Canadian company could open first U.S. oilsands project in Utah

The U.S. could be set to open its first oilsands project after an Alberta-based company qualified for a permit to dig on 25 hectares (62-acres) in Utah.

Earth Energy Resources Inc. is hoping to dig in the uncharted U.S. to find oil, much to the chagrin of President Barack Obama, who recently condemned Alberta's "tar sands" for being potentially "destructive."

Along with mountaintop removal mining, oilsands projects are considered by many to be one of the most environmentally destructive practices on the planet.

Fuels produced from such projects carry an emissions footprint three times as high as gasoline produced from standard oil wells. It takes more energy to withdraw usable oil from the sands.

Furthermore, the mining process requires boundless amounts of water while damaging very large landscapes, leaving behind colossal lakes of dirt and waste.

Earth Energy claims its mining process will not harm the environment, thanks to the use of a "citrus-based solvent," according to a Reuters story.

Canada has been mining the oilsands of Alberta for years, maintaining its position as the largest source of crude for the U.S.

Republicans continue to press Obama to approve a controversial oilsands pipeline from Alberta.

As crude oil has risen well above $100 a barrel, the desire to find domestic sources of oil remains high in the U.S.

But experts see a potential Earth Energy expansion into Utah as a harbinger of further exploits. The mining company owns nearly 3,237 hectares (8,000 acres) of Utah land, leaving many to doubt America's potential oilsands mining experiment will start and stop with the original request.

"This is not just a 62-acre project that will last seven years," says John Weisheit, founder of the Utah-based environmental group Living Rivers in the story. "We are looking at a 30,000-acre project that will destroy the environment in this area over many years."

(CBC Photo)