EDMONTON, Alberta -- Following in the rumored footsteps of Mexico's Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB de CV (FEMSA), which runs the Oxxo convenience store chain, and Brazil's Petrobras, the state-run oil company, the provincial government of Alberta, Canada, should consider taking oilsands products directly to U.S. consumers, and perhaps set up its own branded gas stations south of the border, the Alberta Federation of Labor (AFL) said, according to The Edmonton Journal.
"If the Alberta government is serious about moving up the value chain, they may have to consider building their own mechanisms [image-nocss] for delivery," the federation said in a new report, Black Gold, Clear Vision, touted as a blueprint for developing the oilsands.
Besides calling for higher royalty rates, stricter environmental standards and a slower development pace, the report suggested that Alberta get more involved in upgrading and refining. It criticizes the Conservatives for allowing raw bitumen to be shipped to the United States to be upgraded and refined into products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Bitumen should at least be upgraded to synthetic crude in Alberta, and the government should also aim to have more of the refining done at home, AFL president Gil McGowan said Friday, the newspaper reported.
Alberta could then send finished products to the United States, keeping more jobs and profit in the province. If American companies resist the move, the province may have to sell the products itself, the document suggested.
"This might involve building dedicated, refined products pipelines. It might even involve looking for retail options in the U.S.," the report said. "The pre-Chavez government of Venezuela did exactly this when they successfully established the CITGO chain of gas stations in the U.S."
Click hereto view the full AFL report.
Click here to view CSP Daily News coverage ofOxxo and Petrobras.
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