Lee Richardson addresses the 4th annual Canadian Oilsands Summit

January 16, 2007

Thank you, Minister Lunn and thank you Councillor Gibbons. Ladies and gentlemen, I am very pleased to welcome all of you to Calgary, my home town, for the Oil Sands Summit.

It is a great pleasure to represent Gary Lunn here today. Gary has made several visits to Calgary since his appointment and is well thought of here. He is doing a great job as Minister of Natural Resources.

As Ed noted, I am the Chairman of the Energy Committee, now named the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources. It is an all party committee currently composed, in this minority government, of 5 Conservatives, 4 Liberals, 2 Bloc Quebequois and 1 NDP member; essentially 5 Government members and 7 Opposition members.

Presently the Committee’s major study and topic of discussion is The Role of the Federal Government in the Development of the Alberta Oilsands. We have, over the past 4 months heard from over 100 witnesses from Industry Associations, Environmental groups, Companies, Individuals, Aboriginal groups, Fort McMurray residents and businesses, Provincial and Federal government officials and agencies. It is a very hot topic in Ottawa with many strongly held and divergent views which we hope to consolidate and present, by way of a Report to Parliament, within a month. The proceedings, results and report of this, the 4th Annual Canadian Oilsands Summit will be of significant interest to our committee.

Increasingly, Canada has a major international presence in the field of energy production. Canada’s success in the energy sector is built on the collective efforts of entrepreneurs, industry and of government.

Our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has described his vision of Canada as an emerging energy superpower. In some respects, we are almost there: we are second only to Saudi Arabia in terms of proven oil reserves; we rank fifth in the world for total energy production; and we are the largest exporter of oil, natural gas, electricity and uranium to the United States of America.

Security
What is even more important than the size of our oil supply is the fact that it is secure. Energy security is an increasingly important issue for countries all over the world. We are a stable, democratic country with growing capacity.

To a casual observer this may seem to be a simple good news story; the oil industries will continue to develop millions of barrels; stock markets will ride the wave; the employment boom in the west will continue.

This development brings with it both opportunities and challenges.
Opportunity
The opportunity is clear: the demand for oil will continue to increase, and oil will continue to be a major component of our energy mix and the world’s energy mix for many years. Ongoing development of the oil sands will help meet this demand. Production here will increase threefold by 2015.

The Challenge
You who work in the industry know that, along with all of this opportunity comes a significant challenge, which is how to provide clean, reliable energy for the oil sands.

Clean and economic energy sources will be the key to meeting market demand without affecting the environment. The Government of Canada is working with provincial governments and industry on innovative research to develop:

• Environmentally friendly extraction and processing techniques
• The use of alternative energy sources to alleviate dependence on natural gas
• Water management and low / or non-water-based processes to reduce the environmental impact of future oil sands development.

Clean Energy Solutions
Two new possible uses of clean energy technologies are emerging.

• As I’m sure you’re all aware, EnCana’s Weyburn project is the world’s largest carbon dioxide capture and storage project. This technology holds tremendous promise in reducing the environmental footprint of the development of conventional energy sources such as the oil sands. It also enhances the production of oil.
• Canada’s own CANDU nuclear technology is a clean and proven reliable energy source that can be considered as part of the energy supply mix. Atomic Energy Canada Limited is teaming up with Energy Alberta Corporation of Calgary to explore the use of nuclear technology to provide electricity, steam and hydrogen supplies to oil sands operators.

These new uses of clean energy technologies could complement research being conducted through government and industry.

• At the CANMET Energy Technology Centre (CETC) in Devon, Alberta, industry is working with NRCan to improve current extraction froth treatment processes and water management as well as developing advanced catalysts and bio-upgrading technologies for processing bitumen.
• Ottawa’s CETC facility is leading the research into carbon dioxide capture and storage as well as alternative clean coal power generation.

Through innovation, you have made real progress in reducing the amount of energy you use in developing the oil sands. Significant progress has already been made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions intensity.

Continuing research and collaboration will see those numbers improve even more in the near future. Science and technology will meet the development challenges of cleaning up conventional energy and producing and using energy from other clean sources.

The result of these technologies is reduction of environmental impacts, increased productivity and generated economic growth in Canada.

Science and technology are the key elements in our government’s approach to clean energy. Tomorrow at the Ottawa CTEC facility, Minister Lunn will be making an announcement about clean energy technologies.

The basic facts remain the same: much of the world’s energy will continue to be supplied from oil and other petroleum sources. What we need is innovative new technologies to extract our fossil fuels cleanly.

Closing
If there is one crucial element to the success of the oil sands, it is the combined expertise of people like you.

I wish you continued success and hope that this summit provides the inspiration for further advances in clean energy for the oil sands.