Background
High oil prices and technological advances have turned oil sands into a commercially-viable source of fuel. A number of energy companies have invested heavily in expanding oil production from oil sands in Canada, which is home to close to half the world’s oil sands reserves. The European Union imports very little oil derived from Canada’s oil sands, but fuel from oil sands has recently become a point of contention.

The European Union’s fuel quality directive, which was agreed in 2009, requires oil companies operating in Europe to cut the greenhouse-gas emissions of their products by 6% between 2010 and 2020. The EU was supposed to adopt emission footprint values for all types of fossil fuels by 1 January 2011. But this technical decision has been postponed repeatedly.
The European Commission is considering whether to assign a higher emission footprint value to oil sands because of the energy-intensive techniques used in the extraction process.

Environment groups are opposed to production of oil from oil sands on the grounds that extraction takes place in untouched forest areas and can produce considerable amounts of toxic waste. They also argue that putting oil sands on an equal footing with conventional oil would send out a wrong signal about the EU’s commitment to de-carbonising its economy, and would encourage the exploitation of oil sands in other parts of the world, which are less democratic and regulated, instead of encouraging the world towards the use of cleaner energy sources.

The Canadian government and European energy companies investing in oil sands point out that CO2 emissions from oil-sands production have been reduced by nearly 40% since the 1990s. They argue that the carbon intensity of oil sands, taken along the entire production chain, is within the same range or lower than other crude oils and that technological innovation can deliver further reductions.

As worldwide oil-sands reserves are equivalent to more than twice the current reserves of conventional oil, the stakes are high. EU member states appear undecided. The European Commission is still pondering its final decision, and independent studies diverge on the actual carbon footprint of oil sands.

Is it justified for the EU to adopt specific measures on the oil sands? How should other high carbon crudes be treated? What is the actual carbon footprint of oil sands? How does this compare to other fossil fuels? Can technology help to mitigate it? What about other environmental impacts of oil sands development? How compatible is it with EU climate change policy? Would an EU decision to penalise oil sands affect the world’s use of fossil fuels?

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Timing

18.00-18.30 Welcome of participants and registration

18.30-18.35 Introduction of participants by Simon Taylor, news editor, European Voice

18.35-19.05 Panel discussion

- Satu Hassi MEP, co-ordinator for the greens in the environment committee, European Parliament

- Jeanette Patell, second secretary, economic and trade policy, Mission of Canada to the European Union

- Samantha Gross, director, integrated research, IHS CERA

- Nuša Urbančič, policy officer, fuels and electrification, Transport & Environment

- Pierre Noël, senior research associate, Cambridge University

19.05-19.55 Debate (audience participation strongly encouraged)

19.55-20.00 Conclusions by John Abbott, senior vice-president heavy oil, Shell

20.00 Networking reception

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Location

Museum of Natural Sciences
Rue Vautier 29
B-1000 Brussels


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Panelists

Satu Hassi MEP

Satu Hassi was first elected to the European Parliament in 2004 for Vihreä liitto, the Green League in Finland. She was previously vice-chair at the Parliament’s Committee of the environment, public health and food safety of which she is now a member. Hassi is also a substitute of the committee on industry, research and energy. Previously, she was minister for environment and development co-operation for three years in the Finnish government and a member of the Finnish Parliament for thirteen years. In addition to her political career she was a teacher at Tampere University of Technology and she worked as a freelance writer. She holds a licentiate degree in electrical power engineering from Helsinki University of Technology, Finland.

Samantha Gross

Samantha Gross is director, integrated research at IHS CERA, a consulting company specialising in providing advice to companies on energy markets, geopolitics, industry trends, and strategy. Samantha Gross specializes in helping energy companies navigate the complex intersection of policy, environment and technology. She is the manager of IHS CERA’s Global Energy service. She led the environmental and social aspects of IHS CERA’s recent Multiclient Study Growth in the Canadian Oil Sands: Finding the New Balance, including consideration of water use and quality, local community impacts, and aboriginal issues. Ms. Gross was also the IHS CERA project manager for Towards a More Energy Efficient World and Thirsty Energy: Water and Energy in the 21st Century, both produced in conjunction with the World Economic Forum. Additional contributions to IHS CERA research include reports on the water impacts of unconventional gas production, international climate change negotiations, US vehicle fuel efficiency regulations, and the California low-carbon fuel standard. Before joining IHS CERA she was a Senior Analyst with the US Government Accountability Office. Her professional experience also includes providing engineering solutions to the environmental challenges faced by petroleum refineries and other clients.

Jeanette Patell

Jeanette Patell is responsible for energy policy and investment at the Mission of Canada to the European Union. In her role as second secretary, economic and trade policy, she represents Canada on trade policy issues, monitors EU policy developments and supports ongoing Canada-EU comprehensive economic and trade agreement negotiations. Prior to this assignment, she worked on investment treaty negotiations and in the field of investment attraction. She holds a B.A. (Hons) (2001) in international relations from Mount Allison University and joined Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada as a foreign service officer in 2004.

Nuša Urbančič

Nuša Urbancic is T&E's specialist on fuels and electrification. A Slovene, she joined T&E in 2008 from Greenpeace’s EU unit where she worked on the renewable energy campaign. She has also worked as a journalist and translator and at the French economic mission to Slovenia. She is a graduate in International Relations from University of Ljubljana. She speaks Slovenian, English, French, Spanish.

Pierre Noël

Pierre Noël is a Senior Research Associate at EPRG, an energy policy research group at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. He works on the political economy of international energy markets and policy, with special emphasis on oil and natural gas.

John Abbott

John Abbott is senior vice-president heavy oil at Shell. His portfolio covers unconventional oils, shale oils and the Athabasca oil sands project in which Shell is involved. Mr. Abbott moved to Canada from Houston in October 2008 after two years as vice-president, manufacturing excellence and support in Shell’s downstream global manufacturing business. Over his career Mr. Abbott has worked for Shell in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Thailand, The Netherlands, and the United States, predominantly in the areas of manufacturing and supply & distribution. His senior management roles have included assignments with the Alliance Refining Company, Thailand, supply manager for the Shell/DEA joint venture in Germany, as well as for The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg & Switzerland. He was also the regional vice-president for manufacturing operations in northwest Europe. In 1994, he was seconded to the British government on a brief assignment working in the central policy and planning unit of the department of the environment. Mr. Abbott graduated from Birmingham University, UK in 1981 with a Degree in Chemical Engineering, and is a member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers as well as a Chartered Engineer & Chartered Scientist.

THE MODERATOR - Simon Taylor

Simon Taylor is European Voice's news editor, responsible for editorial content of the newspaper and website reporting to the editor, Tim King. Before being promoted to news editor in January this year, Simon was senior reporter at European Voice, covering political affairs and energy policy, from March 2006. He is a regular commentator on the BBC and other international media on EU affairs. Simon has also worked for the Sunday Times and Guardian newspapers. He is a graduate in French and German from Cambridge University as he speaks both languages fluently in addition to his native English.

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