Mastodawn

Amid an energy crisis, the world is drawing on its oil reserves. Why doesn't Canada have any?

https://sh.itjust.works/post/56728171

Amid an energy crisis, the world is drawing on its oil reserves. Why doesn't Canada have any? - sh.itjust.works

With war in the Middle East keeping the critical Strait of Hormuz fuel route closed, the international community is reaching into its oil reserves to fill the supply gap. On Wednesday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to release 400 million barrels from its emergency reserves — its largest-ever release — in order to help ease a disruption of “unprecedented” scale, the IEA said. That’s drawing scrutiny of Canada’s oil reserves — or, rather, its lack of them, as Canada is the only nation in the G7 that doesn’t maintain a strategic reserve. While Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said on Wednesday that Canada would “do its part” to help contribute to the global oil supply, Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the Liberal government for not having any reserves.

Magister Mar 13

As far as I understand Canada has shit lot of oil, but decided to sell it to the USA, and import/buy from Africa/Middle East/Word. It does not make sense.

HellsBelle Mar 13

Canada has heavy crude oil > that must be mixed with light crude oil from other sources > which can then be refined into usable oil.

We ship our heavy crude to the US through pipelines, rail and soon-to-be ocean tankers.

We have a lot of crude oil, but not enough refineries to handle our complete yearly production. So some of it inevitably gets exported (25%? I forget.)

There’s also the fact that not all oil is created equal. Crude oil from the Alberta tar sands is heavy and sulfurous and contaminated with heavy metals. Some products are much more easily made from imported light oil, or from a mixture of types.

Build more upgraders? Doesn’t that upgrade heavy crude to light.

I wonder what form those reserves take. Oil has a short shelf life, so I’m assuming it’s a bunch of storage tanks that are constantly being emptied and refilled.

PhantomNomad Mar 13

Do you know what the shelf life of oil is? I’m just curious.

lost_faith Mar 13

How long does gasoline last in a car tank is usually three to six months. In a sealed container it often lasts 6-12 months. elanfuels.com/how-long-does-gasoline-last-fuel-ta…

ExxonMobil states, “In general, the recommended shelf life for oils and greases is typically five years when stored properly in the original sealed containers.” - Drums of oil do not contain anything that goes bad in the way food does. However, oil can be degraded due to contaminants and/or additive dropout because of mishandling. petroleumservicecompany.com/…/what-is-the-shelf-l…

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Elan Fuels

But unprocessed oil is not the same as gas. And I have had gas last much much longer then that even with out stabilizers.

Nik282000 Mar 13

Literally hundreds of millions of years underground, but it spoils at sea level?

Probably related to exposure to stuff in our atmosphere, like most things that spoil out here. Oxygen, water, etc.

AFallingAnvil Mar 14

I mean, the conditions aren’t exactly the same in a barrel nevermingld the refining and adding things.

ZombieCyborgFromOuterSpace Mar 13

We have a maple reserve. That’s all we need, thanks.

DarylInCanada Mar 13

We have lots of oil reserves.

They are still in the ground.

maplesaga Mar 14

Until the US refines them for us.

pathwonder Mar 15

The US companies have significant investments in oil and gas in Canada. There’s no way the Americans would allow Canada to just pump the oil and process it further without a cut of the action.