...An analysis of the cost/benefit profile of the Alberta oil sands The Alberta oil sands is one of the largest and most controversial energy projects on the planet; whereby large quantities of bitumen are converted into oil through complex and energy intensive chemical processes. The tar sands contain approximately 170 billion barrels of oil, and are the third largest proven reserve of oil in the world. It is expected that this operation will continue to experience rapid development which may result in a diverse array of negative and positive impacts that could significantly influence our society. The advantages and disadvantages of the Alberta oil sands can be analyzed through four key components: political, economic, technological and environmental toxicological perspectives. The cost/benefit profile of the tar sands is evident, and in order to properly address this issue, a plausible and realistic solution must be implemented. Therefore, this will hopefully lead to a decrease in the environmental toxicological and public health impacts associated with the tar sands while preserving socio-economic growth and technological advancement. The political aspect of the oil sands is mainly regulated through the government of Alberta. These legislative members continually promote the expansion of this project as well as advertise its contributions to the economic and technological sector within Canada. The current governmental laws...
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...Canada’s Oil Sands Resubmission Several communities in Canada have grown and become dependent on the oil industry, such as Fort McMurray [20]. Many local economies within Northern Alberta rely on the oil sands [19]. The Shell Albian Sands [37], consisting of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project, accounts for 17 percent of Canada’s oil production. The project has been extracting and processing heavy Canadian crude [18] oil for years. Transportation of the oil is heavily reliant on pipelines, especially since some of the oil extracted in Canada is sent to other countries. The Keystone XL oil pipeline [5] is a proposed pipeline that will transport natural resources from Alberta to Gulf coast refineries. The pipeline is heavily opposed by the Natural Resources Defense Council [24], mainly arguing the pipeline will have negative long term economic and environmental impacts. One of the areas the pipeline will pose a threat to is the Ogallala Aquifer [10]. The Ogallala Aquifer is a shallow water table beneath the Great Plains of the United States. It provides about 30% of the ground water used to irrigation in the United States. If the Keystone XL pipeline is built, there is the risk of an oil spill, which would contaminate the Ogallala Aquifer. Another proposed pipeline is the Northern Gateway pipeline [32], which will stretch from Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. The eastbound pipeline will transport natural gas condesate, while the westbound pipeline will transport...
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...Alberta’s Oil Sands: Are They Really That Bad? College Communications – Section 106 Friday, November 26, 2010 Alberta’s Oil Sands: Are They Really That Bad? One of the most recent topics related to the environment and how poorly Canada is performing, when it comes to managing its pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, is Alberta’s oil sands. Most of us have seen the commercials put out by the Canadian Association of Petroleum producers (CAPP), created to inform us of the innovations and research that is currently being done to reduce their pollution and carbon footprint. Are these commercials presenting us with straight facts or have they been presented to us in an attempt to sway our opinion? Whichever the case may be, we have a right to be properly informed and our government has a responsibility to analyze, inform and act with the best interest of Canada’s environment and its people in mind. When we compare what we are told by the government and the association representing the oil sands industry, with scientific facts, we will see where our government’s true interest lies and how damaging the oil sands really are. The most obvious effects of the oil sands is the area consumed by their operations. To date, more land has been reserved for oil sands operations than that of the entire country of England. Amongst all of this land, the oil sands have what are called tailing ponds. These are large bodies of contaminated water, created as a holding area for the oil production...
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...Athabasca Oil Sands Project Case Study Analysis Recognize All Moral Impacts Stakeholder Write up: Stakeholders are individuals or groups that have one or more of various kinds of stakes in an organization and may affect and be affected by actions, decisions, or practices of the business. The key stakeholders in relation to the Athabasca Oil Sand Project are the governments, the public, and the natural environment. The first secondary social stakeholder with high interest and high power is the government. Governments hold high power as they set out the regulations and need the businesses to do well in order to maintain a strong economy. Consequently, they hold great legitimacy, urgency, and power. The Canadian government are particularly interested in the Athabasca Oil Sand Project because oil sands development not only benefits all Canadians through employment opportunities but also contributes to the highest rate of economic growth in Canada over the last 20 years. “The Tar Sands are now the biggest capital project anywhere on Earth and the biggest energy undertaking anywhere.” The government sees this as an excellent opportunity for a growing economy, thus supporting the project. The government also holds great power, as they are the ones enforcing the laws and regulations upon a business or organization. However, in this case, the government “fails to enforce its own environmental laws; and it is even engaging in cover-up when people blow the whistle on how...
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...ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE ATHABASCA OIL SANDS “The modern era began with the discovery that started the most brilliant, inventive, and destructive age in the history of mankind. The age of energy.” The Athabasca oil sands were founded in the late 1960s and have now developed into a major player within the Canadian economy, acting as its prominent supplier of crude oil. With roughly 2.5 trillion barrels of oil in the ground, the oil sands are one of the largest deposits in the world. However, a problem arises with the extraction process, as it is both expensive and cumbersome with the presence of bitumen within the oil (a highly viscous, black hydrocarbon). Therefore, the extensive extraction process that is required by oil mining companies leads to negative environmental implications. As a result, this paper will discuss the extent of these environmental implications in terms of escalating greenhouse gas emissions, the depletion and contamination of water reserves, and the destruction of terrestrial ecosystems within the Boreal forest. In addition to this, the underlying notion of Alberta’s unlikely future for a sustainable environment. Greenhouse gases (GHG) are emissions within the atmosphere that absorbs and emit radiation, thus damaging the ozone layer. Taking this into consideration, the expansionary development associated with the Athabasca oil sands are rapidly increasing the level of pollution emitted within Canada. The oil sands alone are a source of more than one...
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...Canada’s famous oil sands in the Fort McMurray area could be one of the most controversial topics in the Canadian news. While the sands bring jobs and the important oil that we depend on, there have also been many negative impacts on all of the earth's spheres. Firstly, we are impacting the lithosphere as we dig up hundreds of truckloads of sand. Furthermore, we also displace animal habitats as we bring in workers and machines to destroy the land that Bears, Deer, Ducks, Foxes ( and much more) live on. Secondly, many of the ponds in the area have been transformed into toxic tailing ponds. These are bodies of water that are made up of water, sand , clay and residue oil. Making the water uninhabitable for ducks, fish or any plants that would have grown in or around the pond affecting this area of the hydrosphere....
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...Topic Tar sands oil spill in arkansas Name Nadya Sanjaya SID 1412251 DELETE THIS PAGE WHEN YOU HAND IN THE EXAM Objective: This take home exam is designed to test your understanding and interpretation of engineering ethics principles and social science issues as related to contemporary engineering problems. Procedure: Select a current engineering topic that is not the Dreamliner. Follow the questions on the subsequent pages. Writing format: Times new roman font, 12 pt. Single-spaced with justified margins. Just like on this page here. One space in between each paragraph. Email the final copy to r.angelo.borrelli@gmail.com. Points will be deducted for incorrect format. Citations: Please cite all sources you use. In the text of the paper, please use a superscript when you make a citation, like this.1 Then, in the REFERENCES section, list your sources in order. Length: ‘Sufficient.’ I am not going to give a set page limit. Be concise but show depth. Writing style: You will be writing in some form, whether technical writing or essays, and then when you get jobs in the real world. There is no time to start practicing like now. Grammar and spelling are part of the grade! Proof-read your paper several times! 1. Introduction [10] Please introduce your topic and explain why it is important to you. The topic I’m writing is about the tar sands oil spill in Mayflower, Arkansas. ExxonMobil, the company that runs the pipeline was in charge of the...
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...desertification, and soil nutrient loss to the point that we are now facing a future world without trees, which would ultimately mean a world without people. Experts and advocates of environment-centred reforms to policies, laws, and harmful corporate and social practices currently make up the global environmental [protection] movement, which seeks to consolidate individual efforts to improve upon the ways human beings interact with the planet. The global issue of the Environment encompasses many diverse matters of interest some of which will be discussed in this paper, which include: Animal Rights, Climate Change, Natural Disasters, Sustainable Development, Biodiversity, and Green Spaces. INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVE The Alberta tar sands are the largest oil reservoir of crude bitumen in the world, located in Northern Alberta, Canada, Treaty 8 area, beneath 4.3 million hectares of boreal forest. Bitumen is a semi-solid...
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...The United States has been heavily reliant on oil and oil-rich countries. The present economic situation summons a domestic alternative, considering oil is addressed as “black gold”. Recently, pipelines have grown into a considerable means of transportation for fuels in various states, specifically throughout Alaska. While President Obama envisions that one day the United States will be energy independent, we have yet to attain this. However, some believe the Keystone XL pipeline could reduce our dependency on foreign oil, while others believe this project is a step in the wrong direction, putting us further away from energy independence. The Keystone XL pipeline is presented as safe and reliable, creating various jobs for our economy, while environmental groups argue this pipeline could be detrimental to the environment. These clashing arguments cause a question to arise: Should the United States Government authorize the Keystone XL pipeline to import tar sand oil from Canada? Various citizens, environmental groups, and politicians have outlined their concerns regarding the Keystone XL pipeline. Some of the social problems that arise from the proposed pipeline is environmental damage, including greenhouse gas emissions and potential oil spills. Tar sands are notorious for being one of the dirtiest types of oil in the industry and far more polluting than conventional oil with more than 1,400 known pollutants emitted by oil sands operations and three to four more times higher...
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...Investment Objective The investment objective for our group is “growth”. We have selected a long-term investment for the intent of wealth building. Growth stocks are intended to appreciate in value, as these companies have historical growth above average earnings, excellent cash flows to service their debts and high operating margins. Barrick Gold Corp. Barrick Gold Corp. is the gold industry leader. They have the largest un-hedged gold production and gold reserves in the industry. We chose to invest in Barrick Gold Corp. based on their target for growth, “A” rated balance sheet and their vision for being the best gold mining company through safe, profitable and socially responsible practices. Their income is generated from the finding, acquiring, developing and producing of quality gold reserves. In 2010, Barrick produced 7.8 million ounces of gold at a total cost of $457 per ounce and is targeting to grow to an annual production of 9.0 million ounce of gold within 5 years. The company also has exploration and developments projects that include proven and probable reserves of copper and silver. Stock Analysis On Feb.2, 2011, we purchased 423.01 of Barrick’s shares for $47.28 each. Their share price fluctuated from the purchase date till Mar.18. The share price was at its lowest the week of Feb.11. It increased by $4.00 by the end of week Feb.18, at the time the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12...
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...reduce our dependency on overseas energy, reduce emissions from trucks on the road transporting oil as well as train cars carrying oil. In a country hurting for jobs and some kind of positive economic relief this project can help ease some pains. If our government can waste millions upon millions on failed energy efforts than it can support one that will actually provide jobs and money to this country instead of taking money and not being worth the effort as many of the green initiatives have proven to be. The main opponents to the pipeline being built are on the environmental side. Their main reasoning is that it will have huge negative impacts on the environment and the areas in which the pipeline will cross through. Now while there is always the possibility of this pipeline having negative impacts on the areas around it but the way those on the environmental side would have attacked it are unjust. They claim it will leave a big carbon footprint and cause too much pollution in the environment. President Obama even made it a point not to permit this from being built until the dangers can be assessed. The State Department investigated and surveyed the probable impacts of the Keystone XL pipeline built and it discovered that the impact from building the pipeline would not be significant because the Canadians will extract the oil either way and find other means to transport the oil (Walsh 2014). Those in the environmental community still were not satisfied and claimed the numbers...
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...Ezergailis, P.Eng. 416 983 7784 linda.ezergailis@tdsecurities.com Robert Hope, CFA 416 983 9717 robert.hope@tdsecurities.com Enbridge Inc. (ENB-T, ENB-N) C$31.58 Enbridge to Twin the Athabasca Pipeline for $1.2 billion Event Enbridge has announced that it will twin the southern portion of its existing Athabasca crude oil pipeline between Kirby Lake, AB and Hardisty, AB at an expected cost of $1.2 billion. Impact POSITVE. We estimate the expansion will contribute $0.04 of EPS on an annualized basis when volumes ramp up although we expect it will not contribute to earnings until 2015. Details Athabasca Expansion – Twinning Overview: • Overview: Enbridge has announced that it will install a new twin 345km, 36” liquids pipeline beside its existing Athabasca pipeline between Kirby Lake and Hardisty, Alberta. • Volumes: The twin line will accept volumes from oil sands projects in the Kirby area. We note that Enbridge’s Christina Lake Lateral, which services Cenovus’ and ConocoPhillips’ Christina Lake Enhanced Oil Project, delivers into the Athabasca system near Kirby. The twinning project will allow Enbridge to accommodate new long-haul oil sands volumes from the Cheecham or Athabasca terminals to Hardisty. • Cost: The twin line is expected to cost $1.2 billion. • Capacity: The twin line will initially add 450 kbpd of liquids capacity, which could be cost effectively expanded to 800 kbpd. The project will increase the capacity of the...
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...capital plans in the Oil Sands are balanced between advancing development plans for Oil Sands Ventures, building new infrastructure to enhance marketing flexibility and takeaway capacity, and commencing work on a variety of debottlenecking projects.”(1) Suncor is adding to their resources to ensure they remain profitable, as well as to increase profits, into the future. “Suncor continued to return cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. The company repurchased $408 million of its common shares in the fourth quarter of 2012, and returned more than $2.0 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends in 2012.” (1) With this much value on their returns it seems as if Suncor’s approach is working, the resource-based approach is adding value to the company that is being returned to the stakeholders. The type of company you are running will decide which approach will work best. With a goal based approach the company would decide how well they are doing based on whether or not they reached goals that they set. The internal process approach determines how well the company is doing based on the internal workings of the company. The strategic constituents based approach lets the stakeholders decide how well the company is performing. If shareholders, employees, customers, creditors, and the community are all happy with the company then they are performing well. If Suncor were to judge success by the amount of barrels of oil they produced and...
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...These questions are from the Text Book – Scott, W.R., Financial Accounting Theory – 5th Edition, Person Prentice-Hall, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-13-207286-1. Question 1: From Chapter 4 (Efficient Securities Markets) Question 13. Zhang (2005) examined revenue recognition practices in the software industry. Software firms derive revenue from software licensing and post-contract customer support. In both cases, the point in time when significant risks and rewards of ownership are transferred to the buyer and amounts to be receive can be reliably measured are unclear. Consequently, there is scope for alternative revenue recognition practices in the industry. With respect to licensing, one alternative is to recognize revenue when the licensing contract is signed (early recognition). Another is to wait until the software is delivered to the customer, consistent with the usual sales basis of revenue recognition (late recognition). With respect to post-contract customer support, alternatives are to recognize revenue when contracts are signed (early recognition) or recognize revenue ratably over the term of the contract (late recognition). Zhong examines a sample of 122 firms over 1987 – 1997, of which 22 firms were early recognizers and 93 late. He measured the relevance of a firms’s quarterly revenue by its association with its share returns for the quarter. Given the securities market efficiency, revenues of early recognizers should be more highly associated with their share returns than...
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...Alberta Oil – Keystone XL pipeline The high demand for oil in the U.S. is continuously increasing. In 2010, the United-States, on average, consumed 19.15 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) (Index Mundi 1). Due to the high demand and the proximity to the U.S., Canada is a major supplier of their oil. The Alberta Tar Sands are the 2nd largest oil reservoir in the world and are a major source of Canada’s oil exports to the States and to the world. The high demand is being met with extreme dislike from environmentalists. It also creates thousands of jobs. Bureaucrats are pushing for its construction; they do it for the economical growth and the capital benefits. The construction of the Keystone XL pipeline (KXL) is a controversial issue which has lead President Obama to deny the permit for TransCanada to continue building in the United-States. Sending crude oil down to the United-States would be a sensitive issue and could hurt Canada’s economic development in the future if not handled correctly. The Keystone XL pipeline would primarily perform the job of bringing oil down from Alberta to the large refineries in Texas. The pipeline will provide millions of new jobs in North America. The quick job increase is due to the fact that government of Alberta assigns permits to extract oil from the Tar Sands and not one has been denied. Robert Rampton, a reporter for the Financial Post, wrote, “Canadian production is surging on expanding output from the oil sands. With exports to...
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