Introduction
The bituminous sand that is found in Alberta, Canada is a key resource to Canada. It has played a key role in the development of the country. The mining industry in Canada has played a key role in the economic development of Canada. It has been discovered that nearly approximately 10 percent of oil is considered to be economically recoverable with the use of technologies that are currently being developed. With this, Canada is ranked the third in oil energy reserves after Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. It is estimated that oil sands will account for approximately 25% of oil liquid supply in both North and South America. Oil is one of the most consumed energy resource. The demand for oil continues to grow. This puts Canada at an advantage position because of the potential of oil sands reserves. With the increased need for transportation, the need for oil will increase which will make rise and the need for oil to increase with time. The need for energy sources will increase so that by year 2040, it will still be the world’s leading source of energy. The growing demand for oil makes Canada an important supplier to North and South America. In the next 30 years, the demand for oil liquids will be seen to increase by 30%. This is a sure way of ensuring that the productions of the oil will improve the economy of Canada. The statistics and the role of the oil sands in the economy mean that the production will enhance the economy of the country. Mining industry is an important part of the Canadian economy as it has had many of the people living by the mining industry. The natives of the area depend on oil mining because they started their companies for mining (Le Billon, & Carter, 2012).
Likely local native view
The oil sands have been beneficial to our community and for a long time. I feel that we have the right to develop the oil sands as we have been used. The commercial developers do not have the rights to exploit the oil sands. We are suffering from the explorations and the mining that has been taking place since the introduction of the commercial companies in this area. Before the introduction of the mining in a commercial and large scale, we used to get all the benefits and the proceeds from the oil sands. We no longer have the rights to mine the oil and yet we feel that we own the oil because they are found on our sand and land. We have also been suffering from getting deformed fish from the commercial fishing that we have been undertaking. This is an important aspect that should be considered by the government. The local economy is being destroyed and yet there is nothing that is being done to correct the destructions that are being done (Schindler, 2010).
There are also issues of land that we feel we have been denied. The issue of land has been a thorny one because since the start of commercial production of bituminous oil, we have seen our lands being taken. What we expected is to be compensated on the land that has been taken by the commercial companies and by the companies. This is not the case as there are many issues that come with these explorations.
I also feel that the local community should be the first beneficiary of the oil explorations. There should be policies that will protect the local people from being exploited. We should be promised of employment and government donations from the proceeds. The local community should benefit from the proceeds.
Industry spokesperson view
The oil sands have been a great boost to the Canadian economy. There has been developments that have been seen which have been seen to boost the economy of both the local and national economy. I feel that the explorations that have been done have increased the availability of oil. The technologies that have been used are efficient with the key development and concern about the environment. It is important to conserve the environment in the process of developing and exploration the oils. It has proved that the country can benefit from the future explorations and development of the oil reserves. One of the leading aspects of oil development is to have proper use of technology that will conserve the environment.
Companies should be allowed to own the lands in this area for better and optimization of the oil reserves in the area. We feel that the inclusion of the native people have been a hindrance to the explorations. Native people should not be allowed to stay in this area because of the need to have all the areas exploited. The government should look for an alternative place where the people will be settled. It is important to understand the need to have full exploration of the oils in this area. Another important aspect of the oil exploration and development in this area is the fact that the issues that the companies get with the natives should be eliminated because the technology that is used for mining oil in this area needs a high technology that the native people lack.
One other aspect of the oil sands in Alberta is that there has been enhancement and improvement of economy to the local natives. The natives have benefited from this process. Mining should be encouraged and allowed to continue for a better economy of the future.
I also feel that the issue of cost of production should not be an issue for the concerned parties. This is because there are developments to ensure that the refining of sand oil will be cost-effective. There are technologies that have been developed to ensure that the oils will be developed and integrated with the latest technologies so that there are strategies that will ensure high returns on investments.
Strong politician view
I feel that the oil exploration process in Alberta region will soon not benefit the country which is being exploited. The oil should benefit the local community and Canada. The encroaching of China should be discouraged by the government of Canada. There is a need to ensure that the oil that is got in the region serves the North and South America. All oil explorations should be done by the Canadians and Canadian companies. China government should not be allowed to start the exploration. The pipeline that has been constructed to siphon the oil to China should be discouraged by all the politicians. It is important to understand the fact that the people of Canada are the ones who have been displaced in the whole process. The only way in which they can be rewarded is by ensuring that they get the rewards and the proceeds from the explorations that are taking place. The government is not right in the procedures that are taking place where there are partners from China who want to take part in exploring the oil. This should be discouraged in the process. This is not the case and there should be measures taken to ensure that the developments do not take place.
The government should also ensure that the environment is conserved in the process of explorations of the oil sands. Third parties should not be a point of concern because they have been denied the chance to take part in the exploration process. The United States should not dictate to Canada the procedures that should be followed in order to conserve the environment. Canada should be concerned about the environment like any other country. It is the inclusion of China that the issues of the environment will be probed (Chilingar, & Yen, 2011).
Policies should be developed and integrated to the mining and refining of the Alberta sand oils. This will help in the whole process. It is important to understand what is needed in order to have successful process of explorations. This will strengthen the development process and will ensure that the development process will be integrated well. It is important to understand what is required in this process and to ensure that the mining and refining process will be beneficial to the local communities. The country and Alberta region should also benefit.
Recommendation/conclusion
The oil exploration process of Alberta has local, international, and national concerns. The cost of production has been seen to be an issue in the production of the sand oil. There are technologies that have been developed that will address this issue of costly means of production. There should be the support of other countries in the process of exploration the oil. This is because there will be the need to understand the requirements and the incorporation of new technologies in the exploration. Countries like China should not be denied the chance to undertake the explorations. The inclusion of other players in the industry will enhance the bilateral trade between Canada and other countries.
The issue of the local population should be controlled by ensuring that the local population should be settled elsewhere for better explorations. Canada and Alberta should strive to look for ways of refining the oil locally. Other areas like Montreal, Sarnia, and New Brunswick should be included as the mining locations in the area. There should be discounted advantages that should be achieved in the price between Brent and oil sands; this should benefit the Eastern Canada. The Americans should not be the only ones who will benefit from the price discounts. With the markets in the United States hanging in the balance, there is a need to ensure that Canada starts to review the NAFTA agreement because America may be getting energy source from shale gas. This will affect the marketability of the sand oils from Canada. There should be measures taken to ensure that the future of the supply of the oil is assured. This is perhaps the reason why partners should be reviewed in this aspect.
References
Chilingar, GV, & Yen, TF 2011, Bitumens, asphalts, and tar sands, Vol. 7, Elsevier.
Le Billon, P, & Carter, A 2012, Securing Alberta’s Tar Sands: Resistance and Criminalization on a New Energy Frontier, Natural Resources and Social Conflict: Towards Critical Environmental Security, Page 170.
Schindler, D 2010, Tar sands need solid science, Nature, Vol 468, Issue, 7323, Pp 499-501.
