Canadian tar sands/oil sands producers and their investors lost US$30.9 billion between 2010 and 2013, including US$17.1 billion due to public protest, according to analysis by Oil Change International and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
The losses were “partly due to the changing North American oil market, but largely because of a fierce grassroots movement against tar sands development,” Rose writes. “A significant segment of opposition is from First Nations in Canada who are raising sovereignty claims and other environmental challenges.”
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Oil Change International Executive Director Steve Kretzmann said the industry never saw the intensity of the opposition coming. “Legal and other challenges are raising new issues related to environmental protection, indigenous rights, and the disruptive impact of new pipeline proposals,” he said. “Business as usual for Big Oil—particularly in the tar sands—is over.” (h/t to Sara Bernard at Grist for first pointing us to this story)
