OK, first it was me, then Don Coxe and now this guy....maybe once in my life i will be right and oilsands will stand to benefit from the Gulf disaster.

"In all likelihood, though, the massive spill will take weeks to plug, as there's no functioning stopgap apparatus on the BP platform in the Gulf. The spill will easily top the 1989 Exxon-Valdez disaster because the current gusher can't be contained by BP. (The Exxon-Valdez was a tanker and held a finite amount of crude oil.)

Meanwhile, the environmental damage caused by the spill might rank among the worst in American history as beaches, wildlife parks and seafood are drowned by crude from Louisiana to Florida.

If Obama cancels the recent legislation to boost Gulf drilling, it won’t be good for platforms and operators there.

What could this mean for investors?

Oil Still in Play

Shareholders of Transocean (RIG), which operated British Petroleum’s (BP) Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico -- have seen their stock drop 20 points since the April 20 explosion, while BP shares have shed 10 points. And if BP doesn’t cap the well soon, its 2010 earnings could be impacted.

Although the damage to the Gulf’s ecosystem is considerable, the amount of oil spewing is small compared to daily output supplies.

This spill shouldn’t impact oil prices. It’s possible that the companies that clean up oil spills could see movement in their stock prices, but right now I’m not seeing a big play there, either.

However, the disaster unfolding in the Gulf only solidifies Canada's place as a secure source of oil for the United States.

An Untapped Opportunity

The Canadian oil sands are estimated to harbor the second-largest source of untapped crude oil after Saudi Arabia. Provided oil prices remain north of $35 to $40 a barrel, the feasibility of drilling the sands remains not only profitable but equally expedient for the United States -- Canada's biggest export market.

The United States continues to import more than 57% of its daily oil requirements, and politicians want that number reduced at the expense of rising domestic production and renewable energy sources.

Canadian Oil Sands Trust (Toronto: COS.UN) and other players operating in Alberta should benefit from a probable flip-flop of Obama's Gulf of Mexico drilling initiative.

Matthew Collins (Soverign Society)