[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 22714]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    THE OIL SANDS OF ALBERTA, CANADA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to raise an issue of great 
importance to our Nation that I fear is being overlooked, the future of 
the oil sands of Alberta, Canada. Aside from Saudi Arabia's oil fields, 
these sands contain the largest deposits of oil in the world, and thus, 
could be critical to our future energy security.
  Just a few months ago the Chinese National Offshore Oil Company, 
CNOOC, attempted to purchase Unocal. CNOOC is very different from most 
other companies because it is owned by the Chinese government. It could 
be directed to sell oil only to the Chinese, taking a large portion of 
its resources off of the international oil market. As a result of this 
possibility, the sale of Unocal raised great concerns in the American 
public. If it had occurred, the Chinese government would have gained 
control of a significant American player in the energy industry, just 
as we are struggling with sky-rocketing gas prices and concerns about a 
secure supply, especially from the volatile Middle East.
  Although CNOOC withdrew its bid to buy Unocal, it did not stop 
looking for other sources of oil. The interest of Chinese companies in 
Canadian oil is especially troublesome. In May, CNOOC purchased almost 
17 percent of MEG Energy Corporation, a Canadian-owned company that 
owns oil sand leases on almost 33,000 acres of Alberta land. Another 
Chinese company, SinoCanada Petroleum, has formed a joint venture with 
Canada's Synenco Energy to develop oil sands projects in Canada which 
are estimated to produce 5 tons of synthetic crude oil. These initial 
investments illustrate the worrisome growing Chinese interest in the 
estimated 178 billion barrels of recoverable oil in Alberta.
  Canada is our highly respected neighbor, and our strong relationship 
has provided many benefits for both of our countries. Canada is our 
greatest trading partner with more than $1 billion a day in goods and 
services traded. Canada exports almost 99 percent of its oil to the 
U.S., and the U.S. imports more oil from Canada than from any other 
country, with 16 percent of our total imports coming from our northern 
neighbor. With the increasing development of Alberta's oil sands, this 
percentage could significantly increase.
  If CNOOC had purchased Unocal, it would have owned an American 
company but few oil resources in North America. But now, China is 
interested in not just in North American companies, but in Canadian oil 
reserves as well, the most secure source of oil outside of our own 
borders.
  As the Chinese become more involved, the U.S. needs to become more 
engaged with the Canadian government and the provincial government of 
Alberta in discussing the potential ramifications. Let me be clear on 
this: Neither Congress nor the Bush Administration can or should ever 
be seen to be telling Canada or Alberta what to do. However, our 
government should utilize our good relations and strong economic ties 
to learn more about the Chinese interests in Canadian oil and to 
discuss the potential shared security concerns.
  The administration has shown an interest in this important issue. 
Treasury Secretary Snow visited Alberta in July and Vice President 
Cheney was scheduled to tour the area in September before Hurricane 
Katrina forced him to cancel his visit. The Senate sent a delegation to 
Alberta in August. I strongly encourage the Vice President to 
reschedule his trip, as well as encourage other Members of Congress to 
travel and to learn more about this close energy source.
  This is a critical time to be concerned about secure energy supplies 
for the future of the United States. We need to be more diligent about 
conservation and energy efficiency. We need to be working harder to 
develop alternative sources of energy. But no matter what we do and how 
successful we are in weaning ourselves from oil, gas and other 
conventional energy sources, our Nation will still be in need of 
foreign fossil fuels for many years to come. In the unpredictable world 
in which we live today, it would be best to rely on secure sources of 
energy close to home.
  That is why I urge Congress and the administration to learn more 
about Alberta's oil sands and the potential to supply U.S. energy 
needs. We must continue to work closely with our neighbors on the north 
on this important security issue.

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