If not pipelines, then what?

If you’re trying to build a pipeline across Canada these days, good luck. Whether you’re attempting to go west to the coast, south to the United States or east to the Maritimes, you’re being shut down by chanting protestors, foot-dragging politicians, First Nations land claims or some combination of the above. North, anyone?

The question is, if those who oppose pipeline construction get their wish, what options does the oil industry have? And how do these options compare to transporting oil through pipelines in terms of environmental impact and threat to human life, the pipeline opponents’ two primary concerns?

Pipelines

According to the National Energy Board (NEB), Canada has 73,000 kilometres of pipelines that transport 1.3 billion barrels of oil per year. From 2008-2014, these pipelines spilled an average of 1,324 barrels annually. That means over 99.9 per cent of the oil flowing through the nation’s pipelines reached its destination safely, and any liquids that were released were recovered during clean up.

In terms of threat to human life, the NEB reports six pipeline-related fatalities from 2008-2014 and 20 serious injuries, none of these due to oil spillage. That’s an average of one death and three injuries per year, all tragic but remarkably low when you consider the size of the industry.

Rail

Right now, less than three per cent of petroleum products in Canada are shipped by rail, but that’s about to change. Due to a glut in pipeline capacity, oil shipments by rail will nearly quadruple from what they were just two years ago, from 127,925 barrels per day in 2013 to 425,000 per day in 2017.

Like pipelines, trains are remarkably safe when it comes to the environment, delivering over 99 per cent of their crude shipments without incident. For example, from 2000-2012, railways in the United States hauled over 266 million barrels of oil, spilling just 2,268 barrels in the process, with over 85 per cent of that coming from a single incident (similar data is unavailable for Canada).

However, shipping oil via rail creates a much larger carbon footprint than transporting it via pipeline. To give you an idea of how they compare, each day Canada’s pipelines transport three million barrels of crude. To transport that same volume by rail would require 1,500 cars.

When it comes to threats to human life, rail-related fatalities in Canada average 81 per year, Although there’s no data on how many of those are related to crude oil shipments, when such incidents do occur, such as the 2013 derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec that killed 42 people and destroyed half of the community’s downtown area, they’re devastating. Even the worst pipeline leak has never posed such a threat to human life. Unfortunately, with trains assume a larger role in terms of transporting crude; such incidents will only increase in regularity.

Trucks

Only about 1 per cent of Canada’s crude is transported by truck, but as with rail, that number is set to increase if pipeline projects continue to be delayed or scrapped.

Like rail, trucks represent a much larger carbon footprint than transporting oil via pipeline. This is reflected by the cost to ship crude by truck, which can run up to $20 per barrel. Compare that to $10-$15 for rail and just $5 per barrel via pipeline.

While the average spill volume per incident is far lower for trucks than for pipelines and trains, such incidents are far more frequent. The same goes for injuries and fatalities. Heavy truck accidents account for 20 per cent of all motor vehicle deaths in Canada. When you factor a tanker full of crude into the mix, it’s a deadly combination indeed.

Where does this leave us?

As I noted in a previous Paper News post, we are being primed continually to think of oil as evil and those who produce it as the bad guys. However, with over 93 per cent of the world’s transportation energy coming from oil, there’s no question we are going to be utterly reliant on crude for decades to come.

Therefore, rather than debate if we should transport the oil, the only viable question right now is how. And if you look at the data above, not only are pipelines the cheapest option, they’re also an option every environmentalist can and should love.

Kevin Miller is an award-winning writer and filmmaker who has applied his craft to documentaries, feature films, books, blogs, you name it. Born and raised in Foam Lake, Saskatchewan, Kevin has spent most of his adult life living on the West Coast. However, he and his family finally decided to escape the rain and have relocated to Kimberley, BC, one of the province’s best kept secrets. Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KevinMillerXI