[Sust-mar] Preparing for the peak: Energy security and Atlantic Canada

[Larry Hughes]

The world price of crude oil is rising, driven by a number of factors,
including a seemingly insatiable demand caused by the modernization of
China, international tensions in Nigeria, Venezuela, and Iran, the growing
reliance on heavy, sour crudes, a lack of rigs, speculators, and the
dependence on oil revenues by OPEC countries, especially those in the
Middle East. These factors, coupled with the fact that crude oil
production is peaking or has peaked in many producing countries, means
that policy makers must develop energy policies recognizing that we are
approaching a time when oil products are not as plentiful or inexpensive
as they are today.
 
Canada is one of the handful of countries that is still able to export
crude oil and refined petroleum products. Perhaps because of this, the
Canadian federal government and most, if not all, provincial governments
do not have energy policies that recognize the need for energy security.
 
Atlantic Canada is one region of Canada that is particularly energy
insecure when it comes to oil products; almost all of the region's oil is
imported from the North Sea and Venezuela. Although there are limited
reserves of crude oil on Newfoundland and Labrador's Grand Banks, most of
the production is destined for markets outside the region.
 
This paper examines Atlantic Canada's present energy usage and then
considers how rising world oil prices will affect the region. The
prospects for alternatives to the current overwhelming reliance on oil
products are discussed.
 
Paper: http://lh.ece.dal.ca/enen/2006/ERG200606.pdf
Presentation: http://lh.ece.dal.ca/enen/POinAC.pdf
 
[The paper and presentation were originally given at the University of
Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa at the second International
Green Energy Conference in June 2006.]
 
Larry Hughes, PhD
Professor
Energy Research Group
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Dalhousie University
Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3J 2X4
Canada

v: 902.494.3950
f: 902.422.7535
e: larry.hughes at dal.ca
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