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Canadian oilsands producers are dealing with environmental issues in a straightforward and sound way, a senior official with the US Department of Energy told the Herald on Monday. "It`s nice to see a country investing so much in its own domestic supplies and doing it in a way that`s environmentally sound," said acting deputy secretary of energy Jeff Kupfer, who was invited to Calgary by the C.D. Howe Institute.
Alberta`s massive bitumen reserves play a key role in US energy security, Kupfer said, after spending the day touring Syncrude facilities with provincial Energy Minister Mel Knight. The spectre of "dirty oil" continues to shadow talks between Canada and the US on concerns over a clause in the US Energy Independence and Security Act that requires federal agencies to only import fuel in which the greenhouse gas emissions are "less than or equal to such emissions from the equivalent conventional fuel produced from conventional petroleum sources."
In late September, an attempt to amend an energy bill that appears to ban the sale of "dirty oil" products -- including those originating in the Canadian oilsands -- to US federal government agencies failed in Washington. Section 526 of the US Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 bars US federal agencies such as the military and the postal service from buying alternative fuels if the production creates more greenhouse gases than conventional fuels.
Kupfer said Canadians shouldn`t be concerned about American administrations limiting their exports of oilsands products into the US. "They should feel comfortable in the decisions they have made in terms of expansions and that there will continue to be a strong market for their product," Kupfer said.
Alberta`s massive bitumen reserves play a key role in US energy security, Kupfer said, after spending the day touring Syncrude facilities with provincial Energy Minister Mel Knight. The spectre of "dirty oil" continues to shadow talks between Canada and the US on concerns over a clause in the US Energy Independence and Security Act that requires federal agencies to only import fuel in which the greenhouse gas emissions are "less than or equal to such emissions from the equivalent conventional fuel produced from conventional petroleum sources."
In late September, an attempt to amend an energy bill that appears to ban the sale of "dirty oil" products -- including those originating in the Canadian oilsands -- to US federal government agencies failed in Washington. Section 526 of the US Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 bars US federal agencies such as the military and the postal service from buying alternative fuels if the production creates more greenhouse gases than conventional fuels.
Kupfer said Canadians shouldn`t be concerned about American administrations limiting their exports of oilsands products into the US. "They should feel comfortable in the decisions they have made in terms of expansions and that there will continue to be a strong market for their product," Kupfer said.