Tar Sands Showdown: Infrastructure and Market Campaign
“There is a growing demand for western Canadian crude in Eastern Canada…The future of refiner operators in Sarnia is bright…We are at the doorstep of the largest market in Ontario. Besides, we have the infrastructure of a pipeline and are connected to Alberta.” Manager of Suncor’s Sarnia Refinery, November, 2007
Context:
All of the 5 refineries in Ontario accept Western Canadian oil (not specifically Athabasca tar sands crude) in varying amounts depending on the market. Ontario’s refineries in the past have run up to 39% Western Canadian crude (which includes both conventional and non-conventional sources). This number will most likely increase steadily in the near future as tar sands development increases. Canadian refineries running with Western Canadian crude produce every kind of combustible fuel (gasoline, diesel, propane, etc.), asphalt, shingles and chemicals used in the plastics industry.
Statistics Canada shows that 22,051,300 cubic metres of crude oil were supplied to Ontario refineries in 2007. From that total, 13,996,300 cubic metres were from domestic sources - 13,276,000 cubic meters coming from the tar sands and 720,300 from Eastern Canadian Sources. This means that in 2007, 60 percent of the crude oil received at Ontario refineries came from the tar sands.
The remainder of the crude oil refined in Ontario comes from foreign imports (36.5 percent) and Eastern Canadian sources (3.2 percent). The vast majority of the Eastern Canadian and foreign crude oil is delivered to Ontario refineries through Enbridge’s line 9 pipeline from Montreal. Enbridge says that service to SW Ontario refineries through Line 9 is expected to decline after 2007 until 2013 when it is expected that there will be no demand for westbound service. Enbridge says it expects Western Canadian crude oil will increase its penetration into the Ontario market, essentially replacing declining imported and Eastern Canadian supplies. There are delayed plans to reverse Line 9 to ship Western Oil into Quebec and further East.
Ontario refineries have a capacity of 74,400 m3/day (468,700 b/d). These refineries are: Imperial Oil – Nanticoke, Ont. 112,100; Imperial Oil – Sarnia, Ont. 121,600; Shell Canada (Corunna refinery) – Sarnia 69,900; Nova Chemicals – Sarnia 80,000; Corruna; Moore; St. Clair River; Petro Canada, Lubricant plant – Mississauga; and Suncor Energy Prod. Inc. – Sarnia 85,100
Suncor Energy Prod. Inc. – Sarnia 85,100
o Project Genesis is a $1 billion US project to upgrade this refinery to use Tar Sands crude instead of conventional crude
o The vice president of this refinery said in a recent article that “there is a growing demand for western Canadian crude in Eastern Canada…The future of refiner operators in Sarnia is bright…We are at the doorstep of the largest market in Ontario. Besides, we have the infrastructure of a pipeline and are connected to Alberta.”
o Feedstock for the refinery comes from three sources: Alberta via the Enbridge pipeline; a line from Montreal, which allows access to offshore crude; and the Chicago-Detroit crude oil line.
o Suppliers at Toronto International include Sunoco, Imperial Oil (ExxonMobil), Petro Canada and Shell Aviation. A source close to Shell Aviation said all that company's contracts have been renewed.
Gas Stations: Sunoco is a Suncor Energy brand. It manufactures, distributes and markets transportation fuels, heating oils and petrochemicals under the Sunoco brand, primarily in Ontario. Suncor markets products and services to retail customers in Ontario through a network of almost 300 Sunoco-branded retail sites, as well as more than 200 customer-operated retail and bulk diesel sites.
Sunoco gas outlets provide an ideal site for potential boycotts and pickets targeting Suncor. Outlets are located at:
Windsor Ontario
4340 Walker Rd & Hwy 401
1110 Tecumseh Rd E.
2535 Ouellette Ave
2235 Huron Church Rd
Sarnia Ontario
81 Ube Drive
1126 London Rd
789 Indian Rd
1010 Degurse Dr
Kitchener Ontario
2430 Homer Watson Blvd
3011 King St E.
1015 Ottawa St N.
720 Victoria St S.
795 Ottawa St & Strasburg
Waterloo Ontario
440 Columbia St W.
245 Weber St N.
565 King St N.
151 Columbia St W.
London Ontario
4380 Wellington Rd S.
491 Oxford St W.
1856 Wharncliffe Rd S.
1331 Huron St E.
944 Hamilton Rd
154 Clarke Rd
580 Fanshawe Rd
1100 Adelaide St N.
1085 Commissioners Rd E.
1253 Wellington Rd S.
1790 Ernest Ave
1175 Wonderland Rd N.
99 Commissioners Rd W.
2200 Dundas St E.
1845 Adelaide St N.
Hamilton Ontario
615 Mohawk Rd W.
321 Grays Rd
220 Centennial Pkwy
963 Burlington St E
1050 Main St W.
688 Stone Church Rd E
5 Rymal Rd W
878 Upper James St
221 Limeridge Rd E.
475 Main St W.
1 Parkdale Ave N.
965 Upper Ottawa St
1464 Hwy #6 North
Take Action Now!
Armed with this information, we feel there are multiple action options:
•Hold public events to raise awareness about the issues and how they affect your community.
•Undertake a poster awareness and outreach campaign. An example would be to put up posters in strategic areas with relevant facts about the tar sands and the effects.
•Organize a letter writing campaign, email, phone or fax jam to a corporation or person.
•Picket or boycott a Sunoco location, or hold a protest in front of a refinery.
If you have never undertaken these types of actions, refer to online resources for help. One source is http://www.ehow.com/how_135682_organize-boycott.html
