More thoughts on U.S energy needs

I was thinking again...

Getting to be a dangerous thing!

Yesterday, i posted a word or two on the story where george bush and the U.S Energy Department meeting with key officials of Natural Resources Canada.

The story, as CBC's Radio-Canada reported, is that the U.S is trying to get Canada to "step up" production of crude or bitumen, from the western oil sands projects, mostly in Alberta. What they are asking the Canadian government for is a fivefold increase in production from the oil sands fields. Not only are environmentalists worried, Canadians should be worried about becoming a US energy supplier before Canadians and their consumers are.

There are other underlying concerns here though, that Eastern Canadian producing provinces should be worried about, imparticularly Newfoundland and Labrador.

What I'm saying about that, is this...

Newfoundland and Labrador fought long and hard to attain offshore oil production, finally seeing first oil from the Hibernia project come to fruition in 1997. The project is now through its half-way point with another ten years of production left in it.

What we have also been left witness to is a break-off over negotiations of the Hebron-Ben Nevis oil project not far from Hibernia and a possible shut-down of the offshore oil industry as Newfoundland and Labradorians now know it.

Talks broke off when the premier of the province wanted "extras" like an equity stake in the project. The oil companies who discovered the resource, with no input of provincial investment in the project, have refused to grant those extra conditions.

Because there is now an impass and there is no hope of a future agreement under the Williams administration, it is very likely that Newfoundland and Labrador will not see the advent of another oil and gas project while the present administration remains in power.

What we possibly are going to lose is a heck of a lot of revenue to look after our seniors who will be left alone because Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will, again, head west to help Alberta produce oil "fivefold" for the United States.

Alberta is presently exporting some one million barrels of oil per day South of the Border and, with the likelihood of five million coming on-stream by 2015, we just might see the population of Newfoundland and Labrador become decimated by the outflux of workers and their families to western areas.

There's trouble ahead...

The question remains however, "what is the province's best resource that it should preserve for future generations?"...

The answer in this case, should be " To preserve it's most cherished resource-it's people-for itself."

If the western oil sands developments take place, then the world's next endangered species might very well be Newfoundland and Labradorians...

It's going to be a slow death...