David Black's Refinery Wild Card Gets Wilder

What do cancer technology and newspapers have in common? How about ghost towns and oil refineries? A northern B.C. mayor and China's largest bank?

There's seemingly little shared ground between David Black and Krishnan Suthanthiran. Yet with a provincial election imminent, both are proposing similarly bold, ambitious, and some might say impractical, economic visions for B.C.'s northwest.

China's largest bank in deal to finance Kitimat refinery

China's largest bank will be helping to finance the proposed Kitimat refinery, which would process oil from the Alberta oilsands in B.C., instead of the raw bitumen being shipped overseas.

B.C. media mogul David Black said he has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) for the proposed refinery that is estimated to cost $25 billion.

Kitimat refinery would be a game-changer

In a startling development, the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline idea has been resurrected. Until Friday, the smart money was calling this line doomed by overwhelming political forces. Its chances must now be at least 50-50.

The startling development is a proposal for a $13-billion oil refinery at Kitimat, B.C., that would provide 6,000 construction jobs for five years and 3,000 direct jobs thereafter, as well as thousands of service spinoffs. Hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax revenues would be generated annually. In effect, our resources would have value added here instead of in China. No government could ignore that kind of opportunity.

Kitimat oil refinery could blacken province’s reputation, foes say

If the proposed oil refinery in Kitimat is built, it could end up forcing the province to jettison its long-term environmental goals, opponents say.

“Building the refinery would have very large implications for B.C.’s green commitment,” said Jennifer Grant, director of the oilsands program at Alberta’s Pembina Institute.

“B.C. could potentially have to give up its green targets because [constructing the facility is] an intensive project with huge carbon footprints.”

Why Aren't We Building Refineries In Canada? Because It's Too Late, Experts Say

Ian MacGregor stands at the centre of the growing disconnect between Canada’s booming oil production and its lack of refineries and upgraders.

As chairman of Calgary-based North West Upgrading (NWU), he’s overseeing construction of a $5-billion oil sands upgrader outside of Edmonton that will process 55,000 barrels of bitumen per day in partnership with Canadian Natural Resources (CNR) and the Alberta government, converting heavy crude into diesel fuel for the Canadian market.

Slated to come online in 2015, the project already employs 1,000, a number that is set to grow to 8,000 at the peak of construction -- which, as MacGregor sees it, is proof that more Canadian oil can and should be processed here.

Imperial Oil eyes selling Nova Scotia refinery

Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO-T41.01-0.99-2.36%) is hanging a “for sale” sign on its 95-year-old refinery in Dartmouth, N.S., but would consider converting it to an import terminal, the company said Thursday.

The refinery, which employs 400 people and processes 88,000 barrels per day of crude, produces a range of products from gasoline and diesel, to home heating fuel, but is facing tough competition from foreign refineries serving eastern North America.

The Dartmouth plant operates in the highly-competitive Atlantic basin market, where a number of refineries in the eastern U.S., Caribbean and Europe have been shuttered or sold.

Oil executive son's testimony at Prince Rupert Northern Gateway pipeline joint review panel

The most moving moment of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Joint Review Panel hearings in Prince Rupert which wrapped up Saturday were spoken by Lee Brain, the 26-year-old son of an oil executive.

Here is an excerpt of his speech:

My oral evidence today comes in the form of a story, an experience I had three years ago which directly reflects the impacts this project will have on me, and my community.

The story begins after a lifetime of debating with my father -he thought it was high time for me to finally experience first-hand the magnitude and power of the oil industry.

So in the summer of 2009, I had the opportunity to spend one full month on one of the world’s largest oil refineries, producing 800,000 barrels of oil per day. At the time, it was under an expansion project to produce up to an astonishing 1.2 million barrels per day and for confidentiality reasons, the company and details of the project will remain unnamed.

Keep jobs in Canada: Build refineries for oilsands

Political codswallop and flak-flavoured red herrings now litter the debate over pipelines to carry bitumen from Alberta's oilsands to markets in the United States and Asia.

Can we please have some mature discussion?

That would involve calm and intelligent cost-benefit analysis based on science and reason rather than emotive sloganeering and clownish "talking points."

Yes, that assessment must include climate change and whether exporting carbon emissions to another jurisdiction represents moral hazard on the part of the exporter.

Yes, we do need objective environ-mental risk analysis without vested interest.

In the meantime, the International Labour Organization says developed economies like Canada have a global responsibility to stimulate job growth rather than simply slashing jobs to balance budgets. The ILO argues that this is a moral imperative because constraining economic growth in the developed world causes disproportionate suffering in the developing world.

So this pipeline debate is also a discussion of exactly what Canada's jobs strategy should be.

For example, how many jobs would the Northern Gateway pipeline really create, how long would they last and where would they be located?