Musings of the Technical Bard

It has come to bother me recently that values are bandied about in the mainstream media (e.g. The Globe and Mail, CBC, CNN, The New York Times) that, while not wrong per se, are very misleading to an uneducated public. My particular concern today is the relative quantity of CO2 Emissions from various sources.

Oil Sands GHG Production versus End User GHG Production

The first item I’d like to discuss is the statement in the press that oil production from the oil sands emits 3-5 times as much carbon dioxide as conventional oil production. This may be true, and I can believe it is the case (it sounds about right). The problem I have with these statements is that there is a key piece of information missing. The Pembina Institute provides a summary of some data on production and upgrading of bitumen. They indicate that mining of bitumen results in between 25-40 kg CO2 equivalent per barrel (kg/bbl). From the tables in their recent study, you can also work out that Upgrading of bitumen to synthethic crude runs around 50 kg/bbl. So that means that production and upgrading of bitumen requires roughly 100 kg/bbl (erring on the high side).

The missing piece of information is that production of oil isn’t the primary emissions source. Consumption of that oil is the primary emissions source. A barrel of crude oil is about 0.16m³ of oil. Crude oil with a specific gravity of 32°API (typical of synthetic oils), this would have a mass of about 140 kg. Crude oil is around 12% hydrogen, which means the remainder is carbon (synthetic crude having had essentially all the other things like sulfur and nitrogen removed).

This means that a barrel of crude, once turned into gasoline and diesel fuel, results in emissions of 121 kg of carbon. But we need to convert this to carbon dioxide. Carbon has an atomic weight of 12. Oxygen has an atomic weight of 16. Carbon Dioxide has a molecular weight of 44. This means that 121 kg of carbon becomes 442 kg of CO2.

So the emissions from production and upgrading are about 100 kg/bbl. The users emit 442 kg/bbl. Note that the Pembina Institute doesn’t point out that little detail. Note that the media doesn’t tell the millions of Canadians that we the people are the primary emitter of CO2 from oil? Either they are stupid and don’t know – or their real goals are not simply reducing emissions – because if it was we wouldn’t be chasing the oil companies.

Alberta is responsible for 30% of Canada’s GHG emissions

Actually, we aren’t. Alberta is responsible for roughly 30% of the industrial emissions, or Large Final Emitter emissions, in Canada. However, what you aren’t being told is that industrial emissions only add up to HALF of the total GHG emissions. The other half is from people driving cars and heating their homes and shops. And having food delivered. And making sure the shelves are full at Wal-Mart.

If we take these into account, Alberta only has 10% of the population. And all provinces emissions are similar on the people side because so much of it is tied to cars and heating houses. Only if you have electric heat coming from a hydroelectric dam or nuclear plant are you lower. Or if you don’t have a car. Or you live in Victoria or Vancouver where you don’t get real winter. But anyway. Alberta has 30% of half and 10% of half, which gives us only 20% of the total emissions. Ontario on the other hand has about 40% of the total emissions because they have 33% of the people and lots of industrial emitters as well. See this graph from Environment Canada.

I’d like the media to tell the truth for once on this issue.