{ "id": "R42537", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R42537", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 436699, "date": "2014-12-30", "retrieved": "2016-05-24T19:40:42.799941", "title": "Canadian Oil Sands: Life-Cycle Assessments of Greenhouse Gas Emissions", "summary": "Canadian Oil Sands and Climate Change\nRecent congressional interest in U.S. energy policy has focused in part on ways through which the United States could secure more economical and reliable petroleum resources both domestically and internationally. Many forecasters identify petroleum products refined from Canadian oil sands as one possible solution. Increased production from Canadian oil sands, however, is not without controversy, as many have expressed concern over the potential environmental impacts. These impacts include emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) during resource extraction and processing. A number of key studies in recent literature have expressed findings that GHG emissions per unit of energy produced from Canadian oil sands crudes are higher than those of other crudes imported, refined, and consumed in the United States. The studies identify two main reasons for the difference: (1) oil sands are heavier and more viscous than lighter crude oil types on average, and thus require more energy- and resource-intensive activities to extract; and (2) oil sands are chemically deficient in hydrogen, and have a higher carbon, sulfur, and heavy metal content than lighter crude oil types on average, and thus require more processing to yield consumable fuels by U.S. standards.\nSelected Findings from the Primary Published Studies\nCRS surveyed the published literature, including the U.S. State Department-commissioned studies for the Keystone XL pipeline project in both the 2011 Final Environmental Impact Statement and the 2014 Final Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement. The primary literature reveals the following:\nCanadian oil sands crudes are generally more GHG emission-intensive than other crudes they may displace in U.S. refineries, and emit an estimated 17% more GHGs on a life-cycle basis than the average barrel of crude oil refined in the United States;\ncompared to selected imports, Well-to-Wheels GHG emissions for Canadian oil sands crudes range from 9% to 19% more emission-intensive than Middle Eastern Sour, 5% to 13% more emission-intensive than Mexican Maya, and 2% to 18% more emission-intensive than various Venezuelan crudes;\ncompared to selected energy- and resource-intensive crudes, Well-to-Wheels GHG emissions for Canadian oil sands crudes are within range of heavier crudes such as Venezuelan Bachaquero and Californian Kern River, as well as lighter crudes that are produced from operations that flare associated gas (e.g., Nigerian Bonny Light);\ndiscounting the final consumption phase of the life-cycle assessment (which can contribute up to 70%-80% of Well-to-Wheels emissions), Well-to-Tank (i.e., \u201cproduction\u201d) GHG emissions for Canadian oil sands crudes are 9%-102% higher than for selected imports;\nthe estimated effect of the Keystone XL pipeline on global GHG emissions remains uncertain, as some speculate that its construction would encourage an expansion of oil sands investment and development, while others suggest that the project would not substantially influence either the rate or magnitude of oil extraction activities in Canada or the overall volume of crude oil transported to and refined in the United States.\nScope and Purpose of This Report\nCongressional interest in the GHG emissions attributable to Canadian oil sands crudes has encompassed both a broad understanding of the resource as well as a specific assessment of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. This report focuses on the broader resource. It discusses the methodology of life-cycle assessment and compares several of the publicly available studies of GHG emissions data for Canadian oil sands crudes against each other and against those of other global reference crudes. For a detailed analysis of the GHG emissions attributable to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, and the findings from the State Department\u2019s Final Environmental Impact Statement, see CRS Report R43415, Keystone XL: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Assessments in the Final Environmental Impact Statement.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R42537", "sha1": "bb378a8c5d606ea4095cab4652a4d113f241c3dc", "filename": "files/20141230_R42537_bb378a8c5d606ea4095cab4652a4d113f241c3dc.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R42537", "sha1": "61f147a81fd7aef354aa07d1e3043d2994ee8806", "filename": "files/20141230_R42537_61f147a81fd7aef354aa07d1e3043d2994ee8806.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc463091/", "id": "R42537_2014Mar10", "date": "2014-03-10", "retrieved": "2014-12-05T09:57:41", "title": "Canadian Oil Sands: Life-Cycle Assessments of Greenhouse Gas Emissions", "summary": "This report discusses the basic methodology of life-cycle assessments and compares several of the publicly available studies of GHG emissions data for Canadian oil sands crudes against each other and against those of other global reference crudes.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20140310_R42537_ede037ba3e3f895b7df456829c1590447de26b12.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20140310_R42537_ede037ba3e3f895b7df456829c1590447de26b12.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Energy policy", "name": "Energy policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Petroleum", "name": "Petroleum" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Greenhouse gases", "name": "Greenhouse gases" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Air pollution", "name": "Air pollution" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc462595/", "id": "R42537_2013Mar15", "date": "2013-03-15", "retrieved": "2014-12-05T09:57:41", "title": "Canadian Oil Sands: Life-Cycle Assessments of Greenhouse Gas Emissions", "summary": "This report discusses the basic methodology of life-cycle assessments and compares several of the publicly available studies of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data for Canadian oil sands crudes against each other and against those of other global reference crudes. As congressional concern over the environmental impacts of Canadian oil sands production may encompass both a broad understanding of the resource as well as a specific assessment of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, the report surveys both the general scientific literature as well as the individual findings in the State Department's 2011 Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and 2013 Draft Supplementary EIS for the Keystone XL Project.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20130315_R42537_a8f404fe0a3d05ba3669b6a01acf467b22e7176a.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20130315_R42537_a8f404fe0a3d05ba3669b6a01acf467b22e7176a.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Environmental assessment", "name": "Environmental assessment" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Energy", "name": "Energy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Greenhouse gases", "name": "Greenhouse gases" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc96723/", "id": "R42537_2012Jun18", "date": "2012-06-18", "retrieved": "2012-08-07T13:52:45", "title": "Canadian Oil Sands: Life-Cycle Assessments of Greenhouse Gas Emissions", "summary": "This report discusses basic methodology of life-cycle assessments and compares several publicly-available assessments of life-cycle emissions data for Canadian oil sands crudes against each other and against those of other global reference crudes. It also includes a survey of the scientific literature and the findings of the State Department's Keystone XL Project Envoronmental Impact Statement, and concludes with a discussion of tools for policymakers who are interested in using the assessments to investigate the potential impacts of U.S. energy policy choices onthe environment.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20120618_R42537_3e87cb51fedb6895e690216aff7c114a60bc4cdb.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20120618_R42537_3e87cb51fedb6895e690216aff7c114a60bc4cdb.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Energy policy", "name": "Energy policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Gasoline", "name": "Gasoline" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Oil fields", "name": "Oil fields" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Greenhouse gases", "name": "Greenhouse gases" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Air pollution", "name": "Air pollution" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Gases", "name": "Gases" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Petroleum refineries", "name": "Petroleum refineries" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc85434/", "id": "R42537_2012May15", "date": "2012-05-15", "retrieved": "2012-06-06T14:34:05", "title": "Canadian Oil Sands: Life-Cycle Assessments of Greenhouse Gas Emissions", "summary": "Recent congressional interest in U.S. energy policy has focused in part on ways through which the United States could secure more economical and reliable crude oil resources both domestically and internationally. Many forecasters identify petroleum refined from Canadian oil sands as one possible solution. This report discusses conclusions revealed from a survey of available literature on the matter, particularly in regards to Greenhouse Gas and Well-to-Tank emissions.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20120515_R42537_f64f09d4c81ed9f6ec88784ce2454fb664a7cd9f.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20120515_R42537_f64f09d4c81ed9f6ec88784ce2454fb664a7cd9f.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Energy policy", "name": "Energy policy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Gasoline", "name": "Gasoline" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Oil fields", "name": "Oil fields" }, { "source": "KWD", "id": "oil", "name": "oil" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Greenhouse gases", "name": "Greenhouse gases" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Air pollution", "name": "Air pollution" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Gases", "name": "Gases" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Petroleum refineries", "name": "Petroleum refineries" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Environmental Policy" ] }