[R-G] New Report Calls for Canada to Set Up Strategic Petroleum Reserves

[Anthony Fenton]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 31, 2008
Eastern Canada Vulnerable to Oil Shortages
New Report Calls for Canada to Set Up Strategic Petroleum Reserves

http://www.ualberta.ca/PARKLAND/mediareleases/PRJan31_2008SPR.htm

Report: http://www.ualberta.ca/PARKLAND/research/studies/SPR% 
20Report.pdf

EDMONTON—Canada is currently the most vulnerable country in the  
industrial world to short-term oil supply crises, and we need to  
establish strategic petroleum reserves to remedy the problem. This is  
the key finding of a report released today by Alberta’s Parkland  
Institute in conjunction with the Polaris Institute.

Freezing in the Dark: Why Canada Needs Strategic Petroleum Reserves  
points out the precariousness of current global oil supplies,  
especially given current tensions in the Middle East, and fact that  
Canada imports close to 1 million barrels of oil per day to supply  
the needs of central and eastern provinces.

“We are virtually the only country in the industrial world without  
strategic petroleum reserves,” says Gordon Laxer, a political  
economist at the U of A and author of the report. “The combination of  
our energy commitments under NAFTA and the north-south flow of our  
pipelines virtually guarantees that Eastern Canada will face  
shortages during global supply shocks—this puts Canadians at risk.”

Canada imports 40% of the oil it uses, with almost half of that  
coming from OPEC countries. This makes Canada very susceptible on a  
volatile region for a significant portion of its oil supply. And  
there are simply no pipelines or infrastructure in place to get  
Alberta oil to Eastern Canada in case of a crisis.

“The sad reality is that our government continues to prioritize the  
energy security of the United States despite the needs of Canadians,”  
says Polaris Institute Director Tony Clarke.

Ricardo Acuña, Executive Director of Parkland Institute, points out  
that “Albertans will argue that there is enough oil in the tarsands  
to supply for all of Canada’s needs well into the future, but  
unfortunately people in Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces do  
not have access to that oil—it all flows south.”

Beyond making the case for strategic petroleum reserves, the report  
goes into detail about what function they would serve, what they  
would look like, and where they could be located.

This study represents one part of the ongoing work being done by both  
Parkland and Polaris to develop a Canadian energy security strategy  
which will meet the environmental, economic and energy needs of  
Canadians over the long term.

Copies of the report are available on the web at www.ualberta.ca/ 
parkland or can be requested by phone at (780) 492-8558.

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For further information:
Ricardo Acuna, Parkland Institute (780) 492-8558; cell (780) 951-7180




Media Contact:
Ricardo Acuña (780) 492-0417

This report is available direct from the Parkland Institute  
(780-492-8558)