John Kitsco

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These are interesting times in the Heartland, up here in Canada.
Yet approval for another upgrader. Some 15 billion dollars to be
spent once the three phases are completed. For some it means
thousands of jobs are available,  from on-site construction to
engineering to more mod yards that will keep many folks busy with the fabrication needed for such a gigantic project.

It means raw bitumen being shipped from Fort McMurray - firms
required to refine the bitumen and with the jobs also some value
added products. On the surface it all looks like an excellent opportunity for the Province of Alberta.  It also looks like
(As songwriter Ian Tyson has written) - "think I'll go out to
Alberta, weathers good there in the fall..."

With products such as low-sulphur-diesel, naphtha, diluent,
butane and vacuum gas oil, naturally there are going to be
on-going concerns with pollution. And there are those, such as
Mike Hudema of Greenpeace Canada who have grave concerns
about carbon capture being a risky proposition.  These matters
will no doubt have to be given stringent attention to ensure that
there will not be significant problems in the storage areas.
And those who live in the region will likely be faced with some
concerns if they suffer from any respiratory ailments.

Nonetheless, those who paint the big picture - tell us that
the good times will have returned to Alberta. Let us hope and
pray that is the case.