Baltimore, MD--The boom in Canadian oil sands has only just begun. The higher oil prices we've seen over the last few years have opened a floodgate of projects and investment money.
Before I get into today's Energy and Capital, I do have some apologies to make. It should come as no surprise to many of my Canadian readers who spotted a slight error in Tuesday's article. I had not intended to use the word "mountains."
You see, a few kilometers before reaching Fort McMurray, I was driving up Route 63 when the sun started rising over the trees.
The area, of course, lies in the Boreal forest region, which wraps across Canada from the Yukon Territory to Newfoundland.
After waking up to the numerous corrections, my palm hit my face as I said, "D'oh!" There goes my chance at being perfect.
But don't let a little mistake take away from the excitement buzzing around this place. The truth is that this city is really on the move.
Since we arrived on Sunday, we were only able to catch the tail end of the Blueberry Festival.
In case you haven't noticed lately, I've been talking a lot about oil sands (no kidding, right?). And I'm absolutely convinced that they're going to play a massive role in meeting our country's future energy demands.
Companies have gone through a rough time in the past. It was extremely difficult to get enough interest in the oil sands when oil was under $20 a barrel.
Things are much different today with oil over $70 per barrel, and billions of dollars are being spent on future projects.
But there are some serious problems that come along with this huge growth, according to my friends at the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo's Planning and Development Department.
Twenty years ago, the population of Fort McMurray was around 30,000. That number has since soared to almost 85,000. The growth rate has been averaging an astounding 8% to 9% since 1999.
By 2030, the population could swell to nearly 250,000 people.
Right now, the city's infrastructure is hardly big enough to maintain the current population. But this isn't an ordinary boomtown. And it isn't going to fizzle out over the next couple of decades.
In order to prepare for this kind of growth, the planning department is in the final stages of drawing up its ICSP (Integrated Community Sustainability Plan). The department's goal is to "create partnerships between the Municipality, residents and regional stakeholders to enhance the quality of life of all residents, while promoting future growth in a sustainable manner."
Although this plan is being developed for Fort McMurray, the department intends to spread its success to the surrounding towns (like Fort McKay, for example).
I wish you could have heard the excitement in the man's voice when he was describing the ICSP plan. "In a few years, you won't even recognize this place."
The city's welcome sign says it all, "We Have the Energy!" The sheer amount of recoverable oil in Northern Alberta guarantees this "boomtown" is going to be around for a long time.
Next week, I want to dig right in and show you how the oil companies out here are overcoming the production hurdles from decades ago. You might be surprised to see some of the new ways these companies are handling the task of extracting bitumen.
Until next time,
Keith Kohl
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Suncor recently announced its production has risen to 280,000 bbls per day