Assuming oil needs to be at least 1 micrometer thick to create a visible sheen, he explains, and assuming that an oil slick that thin has a 72 - hour lifespan at the surface, a leak of 14 gallons per day could only create a visible sheen 1.6 kilometers long by 91 meters wide.
If there's a bright spot for the province, however, it's that the ongoing disruption of Alberta
oil sands production — estimated by the Conference Board of Canada to be about 1.2 million barrels a day, comprising nearly $ 1 billion in economic activity — has contributed to a rally in global
oil prices that could give producers, and therefore the Alberta economy, a badly -
needed lift once production is finally back on - line (
assuming, of course, the fires are eventually extinguished and
oil sands operations escape serious damage).
It should be no surprise that
oil companies like Shell, which publicly talk about the
need to limit warming, privately
assume this will not happen.