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Expanding oil sands exploration to U.S. may hinge more on politics than energy security
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Quarter to a place that can potentially help solve a lot of America's energy problems.
Senior national correspondent John Roberts is in what buffalo Alberta Canada tonight.
It is the biggest industrial project in the world the globe's third largest reserve of oil more than a century's worth.
All of it with -- a few hundred miles of the US border.
This really does represent Anderson energy security -- talk about North America.
We are friendly neighbor to the laughs so what a terrific source of energy to be able to -- provide to our American neighbors.
Each bucket of this enormous shovel picks up about a hundred tons of oil sand when a truck is fully loaded it's carrying the equivalent of about 200 barrels of oil.
And they do this 24/7.
365.
Days a year.
Dissent and you're separating here and extracting the oil from the -- is simple just -- hot water and stir.
-- is what would go into the Keystone Pipeline 800000 barrels a day.
What was the reaction here with the White House killed the proposal profound disappointment and some good news about why -- -- business makes sense the State Department said as much on all levels.
Should go -- we think it's still going to opponents warned that the environmental costs of approving keystone in both the US and Canada.
Huge open pit mine scar the landscape and oilsands extraction releases more greenhouse gases than traditional drilling.
In a recent dot -- at NASA's chief climate scientist James Hansen said if the oil sands are fully developed its game over for the climate.
Canada's environment minister shot back -- it hyperbole fear mongering and unscientific slander he said.
The prime minister declared if the White House doesn't want Canadian oil there are plenty of countries that do.
We want to sell our energy to people who want to buy our energy.
It's that simple new technologies have unlocked even more oil to go down together parallel 15100 feet.
And they -- little morsel for half a mile half a mile underneath this -- that's correct.
Devon Energy is drilling wells deep into oil -- not accessible through -- then using superheated steam to release the oil.
The environmental impact as a fraction the size in a small footprint really about 34 football fields in size.
We have produced 35000 barrels a day oil sands exploration also means American jobs these steam generators are made an Oklahoma.
Giant dump trucks come from Illinois the massive -- from Wisconsin.
For every -- jobs created in the oil -- one jobs created in the US we're talking about.
Close the half a million jobs in America over the next point five years because of oilsands development and the oil companies have learned how to turn.
This.
Back into this.
Re claiming the land once all the oil has been mind.
-- proven that we know how to put it back together.
And and we're very proud of the land that we put back when we leave this area it's our goal that you would never know we were here.
-- is moving full speed ahead with its expansion of the oil sands project in plans to double production of the next eight years.
Whether the US could benefit from that increase supply of secure oil may hinge more on politics.
That an actual calculation of what's best for America's energy security.
-- -- and a fight is not over in Washington John Roberts thank you so much.
