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Source: Reuters
Already struggling with the soaring costs of developing the Alberta oil sands, Canada's energy industry now also faces the prospect of tighter environmental controls regardless of which party wins the country's upcoming general election.
Environmental groups have pushed the harmful effects of oil sands development into the public consciousness in Canada and the United States, leaving political parties no choice but to respond in their campaigns for the October 14 vote.
"Everything points in that direction," UBS Securities analyst Andrew Potter said. "You've already seen CO2 legislation, both at the (Alberta) provincial level and -- very vague rules still -- at the federal level."
As the capital costs of new projects hit new highs, details of how much more stringent and pricey environmental regulations might be are still sketchy.
Last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives, who are leading in the polls, said they would ban exports of tar-like bitumen from the oil sands to countries with looser emission standards than Canada's.
The oil sands represent the largest oil deposits after Saudi Arabia's conventional reserves, but they are far more complicated, carbon-intensive and expensive to extract.
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