Re: "Judge refinery plan on merits," Aug. 21.
The editorial misses the point of the major objection to David Black's creative proposal to construct a bitumen refinery in Kitimat.
Bitumen is a semi-solid that must be dissolved in natural gas condensates in order to be pumped through a pipeline. A refinery at Kitimat would require a second parallel pipeline to return the condensates to Alberta. Bitumen is heavier than water and, unlike ordinary petroleum, sinks to the bottom in streams, making it almost impossible to clean up.
A pipeline leak in the coastal mountains of sa国际传媒 such as occurred in the Kalamazoo River in Michigan would be difficult to contain in rushing mountain streams and has the potential to seriously damage or destroy many kilometres of salmon spawning streams. Refining the bitumen in Alberta and piping the refined product to Kitimat would greatly reduce both the capital and operational costs of exporting oilsands oil to China.
Better yet, the refined product could be piped to markets in eastern sa国际传媒, thereby reducing its reliance on imported oil. The economic cost and environmental risk associated with piping bitumen to the west coast make no sense in comparison to refining the bitumen at its source in Alberta and shipping the product east.
Harvey Williams
Victoria
