OTTAWA — To lift a quip from Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Arctic sovereignty policy and apply it to the American view of Alberta’s oil sands: use it or lose it.
The Chinese government pushed its shovel deep into Canada’s energy motherlode on Monday when it announced a $2-billion stake in a five-billion-barrel reserve of “dirty oil” that Americans increasingly find unworthy of fuelling their vehicles.
The 60% claim by PetroChina in two projects owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp., while small compared to the great gobs of capital pouring into oil sands expansion and extraction, are the global giant’s largest investment in Canadian energy yet.
And China usually buys into product it aims to consume.
Sources in Washington predict politicians there will not be pleased at having a massive supply of secure energy on their northern doorstep slipping under Chinese ownership.
Well, too bad.
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The Chinese like us they really do! Oil is a commodity and is sold on the world market – as world traders we sell to who wants the product. If the Americans have a problem with our oil production they should “drill baby drill” in the US. I don’t know what energy source is “pure enough” for the fastidious Americans. At this rate they will be back to burning buffalo chips in the fireplace. Cheers.
Their fault. A sale is a sale from our perspective.
Whats that old saying ‘you snooze, you lose.’
That’s what I like from the Cons, they flip-flop so much. Didn’t this government state not so long ago that we would not be selling “this oil” to any juridiction having less environmental regualtion than us? Just sayin’. I mean, Special Ed was quite perturbed about that line of thinking when it appeared in the headlines a few months ago. Not that I personally feel that the oil sands should not be developed, not in the least, but the message appears to be confusing to say the least from our current masters in Ottawa. Are we an energy super-power or not? Are we in the energy business?
We can console our luddite Green friends by stating that natural gas is going to become the fuel of choice of industry and consuner alike in North America, as technology has developed to the point here, that just about any formation hosting gas can be produced economically (tight gas), and at rock bottom prices. They should not be pouting, unless they really do think that the Green message is to “depopulate the world and destroy the western economies”.
I’m drilling an oil well right now and there is nothing like the smell of sucess when one of these babies is being produced as we speak. This country has got to get it’s head out of it’s a** on energy production. It isn’t a “sin” to do so. We have it (gas, oil, coal) in abundance, so lets’ share the wealth with whomever wishes to buy, including Canadians. The Chinese are “in business” and they are sharp business people, too. So, let’s do business with them and if the yanks have forgotten that they used to “be in business”, then it’s their loss.
One thing I would say is that it is not “Americans” but Democrats and Obama responsible for the dirty oil narrative. (a couple of RINOS in the mix too).
Terrific! Maybe we can trade some of that oil for organs! What an opportunity.
CRB
Opportunity, indeed. Good one, CRB…