Canadian Court Requires Environmental Assessment Panel To Provide Rationale On Greenhouse Gas Impacts

On March 5, 2008, the Federal Court of Canada remitted the environmental assessment for Imperial Oil’s proposed Kearl Oil Sands Project (the Project) back to the joint federal/Alberta review panel that had recommended the Project be approved.

Estimated to cost $7.1 billion, the Project would involve open pit mines and ore preparation, bitumen extraction and tailing management facilities 70 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. According to Imperial Oil, the project would be responsible for an average of 3.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, equivalent to the emissions from about 800,000 passenger vehicles.