As in Suppliers & Users of Dirty Oil that is.
At the writing of this Blog, Two Hearings are in progress - one in Europe, the other in Washington, both questioning whether or not to admit "Dirty Oil" from Canada's Oil Sands.
And, let's be frank, other than those engaged in the Oil Industry - world wide - no one particularly likes Oil - you and me included. But what's the Option?
Oil to the world economy, is like Blood to an Individual. It would make about as much sense to replace an ill person's blood with water or cola as it does to think you can successfully replace oil with wind or solar or whatever.
Some day yes - but not now or even in the foreseeable future.
Even those opposed to the Oil Sands, have to admit, albeit grudgingly, the validity of this statement.
But they continue to call our Oil "dirty".
So who is supplying them now.
We'll take Europe first.
About 60% of their oil comes from the Dictatorships of the Middle East. The remaining 40% originates in Russia a country that is slowly but surely slipping back into Totalitarian Rule.
Let's not even get into the Human Rights abuses committed by the Middle Eastern Countries, most notably against their women - but rather look at where Europe's purchase dollars end up. Simply stated - they help fund Islamic Terrorism. The same Terrorism that has raised its ugly head throughout Europe and will continue to increase as Muslim extremism grows.
And Russia. Hardly a reliable source of energy.
Russia has shown itself on several occasions actually and /or threatening to cut off their oil and gas pipelines to Europe for their petty political purposes. If things get tough - as they will, I would not want to be dependent on Putin to come through in the pinch.
Thankfully for us in Canada, the European Move against our "dirty" oil is but an Academic Exercise since we do not export much if any oil to them.
But then there is the United States, where nearly 100% of our Oil Exports go South of the Border.
Key elements there are fighting a planned major Pipeline from Alberta to the Texas Gulf for refining. Some one million barrels per day can be expected to flow through this line proposed by Trans Canada Pipeline.
Many there do not want it - primarily because our oil is dirty and "dirty" in the sense that it is mined via our 'tar sands'. Their secondary complaint is that the flow would be subject to spills that would damage the environment.
Good arguments both if the alternatives were better - but they of course are not.
They too get much of their oil from the Middle East and thus are equally guilty as are the Europeans in funding Terrorism. It is like paying a hit man to kill you.
In the matter of damage to the environment, the United States is also on flimsy ground. Few things are more dangerous to the environment than an Oil Tanker Spill. And 10 or so of these Super Tankers enter US waters each day delivering some 20 million barrels of oil. It is not a question of if, but rather when,one of these Tankers breaks up and spills its contents somewhere along America's coastlines. It has happened before in the case of the Exxon Valdez and will most certainly happen again.
Pipelines are safer. Dirty Oil from Canada does not fund killers.
To the United States we provide a safe and reliable source of their needed life blood.
Studies have shown that our Oil Reserves in Western Canada are equivalent to those of Saudi Arabia.
So what to do if the US does the unexpected and blocks our Oil. They won't of course but let's just pretend for a moment.
We here in Canada would not lose out since we have other customers for our oil exports primarily China and to a lesser extent Japan and India.
Trans Canada Pipeline could easily construct a line from Alberta through to the BC coast for transport to the Far East and that is what it would do if our source of oil export to the south disappeared (it won't remember we are just pretending here since America would not be that stupid).
And unlike the do-gooders in Europe and America who pretend to be 'Clean', China acknowledges that it is 'Dirty' and is not too proud to use our "Dirty Oil".
China knows that to get ahead it needs power - clean, dirty or indifferent and is willing to do what is needed to obtain it.
In that regard, China is not the hypocrit the other two are.
As I see it...
'K.D. Galagher'
