India should actively consider banning petroleum coke, which is a high-carbon byproduct of the tar oil refineries and a cheap substitute for coal
As the soaring demand for energy continues, countries globally are looking beyond conventional oil reserves to satiate their respective economies. Tar sands or oil sand exploration is being actively pursued for oil extraction, albeit at a grave cost to the environment. Tar sands are a combination of clay, sand, water, bitumen and heavy black viscous oil. Tar sands are mined and processed to extract the oil-rich bitumen, which is then refined into oil. Tar sands represent as much as 66 per cent of the world's total oil reserves, with concentration of approximately 1.7 trillion barrels in the Canadian Athabasca Tar sands and 1.8 trillion barrels in the Venezuelan Orinoco oil sands compared to the 1.75 trillion barrels of conventional oil, mostly located in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.
Tar sands oil extraction and the resultant pollution greatly eclipse that of conventional oil. During tar sands oil production, the levels of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide emissions are three to four times higher than those of conventional oil.These emissions cause smog, acid rain and contribute to respiratory diseases like asthma. In addition, the oil extraction from Tar Sands involves usage of vast amounts of heat, water and chemicals that are needed to separate bitumen from sand, silt, and clay and to flow up the pipeline. In fact up to three barrels of water is required to extract each single barrel of oil. This demonstrates the heavy usage of water during processing.
Nearly 95 per cent of the water used to extract the oil is eventually so polluted that the water must be stored in large human-made pools, known as tailing ponds. As the heavy bitumen sinks to the bottom of these ponds, the toxic sludge, full of harmful substances like cyanide and ammonia, works its way into the ground water table beginning an irreversible process of pollution. According to studies, the tar sands oil extraction projects are slated to be the cause of the second fastest rate of deforestation on the planet after the Amazon Rainforest Basin.
The environments in many countries are bearing the brunt of tar sand oil exploration. For instance, in Canada the tar sands oil deposits are situated underneath the world's largest intact ecosystem, the Boreal forests of Alberta. The forests not only serve as an important carbon sink, but its biodiversity and unspoiled bodies of water support large populations of many different species. They are a buffer against climate change as well as food and water shortages. However the process of tar sands oil extraction, are threatening the forests and the fragile ecosystem.
As part of tar oil extraction, once the Canadian company TransCanada begins building the northern section of the Tar oil pipeline that would traverse close to 2,000 miles from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf Coast of Texas. The pipeline, known as Keystone Xl, will carry 8,30,000 barrels of tar sands oil into the United States daily, and result in climate-damaging emissions equal to adding more than 5.6 million new cars to US roads
Amid this state of affairs, India's viewpoint on the environmental impact of the use of tar oil is conspicuous by its absence. India needs to adopt an exemplary position with regard to exploration and use of tar oil. The first step in this direction is not to consider tar oil as a qualified energy resource and, therefore, ban proposals for tar oil imports. India should also actively consider banning petroleum coke, or pet coke, which is a high-carbon byproduct of the tar oil refineries. Countries such as India and China import pet-coke as a cheap coal substitute.