we’ve heard so much about tar sands in Alberta. Why do we hear so little about what’s going on in Utah? And place it exactly for us in Utah.

TAYLOR McKINNON: We’re talking about deposits that are located in the Uintah Basin in eastern Utah and into western Colorado. It’s the heart of the Colorado River Basin. I think the reason we’ve heard more about Alberta’s tar sands is because they’re being developed. In Utah, the deposits are not being developed. It’s prospective. And we’re seeing really the onset of development, the onset of significant investment on the part of industry. We have—

AMY GOODMAN: What are the telltale signs? Like highways being built?

democracynow

[Outcast_Searcher]

1). I notice at the beginning of the article is says "This is viewer supported news". So biased, like Fox News or MSNBC?

2). Disclosure: I believe in AGW. The last estimate I saw was that about 90% of scientists polled believed in AGW, and about 95% in global warming. That's good enough for me, given the 5 decades of NOAA data I've reviewed. I personally try to leave a relatively small carbon footprint (no children, little travel, few miles driven per year, cold house in winter and warm in summer, etc.)

3). So it's OK for liberals to fly all over the globe screaming about global warming, but let's cry foul when UTAH wants to develop its oil? This is the hypocritical disconnect that sickens me. Liberals scream that AGW is a serious problem -- but don't get in the way of THEIR fossil fuel consumption. Sure. No hypocrisy there.

Why is Utah being singled out?

[americandream]

1). I notice at the beginning of the article is says "This is viewer supported news". So biased, like Fox News or MSNBC?

2). Disclosure: I believe in AGW. The last estimate I saw was that about 90% of scientists polled believed in AGW, and about 95% in global warming. That's good enough for me, given the 5 decades of NOAA data I've reviewed. I personally try to leave a relatively small carbon footprint (no children, little travel, few miles driven per year, cold house in winter and warm in summer, etc.)

3). So it's OK for liberals to fly all over the globe screaming about global warming, but let's cry foul when UTAH wants to develop its oil? This is the hypocritical disconnect that sickens me. Liberals scream that AGW is a serious problem -- but don't get in the way of THEIR fossil fuel consumption. Sure. No hypocrisy there.

Why is Utah being singled out?

Personally, I haven't the foggiest what the attitude of liberals ,or unliberals for that matter, has to do with actions that fly in the face of a major risk facing humankind. It is this sort of disconnect that makes sensible management of this planet near impossible.

[Tanada]

1). I notice at the beginning of the article is says "This is viewer supported news". So biased, like Fox News or MSNBC?

2). Disclosure: I believe in AGW. The last estimate I saw was that about 90% of scientists polled believed in AGW, and about 95% in global warming. That's good enough for me, given the 5 decades of NOAA data I've reviewed. I personally try to leave a relatively small carbon footprint (no children, little travel, few miles driven per year, cold house in winter and warm in summer, etc.)

3). So it's OK for liberals to fly all over the globe screaming about global warming, but let's cry foul when UTAH wants to develop its oil? This is the hypocritical disconnect that sickens me. Liberals scream that AGW is a serious problem -- but don't get in the way of THEIR fossil fuel consumption. Sure. No hypocrisy there.

Why is Utah being singled out?

Utah is one of the most solidly religious states when ranked by actions of the population and they tend to vote for the most conservative candidate for anything. This makes them The Enemy (tm) in the eyes of some of their politically opposed fellow human beings.

Utah's tar and shale deposits have been known for at least a century and the idea that they will not be developed if the Government or private owners can make an income off that development is just plain unrealistic. When the Alberta bitumen sand was first being developed a great majority of people thought it would be a money loser then and forever so getting investors was very difficult. Now there is a couple of decades of proof that Alberta as a province has made a good income off of their sand deposits. That makes it much more likely in the eyes of investors that Utah could develop its sands and make money the very same way, and when they look around they see Alberta, North Dakota and Texas all doing just fine during the Great Recession thanks to unconventional oil extraction.

[ROCKMAN]

Here's the reason the subject is getting more national attention. It has been an internal dynamic going on in Utah for many years. Permits to mine the deposits were granted 4 years ago:

Decision by officials sets the stage for a possible court battle over the nation's first tar sands mine in Utah's fragile Book Cliffs region. Oct 25, 2012

Utah officials have given a Canadian company the green light to begin mining oil sands on a remote plateau in Eastern Utah without first obtaining a pollution permit or monitoring groundwater quality, an action that sets the stage for a possible court battle over the fragile region. The board of the Utah Division of Water Quality agreed with Calgary-based U.S. Oil Sands' contention that there was little or no water in the area of the company's proposed mine site and affirmed the agency's earlier decision not to require the permits or monitoring. The board's 9-2 vote Wednesday caps years of wrangling with the water agency over U.S. Oil Sands' proposal to open the first large-scale oil sands mine in the United States in the Book Cliffs, an area renowned for its abundant wildlife but also dotted with occasional oil and gas wells.

Two environmental groups—Living Rivers and Western Resource Advocates—sought the review as part of their effort to prevent the oil industry from becoming established and opening up bigger operations in the largely unspoiled region. John Weisheit, Living Rivers' conservation director, and Rob Dubuc, a staff attorney for Western Resource Advocates, said they were disappointed by the decision and will likely take their objections to the project to the Utah courts. Living Rivers has dogged U.S. Oil Sands for years over its mining plans.

In 2010, U.S. Oil Sands won permits from Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining to mine nearly 6,000 acres for bitumen, a thick, tarry substance ripped from the earth in clay-like clumps and then refined into oil. The company has scooped open a two-acre test pit and plans to mine an initial 213-acre site to extract bitumen for refining into oil beginning in 2014. In rejecting arguments by Living Rivers and Western Resource Advocates, the board agreed with the Water Quality Division's opinion that there is so little groundwater within 1,500 feet of the surface of the proposed mine that additional safeguards aren't needed. The company said it has drilled 180 holes 300 feet deep—and has sunk four dry wells of more than 1,500 feet deep—without hitting water. A fifth well hit water at 1,800 feet, and that water will be used in the mining process.

[westexas]

Aren't we talking about the Green River Formation, which is predominantly an oil shale (kerogen) deposit?

Randy Udall & Steve Andrews, from 2005:

The Illusive Bonanza: Oil Shale in Colorado
http://www.resilience.org/stories/2005-12-04/illusive-bonanza-oil-shale-colorado

If crude oil is king, oil shale is a pauper. Pound per pound, oil shale contains just one-tenth the energy of crude oil, one-sixth that of coal, and one-fourth that of recycled phone books. Shale outcrops are common in Colorado, but in prehistoric times the Utes did not use it for heat; why bother when you could gather pine or juniper instead? In poor countries, millions of people heat their homes with dried manure. Dung cakes have four times more energy than does oil shale. Oil shale is a fossil fuel—but just barely. Searching for appropriate low-calorie analogues, we turn to foodstuffs, the realm of Weight Watchers. Oil shale is said to be “rich” when it contains 30 gallons of petroleum per ton. An equal weight of granola contains three times more energy. The “vast,” “immense,” and “unrivaled” deposits of shale buried in Utah and Colorado have the energy density of a baked potato. If someone told you there were a trillion tons of tater tots buried 1,000 feet-deep, would you rush to dig them up? Take a memo, Senator. Oil shale has one-third the energy density of Cap’n Crunch, but no one is counting on Kellogg to become a major energy producer soon. In other words, no one is drilling in the cereal aisle. The mystery is not that we lack an oil shale industry—it’s why we’ve spent billions trying to develop one.

I didn't realize there are separate bitumen deposits:

http://www.nevtahoilsands.com/the-utah-tar-sands.htm

[Graeme]

Canada becoming launch-pad of a global tar sands and oil shale frenzy

Oil shale exploitation, it turns out, is hugely indebted to Alberta. It’s where one of its most common extraction methods was invented and first used for tar sands. And as prices for oil have remained high, making oil shale as well as tar sands profitable to extract, companies from around the world have flocked to Alberta to learn and hone their techniques.

Middle eastern companies want to be “close to a champion." Estonians have tested new extraction technology. Chinese investors, who have bought huge ownership stakes in Alberta tar sands projects, don’t only want to take crude home – they want to take know-how to apply to their own oil shale.

And then there’s Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, which contain most of the world’s oil shale and huge deposits of tar sands – more than a trillion recoverable barrels, according to some estimates. To put that in perspective, Canada’s oil deposits hold about 200 billion recoverable barrels, Saudi Arabia’s 260. US government officials overseeing plans for this deposit, which has no comparison in the world, describe Alberta as their “template.”

What exactly is that template? It’s not simply about dumping enough carbon into the atmosphere to fry the planet, though that is one of its least pleasant features. It’s also about hollowing out your country’s manufacturing industry, hitching your public finances to a disastrous boom-and-bust resource cycle, poisoning downstream indigenous communities, and fostering an increasingly authoritarian government that is willing to dismantle any regulation in the way of the oil barons while treating dissent like criminal behaviour.


The good news is also that, so far, none of the new tar sands and oil shale projects outside of Venezuela and Estonia have been commercialized on a large-scale. And in Canada and the United States, battles against the construction of pipelines that would carry tar sands have caused delays and could leave much of Alberta’s tar sands in the ground. There's no doubt that investors and governments, not just in North America but where-ever oil shale and tar sands deposits are being eyed, will pay close attention to their outcome – they'll send a message well beyond their borders.

theguardian

[Serial_Worrier]

Drill baby drill.

[ROCKMAN]

"And in Canada and the United States, battles against the construction of pipelines that would carry tar sands have caused delays and could leave much of Alberta’s tar sands in the ground." Delays??? Year over year production from the oil sands has increased. New projects reported regularly. Last January the Keystone XL pipeline (600,000 bopd) began delivering oil to Texas refineries directly from Alberta…first time ever. Other existing pipeline system having their capacity increased…projects that don’t need US govt approval since they don’t represent new lines.

This month Canada will export more oil (most of it from the oil sands) to the US then during any other month in the entire history of Canadian oil production. Yes…horrible delays. As a result Canadian operators are producing only about $100 billion of oil per year. Life must be really terrible for them. LOL.

[dinopello]

I believe this is a hop and and a skip from the Dinosaur National Monument park. They can watch while we dig up all that Dino-age carbon and release it into the air. It will be beautiful. And, do we really need the Colorado river any more ? Google will fix it.

[Graeme]

Sierra Club labels Utah oil shale, tar sands region great 'climate disrupter'

The Green River Formation, which includes a chunk of northeastern Utah, was singled out by the Sierra Club as one of six dangerous "climate disrupter" regions in the country due to its massive potential for fossil fuel development.

"This report highlights major new climate disrupters that have the potential to release billions of tons of new carbon dioxide into the air, negating the (Obama) administration's progress to reduce carbon pollution from vehicles and power plants," the Sierra Club report states.

Called "Dirty Fuels, Clean Futures," the analysis shows that tar sands and oil shale development in the formation would release carbon pollution that would far eclipse any strides made by Obama's implementation of strict new fuel efficiency standards for cars.

The so-called CAFE standards, or Corporate Average Fuel Economy, would conserve 12 billion barrels of oil and keep 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted over the next 12 years through a 54.5 mpg fuel standard for cars and light trucks.

Developing just 10 percent of the oil shale in Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado, the Sierra Club stressed, would result in 48 billion tons of carbon dioxide — eight times more than would be saved by the new fuel standards.

“It’s clear that Utah could have the dubious distinction of becoming the dirty energy and climate disrupting capital of the United States,” said the Sierra Club’s Tim Wagner.

deseretnews

[Graeme]

Permanent Protest Set Up at US Oil Sands Project in Utah

The first tar sands strip mining project in the U.S. is gearing up to start operation in Utah, but not without resistance from a group that announced on May 29 that it is setting up a permanent protest vigil at the site.

The Canadian company US Oil Sands Inc. (USOS) leased over 32,000 acres in the Bookcliffs range in eastern Utah near the PR Spring campground for what it calls the first bitumen mining operation in the U.S. Bitumen is the sticky black substance also known as asphalt, with a viscosity similar to cold molasses.

US Oil Sands plans to dig up huge amounts of sand containing the bitumen and then heat the sand to release the bitumen, separate out the sand, and then use solvents to thin the gooey substance enough so it will flow through pipes and into trucks. USOS got the green light to go ahead with the pilot project from the Utah Water Quality Board in 2012, and then solicited investors to fund the project.

In mid-May, USOS announced (pdf) that its tar sands pilot project was fully funded, and they are purchasing equipment and moving into the operational phase.
Civil Disobedience

As the project works its way toward fruition, though, it is getting strong pushback from Utah Tar Sands Resistance, an environmental group that has set up a permanent protest at the PR Spring site, inside the boundaries of the public land leased for the project.

In an act of civil disobedience last weekend, protesters from the group, which is vowing to stop the project, walked onto the company's 10 acre test site and unfurled a huge banner saying “Climate Justice is Survival: Now or Never.”

desmogblog

[Keith_McClary]

Oil sands fight heats up in U.S.
David Malakoff
The battle over developing vast, untapped oil sands deposits in the United States is heating up. Soon, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management will give private firms the opportunity to bid on the chance to dig up oil-soaked sandstone beneath 8.5 square kilometers of Asphalt Ridge, a sagebrush-speckled outcrop near the town of Vernal, Utah. If successful, the first oil sands lease on federal land will open a new frontier for U.S. energy firms, easing access to Utah formations believed to hold up to 19 billion barrels of oil. Environmental groups and conservation scientists, however, are opposing the move, arguing the Obama administration hasn't done enough to analyze the potential impacts on wildlife, air and water quality, and greenhouse gas emissions. The outcome of the battle could determine how far, and how fast, U.S. oil sands development proceeds.

[Subjectivist]

Despite long odds as oil prices continue their dip below $50 per barrel, commercial tar sands mining is coming for the first time to the U.S., where an Alberta company called U.S. Oil Sands has begun producing tar sands from a mine in eastern Utah.

Up to 76 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil may be locked up in deposits of thick clay-like and hydrocarbon-lacedsand called bitumen beneath the state’s redrock canyon country, according to University of Utah estimates. (The Canadian oil industry refers to the sticky bitumen as “oil sands,” but in the U.S., the federal government uses “tar sands,” a name the Canadian industry considers pejorative because it is used by its critics.)

Oil price volatility makes tar sands development in Utah—the only state in the U.S. with large deposits of it—uncertain. But if successful, it will be a historic moment in the history of oil and gas production in the U.S.

“There have been numerous attempts to develop the oil sands resource in Uintah County, Utah, over the past eight decades,” Jennifer Spinti, a research associate professor for the Institute for Clean and Secure Energy at the University of Utah, said. “While the oil sands have been exploited commercially for use as a paving material, no company has ever produced bitumen at a commercial scale.”

http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... s-to-utah/

[ROCKMAN]

I have no idea how economical the project would be at any price. Nor does anyone else since this process has never been applied anywhere in the world. Here's just a taste o their pitch. Search the company if you want more details.

US Oil Sands' proprietary extraction process uniquely engages the use of a biodegradable, non-toxic solvent derived from citrus products. The result is that:
•Only very low mechanical energy is required to mix the oil sands, water and solvent
•Elimination of the activation of the fine clay particles and resultant creation of the emulsion of water, clay and bitumen
•Reduction of suspended clay particles within the process water which eliminates the generation of liquid tailings
•Elimination of middlings. Clean solids, water and bitumen phase separation do not require tailings ponds to settle a middlings phase

All of the capital cost and operating expense associated with creating bitumen froth, froth treatment, middlings treatment and tailings pond management and reclamation is eliminated. The result is a highly capital efficient and operationally simple extraction process.

[Tanada]

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Dec 30, 2016) - US Oil Sands Inc. ("US Oil Sands" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:USO), an innovator of oil extraction technologies, announces that the Company is proceeding with the previously announced share consolidation on the basis of one post-consolidation common share for every 50 pre-consolidation common shares (the "Consolidation") and the outstanding common shares will commence trading on a consolidated basis at the opening of trading on Tuesday, January 3, 2017 on the TSX Venture Exchange under the Company's existing trading symbol "USO". The shareholders approved the Consolidation at the annual and special meeting of shareholders held on May 18, 2016.

No fractional shares will be issued pursuant to the Consolidation and fractional entitlements will be rounded down to the next lowest whole number of post-consolidated common shares. Registered shareholders will be required to exchange their existing share certificates or DRS advice representing pre-consolidated common shares for post-consolidated common shares, by submitting their old certificates or information respecting the applicable DRS advice, together with a completed and signed Letter of Transmittal, to the Company 's transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company of Canada. Letters of Transmittal will be sent directly to registered shareholders and may also be obtained from Computershare Trust Company of Canada, P.O. Box 7021, 31 Adelaide Street E, Toronto, ON M5C 3H2 Attention: Corporate Actions (Tel:1-800-564-6253) or downloaded from SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

ABOUT US OIL SANDS INC.

US Oil Sands is engaged in the exploration and development of oil sands properties and, through its wholly owned United States subsidiary US Oil Sands (Utah) Inc., has a 100% interest in bitumen leases covering 32,005 acres of land in Utah's Uinta Basin. The Company plans to develop its oil sands properties using its proprietary extraction process which uses a bio-solvent to extract bitumen from oil sands without the need for tailings ponds. The Company is in the pre-production stage, anticipating the commencement of bitumen production and sales once it has completed commissioning and start-up of its PR Spring Project.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-oil-sa ... 48708.html

[Revi]

Great...

[Subjectivist]

Great...

So we throw carbon cutting plans in the trash and start producing American Tar Sands on top of the Canadian Tar Sands and the Fracking Light Tight Oil. Seems like we are determined to scrape the bottom of the crude oil barrel clean to maintain BAU.

I don't think anyone should be surprised by this any more, in fact I think the false expressions of dismay are as much a hinderance to change as a help.

I think our culture like all cultures goes through cycles, periods when we go through the phases of Greek drama. We have periods of humor, periods of stoicism, periods of tragedy and periods of drama. 2005-2008 was the beginning of the period of drama, where every little hint of anything was exploded into a massive dramatic episode. A baker refuses to bake a wedding cake and suddenly it is a national crisis aimed at homosexual people? Really? Hillary Clinton does a terrible job campaigning for president and loses so we must riot and protest in the streets? Really?

I dunno about you arevi but personally I have drama fatigue. I hope we are headed into comedy, at least that will lighten up the mood. Unfortunately I think we are headed into stoicism, you know, put your big boy pants on, pull yourself up by the bootstraps... Stoics tend to be humorless drudges but they do seem to be more willing to buckle down and actually work towards a goal. Drama people make a big show but rarely accomplish anything lasting.

[Tanada]

Petroteq Reaches Commercial Production Milestone and Publishes Statement From the CEO

Sherman Oaks, California, Sep 27, 2018 (Newsfile Corp via COMTEX) -- Petroteq Energy Inc. (otc pink:PQEFF) (PQCF) ("Petroteq" or the "Company"), a fully integrated oil and gas company, is pleased to announce that it has initiated commercial production at its Vernal, Utah facility and publishes the following statement from its CEO, Mr. David Sealock:

In my career I have participated in and managed the commissioning of multiple projects that have cost hundreds of millions to build. But, today, I feel that I have really been a part of something special in the North American oil sands industry.

Our "Asphalt Ridge" asset has (from time to time) caught the attention of major oil companies going back 70 years. But nobody has been able to unlock its resources in a financially sound and environmentally friendly manner until the Petroteq team and its proprietary technology came along. I know our investors have been anxiously waiting for updates about our production levels and they should know that I have been taking a calculated approach in initiating production at our new plant in Vernal, Utah.

I know our partners and stakeholders will welcome the approach I've implemented; small batch testing of our facility before running it at its intended full capacity of 1,000 bpd. Petroteq is launching a "first" in the industry and those types of projects require deliberate caution when getting started.

The oil sand and shale in Utah and neighboring states is likely the largest known untapped reserve in the United States. That is why what we are doing is so important — we are spearheading a movement that helps towards the goal of the United States becoming energy independent.

I thank Alex Blyumkin, our Chairman and the great team in Utah for letting me come aboard during the crossing of such a significant milestone for Petroteq. I would also like to thank the New York Times for coming to visit us and publishing such a great piece on the Company

Sincerely,

David Sealock, Chief Executive Officer

Operations Update

Management has completed the unification, testing, calibration and adjustment of the 14 processes that constitute Petroteq's patented extraction system. The Asphalt Ridge plant is now in commercial production, adding 200 barrels (or more) into its storage tanks daily which have a storage capacity of 3,000 barrels. Management intends to increase production at a rate of an additional 10% of total capacity in each of the coming weeks until it reaches Petroteq's goal of 1,000 bpd. Transportation of the oil off site into its chosen markets, including the nearby refineries in Salt Lake City, Utah, is subject to the Company receiving a business permit, which is anticipated in the coming weeks.

The Company is excited for its anticipated delivery of its high quality heavy crude oil into the market which is expected to meet high demand as supplies in the southern states of heavy crude have dwindled with less production coming from traditional heavy oil producers. The Company has identified multiple buyers for its product as there are multiple refiners in the Salt Lake area that need heavy crude for their desired refining mixture.

Additionally, Petroteq management is extremely pleased with the response it has received while in New York at the HC Wainwright Conference. It will be posting an updated Corporate Presentation at its website and on SEDAR.

About Petroteq Energy Inc.

Petroteq is a fully integrated oil and gas company focused on the development and implementation of a new proprietary technology for oil extraction. The Company has an environmentally safe and sustainable technology for the extraction of heavy oils from oil sands, oil shale deposits and shallow oil deposits. Petroteq is engaged in the development and implementation of its patented environmentally friendly heavy oil processing and extraction technologies. Our proprietary process produces zero greenhouse gas, zero waste and requires no high temperatures. Petroteq is currently focused on developing its oil sands resources and expanding production capacity at its Asphalt Ridge heavy oil extraction facility located near Vernal, Utah. The Company also owns a minority stake in an exploration and production play located in southwest Texas held by Accord GR Energy Inc. In addition, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary PetroBLOQ, LLC, is seeking to develop the first blockchain based platform created exclusively for the supply chain needs of the oil & gas sector. For more information, visit www.Petroteq.energy and PetroBLOQ.com.

Press Release Full Text

[GHung]

"Our proprietary process produces zero greenhouse gas, zero waste and requires no high temperatures. "

... and fairies wear boots,, you got to believe it...