Antarctica… a Future Beach Town?
I keep hearing chatter that the age of oil may be soon ending.
“Peak oil” enthusiasts love to tell you the end is near, as well.
While I’m in love with the idea, I don’t believe it.
You see, for better or for worse, I’m very left-brained – rational, logical, fact oriented.
And when I look around at, say, the Canadian Oil Sands, I see a world with a terrible oil addiction.
At last count, there were 22 active exploration projects in what’s officially known as the Athabasca tar sands in Alberta, British Columbia.
The Athabasca deposit is the only large oil sands reservoir in the world suitable for large-scale surface mining.
Its proven reserves were last estimated at 174 billion barrels.
When you include unproven reserves, the number spikes into the trillions of barrels… Or enough oil to guarantee Antarctica’s future success as a beach resort destination. (Cue the images of polar bears floating on glacial ice cubes.)
I can assure you that the plan is to mine, refine and sell every drop of oil in the tar sands. Just ask Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU), which holds the one of the largest positions in the oil sands.
The truth is, I get really excited every time I hear that the end of oil is near. But I’m looking for more tangible proof. If you have any, drop me a comment.
Ahead of the tape,
Robert Williams
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