From: Jerry Levy (Gerald_A_Levy@MSN.COM)
Date: Wed Jan 25 2006 - 11:14:50 EST
> A major difference between the Alberta oil sands and the heavy oil > deposits in Venezuela's Orinoco Belt is temperature; for the latter, > it averages 53C (and the resource tends to be liquid) whereas for the > former it is about 11C (and tends to be solid). Michael L, Why would this lead to significant differences in non-labor costs? Would the energy required to process the oil be significantly different because of the temperate difference? Of course, there would be labor cost differences (between Alberta and the Orinoco R. region) but there are probably also variations in transportation infrastructure that might partially off-set that difference. What part of the Orinoco River region are the oil sands located? (the Orinoco is over 2,100 km long). What sort of discussion in Venezuela has there been about the possible environmental effects of mining and processing the tar sands? It is in an environmentally important and sensitive area, isn't it? (The Orinoco is connected to the Rio Negro River which is a tributary of the Amazon River). In solidarity, Jerry
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