EnergyProducing fuel from Canada oil sands emits 20 percent more CO2 than from U.S. crude
In 2013, the oil industry was producing nearly two million barrels per day from Canadian oil sands. By 2030, that number is expected to rise to just over 4.8 million barrels per day. As the United States takes stock of its greenhouse gas emissions, scientists report that the current oil sands production of fuels from “well-to-wheels” releases about 20 percent more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than making gasoline and diesel from conventional crudes.
The production of petroleum from Canada’s oil sands is on the rise with much of it destined for U.S. refineries. As the United States takes stock of its greenhouse gas emissions, scientists report in the American Chemical Society (ACS) journal Environmental Science & Technology that the current oil sands production of fuels from “well-to-wheels” releases about 20 percent more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than making gasoline and diesel from conventional crudes.
ACS says that in 2013, the oil industry was producing nearly two million barrels per day from Canadian oil sands. By 2030, that number is expected to rise to just over 4.8 million barrels per day. Studies have estimated the impact of oil sands on greenhouse gas emissions, but the figures have ranged widely, depending on several factors such as the extraction method and refining efficiency. Hao Cai and colleagues wanted to come up with a more detailed assessment.
To calculate the carbon footprint of fuels from Canadian oil sands, the researchers took a more comprehensive approach and incorporated in their formula recent technological upgrades designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Despite the upgrades, they found that gasoline and diesel from Canadian oil sands still released 18 percent and 21 percent more carbon, respectively, into the atmosphere than those same fuels from conventional crude oils that come from U.S. sources.
— Read more in “Well-to-Wheels Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Canadian Oil Sands Products: Implications for U.S. Petroleum Fuels,” Environmental Science & Technology (9 June 2015) (DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5b01255)
