Shell oil-sands project slammed by green group

An environmental pressure group has accused Royal Dutch Shell of reneging on written agreements to reduce its green house gas emissions at a Canadian oil sands project.

Green campaigners from the Pembina Institute released a statement this week arguing that although Shell has tried to position itself as environmentally responsible, the energy company has failed to deliver on promises made in 2007 to reduce emission at oil sand projects in Jackpine Mine and Muskeg River Mine.

"Shell’s decision to break these binding agreements calls into question its claims of environmental leadership. Shell seems to believe it can break promises to Canadians with impunity," said Marlo Raynolds, executive director of the Pembina Institute.

According to Pembina, before the Candian government had approved the projects, Shell had committed to setting pollution reduction targets in 2007 " to reduce emissions to better than the most likely commercial alternative on a full-cycle basis". The agreement was made with the Oil Sands Environmental Coalition (OSEC) of which Pembina was a member.

However, the group said it has subsequently communicated with Shell and been told that the company no longer plans to meet its earlier commitments. "In written correspondence and face-to-face meetings, Shell has indicated that it does not intend to quantify a reduction target," Pembina stated.

Pembina suggested that if Shell does not comply with its earlier GHG targets for the oil sands project, green house gas emissions from the projects could increase by 900,000 tonnes - equivalent to the emissions from 200,000 cars, it said.

"Shell has built its reputation in Canada by promising to address the environmental and social concerns of stakeholders and communities. Dropping its commitment raises the question of whether these types of promises are driven by ethics or tactics," said Simon Dyer, oil sands program director at the institute.

According to Pembina, Shell still plans to adhere to emission limits at the oil sand sites, but not the ones agreed by OSEC. Instead Shell will reportedly adhere to Canadian government targets, which the group argued are not stringent enough and the future of which are under question.

According to Shell, Canada’s oil sands are one of the largest oil deposits on earth with around 173 billion barrels of crude oil and spanning roughly 140,000 square kilometres. The company admits that fuel made from oil sands emits more CO2 than traditional crude oil but has said it attempting to address the issue.