House GOP circulates pro-oil-sands report

Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are pushing a new report that presents Canadian oil sands as critical to America’s energy independence.

The report by IHS CERA, the energy wing of a global information company, found that the greenhouse gas intensity of crude from oil sands is lower than or at the same level as other crude oils imported to the U.S.

{mosads}“Over the past decade the Canadian oil sands have moved from the fringe to become a key pillar of global oil supply,” IHS Associate Director Kevin Birn said in a statement.

“This growth has made oil sands the single largest source of U.S. oil imports and also a key source of global supply growth that could account for 16 percent of all new oil production by 2030,” Birn said.

Republican leaders of the energy panel said U.S. shale production, along with Canada’s oil sands, is responsible for putting North American energy independence within reach.

“The Keystone XL pipeline and other cross-border energy infrastructure projects are needed to transport Canadian energy supplies to U.S. markets and vice-versa,” the Energy and Commerce Committee said in a statement.

The committee also threw in the two bills it has put forward as solutions to the slow regulatory review of Keystone and other cross border projects. The Northern Route Approval Act and North American Energy Infrastructure Act look to reduce barriers to trade and strengthen U.S. ties to Canada.