Canadian Oil Sands Producers Promise to Reduce Pollution

MOSCOW, November 27 (Sputnik) — Canadian top oil sands producers declared their intent to make the crude they produce less polluting than conventional oil, Reuters reports.

The members of Canadian Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), an industry group representing 13 large oil sand companies, expect to halve the amount of fresh water in oil production, to 0.2 barrels of water per barrel of crude, by 2022. Reuters points out that at the same time the companies also want to increase their oil production output from about 2 million barrels per day to 3.2 million barrels per day.

According to The Globe and Mail, several environmental advocacy groups have displayed cautious optimism regarding the decision. “It’s encouraging to see that they’re taking steps in the right direction,” said Amin Asadollahi, oil sands director at the Calgary-based Pembina Institute, according to the newspaper. “However, from promises we would like to see results.”

Steve Williams, Chief Executive of Suncor Energy Inc, said that his company alone has spent nearly $1.8 billion to reduce toxic tailings, according to Reuters. Speaking about attempts by protester groups to block several pipelines projects, Williams said that the oil sands industry is unlikely to win over many of its opponents. He claimed that the protesters represent only a small segment of the Canada’s population, primarily concerned with climate change.