Ethical Oil: Exposed

By D. Wilder Ezra Levant, a conservative political activist, lobbies the ethical aspect of importing oil from countries where political oppression and human rights violations are prevalent, and argues that oil sands production from Canada should be considered the only true ethical alternative to OPEC oil exports. One claim is that countries that produce ethical oil protect the rights of women, workers, indigenous peoples and other minorities including gays and lesbians. Conflict oil regimes, by contrast, oppress their citizens and operate in secret with no accountability to voters, the press or independent judiciaries. When discussing ethical oil, Ezra Levant mentions the OPEC countries, but specifically mentions Saudi Arabia and Algeria as examples of conflict oil. Levant also points out that TransCanadas proposed Keystone XL pipeline will possess all of the characteristics of ethical oil. This piece will look at the major Keystone XL players and the companies that will be directly involved in Canadas pipeline process. It will expose the poor ethics of each company and will illustrate their past and current relationships to conflict.

MOTIVA ENTERPRISES
Motivas heavily guarded five-lane entrance has the look and feel of a military compound in an Islamic Republic. It sits on 4,600 acres of Port Arthur marshland. Motiva is considered to be a member of the Keystone 5, in which it would be one of the top five companies to play a direct role for Keystone XL. Certainly the most disparaging aspect of Motiva that Ezra Levant doesnt want Canadians to know and the most damaging to his rallying of a non-conflict oil pursuit is that Motiva is a joint venture between subsidiaries of Royal Dutch Shell and Saudi Aramco Company. Saudi Aramco is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. This is the same Saudi oil that Mr. Levant deems, conflictual. However, its quite strange (or hypocritical) that he doesnt mind that the dastardly OPEC nation of Saudi Arabia owns 50% of one of the major Keystone XL players, Motiva. There are actually thousands of N. American workers who currently work for Saudi Aramco and live in Dharain. Canadas own Conservative Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Tom MacDonald, pushes jobs like this through kind message about Saudi Arabia on the Government of Canada website. Has Levant ever questioned Tom MacDonalds ethics?

LYONDELLBASELL
Another Keystone 5 player is LyondellBasell based in Houston, Texas. LyondellBasell is one of the worlds largest plastics, chemicals and fuels companies. Ezra Levant has never mentioned that LyondellBasell has three joint ventures in Saudi Arabia Saudi Polyolefins Company (SPC), Saudi Ethylene and Polyethylene Company (SEPC), and Al-Waha Petrochemical Company LyondellBasell will market approximately two million tonnes of polypropylene and polyethylene from the region this year. THREE joint ventures! That sounds triple conflictual, doesnt it Ezra Levant? LyondellBasell also has regional offices in Egypt and Dubai; the same Dubai that Levant just lambasted for rape, but not stigmatized enough to condemn LyondellBasells heavy interest there.

PHILLIPS 66
Phillips 66 is yet another Keystone 5 player in which Ezra Levant deems ethical, although, they have key assets, operations, and locations in Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Columbia, all conflict oil nations by Levants assertion.

VALERO ENERGY CORPORATION

When Valero isnt being accused of re-branding itself away from the Venezuelan CITGO company by Conservatives like Debbie Schlussel, it does remain another Keystone 5 amigo. Valero has a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3 million barrels per day and is an important customer of the Keystone XL pipeline. Valero enjoys indulging in ethical misleading ads as being all American even though they import 1/3 of their oil from the Persian Gulf.

TOTAL
Its now starting to seem like Ezra Levants definition of ethical is slightly different than Merriam-Websters definition of ethical: conforming to accepted standards of conduct, because Total was recently convicted of corruption charges regarding an international bribery scheme in wait for itIran. Total was also accused of bribery in Saddam-era Iraq, a 49% stake in Algerian gas fields, a strategic partnership with Qatar in Congo, which Ezra Levant surely knows has widespread human rights abuses, and last, but not least, an $8.5 billion refinery in, here we go again, Saudi Arabia, in a joint venture with the Zahid Group, which operates in more than 130 countries and has close to 100,000 employees. In terms of ethical perhaps Levant is ignoring bribes, corruption, and brutal regime ties, and is talking about Totals active sport program for their employees!

BP
TransCanada, the company responsible for Keystone XL, has a close working relationship with BP. One would assume Ethical oil would mean an industry with an obvious need to distance itself from anything morally corrupt. Ezra Levant fails to address to his viewers, his readers, his followers and the general public, TransCanadas refusal to distance itself from OPEC nations. BP operates its products and services in Nigeria, Gabon, Angola, Libya, Qatar, Algeria and Saudi Arabia, all of which have human rights abuses; knowledge that Levant likes to challenge protestors with, but, strangely, has no interest in challenging BP with. But this isnt surprising considering Levant has an agendum toward BPs success. As of August 2013, BP classes Iran as its worlds number one gas reserves holder, this in the face of US sanctions and for what Levant would call, Irans determination to nuke Israel, and, why not, endanger all Canadians.

CHEVRON
TransCanada has a friend in Chevron. While theres a current campaign to fire Chevron CEO, John Watson for a checklist of immoral grievances, TransCanada still likes him. Lets take a glance at Chevrons brutal OPEC regime ties first: Indonesia (former), Qatar, and Angola. Chevron also sets up shop in Ecuador where it had to pay $9.5 million for what Levant might call, ethical damages to the Amazon rainforest which resulted in epidemic rates of cancer, birth defects, miscarriages, and other ailments of Ecuadorian peoples. Chevron has been investigated for Acts of Terrorism in Nigeria. Chevron has also been caught discussing oil projects with Levants, apparently, sometimes foe, Iran. So-called freedom-fighting Levant and Sun Media conveniently forgot to report on a federal judge granting Chevron access to activists private internet data. Surely, it was considered too ethical to report on.

EXXONMOBILE
TransCanada and Exxon have a great relationship. They even share a multitude of progression regarding an Alaskan pipeline. But TransCanada and Ezra Levant regularly look the other way when Exxon faces lawsuits over human rights violations in Indonesia, illegal trades with Sudan, and suppressing LGBT rights. Interestingly, EthicalOil.org has no qualms about attacking OPEC nations for this same kind of human rights abuses and discrimination but remains quiet on the issue when its Big Oil oppression. Putting ethics aside, Exxon has no problem operating in the following blood oil (thats another of Levants fear-de-jour term) OPEC countries: Nigeria, Ecuador, Indonesia (former), Qatar, UAE, Libya, Gabon, Angola, Algeria, and Saudi Arabia.

Conclusion:
Levant seems to use Algeria and Saudi as his go-to example for conflict oil. Its already been established that one of Keystone XLs top player, Motiva is half Saudi, but even more curiously was Levants refusal to say anything remotely negative about Saudi Arabia for almost 10 years after 9/11. It seems that Saudis record of human rights and/or conflict only became an issue for Levant when a competition for shipping oil was realized. Ezra Levants first defence of this hypocrisy will be to scramble and ask if Canadian oil flowing through pipelines is more ethical than conflict oil flowing through them (as he had done in latest round with Canadian protestors). But this question is as pointless as asking whether or not an Algerian- or Saudi-made toy in the hands of a Canadian child is more ethical if it is carrying Canadian batteries within it. Ethical oil is a figment of Levants imagination.
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