[untrained skeptic]

"To develop similar resources in the US will probably take ten years with exploration and infrastructure costs factored in if you started today."

If it took Canada ten years to develop the resource, we should be able to do it in considerably less time, simply because we can learn from how they did it.

[beaver fever]

There has been a lot of development in exploration and production technology but pipeline infrastructure has to be built.

Unless the project is close to existing pipeline infrastructure it is difficult to raise capital for exploration and development.

Oil sands development is similar to mining, where typically, it takes eight to ten years to prove out reserves before going into production.

On the bright side heavy oil is economical at $50 oil given that the technological hurdles have been overcome. But these projects have to be huge to be profitable and have long development cycles.

[Former Proud Canadian]

No, it took more like 25 years to develope the tar sands. It has only recently become profitable.