I don't really care about the oil, and technically it is called "Tar Sands," which takes a bit of purifying to become oil. You are the one who keeps bringing it up. Tell me. Other that the pipeline being a political "sacred cow," to the right wing, what glaring petroleum need does Canadian Tar Sands fill? They produce two main products, a "heavy oil and a waste by-product called petcoke. Petcoke resembles and burns like coal, with far more pollutants than most coal. It is sold at a deep discount to coal burners who don't have environmental standards to prevent it. The "heavy," oil is sent to specially equipped refineries. It is processed into lighter petroleum in an expensive process.
A capitalist looking to make the most money would avoid "Tar Sands," and concentrate their efforts on exploiting the abundantly available light crude available from the Dakotas and other finds that use the improved extraction methods developed over recent decades. If you find a field of this oil in Canada, I'll help you build a pipeline.
