Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
According to testimony before the US Congress concerning the construction of the $7bn Keystone XL pipeline extension from Alberta to Texas, crude produced by Canada’s oil sands, which represent just over half the country’s total production, has already surpassed the total volume of imports from the US number two supplier Mexico.
Since 2000 Canada’s oil sands output has more than doubled: from 600,000 barrels to about 1.5m barrels per day in 2010. Canada supplies 2m barrels per day or 22% of US crude oil imports, up from 15% a decade earlier. The sands’ 175bn barrels of recoverable oil places Canadian oil reserves third in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
Speaking before the US House of Representatives on Monday James Burkhard, Managing Director, IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates (IHS CERA) outlined the significance of Canada’s Oil Sands:
“• In the 1970s there were no oil sands imports into the United States. Today, the Canadian oil sands are poised to become the largest single source of foreign oil to the US market. In 2010 the United States imported about 2 million barrels per day (mbd) of Canadian crude oil—22 percent of total imports. More than half—1.1 mbd—was oil sands, which is equivalent to the entire volume of imports from the number two supplier, Mexico.
• Trade, jobs, and oil are the interconnected pillars of the US-Canada relationship. Trade between the two countries totaled $525 billion in 2010. Eight million American jobs depend on trade with Canada. More than 20,000 American jobs already depend on oil sands development—and this number could grow significantly if oil sands investment expands. The proposed $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline project is among the largest “shovel-ready” projects in the United States.
• Canadian oil sands could play an even larger role in supplying the US market, benefitting consumers. But North American pipeline infrastructure needs to adjust to the much greater availability of this new “mega” resource from Canada for this to happen. The lack of significant pipeline capacity to transport Canadian oil beyond its traditional US Midwest market artificially deprives the broader US market of oil that is available. A more flexible and robust supply system is better able to manage unexpected supply or demand developments, which would be a big positive for the US economy and consumers. Oil producers in Canada—which include many American companies—would develop export markets in Asia if they are unable to broaden their reach into the US market.
• Environmental issues surrounding energy development, including in the oil sands, are controversial, but they are also manageable. Ongoing advances in technology and operational experience have demonstrated that environmental concerns—particularly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—are being addressed. Life-cycle GHG emissions for the average oil sands product actually imported into the United States are just 6 percent higher than those from the average crude oil consumed in the United States.”
Pictures of the Keystone XL Pipeline Project under construction supplied by TransCanada Corporation. (Copyright © TransCanada Corporation. All rights reserved.)
