If provinces are serious about keeping the federal government out of their jurisdiction, they need to demonstrate they can work together on critical files like carbon policy. Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec have priced carbon to help meet GHG (greenhouse gas) emission targets. Once Ontario’s system is in place, 86 per cent of Canadians will […]
Comment: “Tar Sands” or “Oil Sands” you decide
If you’ve ever watched the opening scene* of the 1981 Canadian horror movie called Scanners, you know what happens to a typical advocate of wide-open development of Alberta’s vast bituminous sands if you happen to use the term“tar sands.” This makes it almost too much fun not to say “tar sands”every time you have the […]
Comment: Monopoly – it’s not just a game
The website Wall St. Cheat Sheet recently posted this article – 3 Industries Run by Cartels. Normally when we hear the word cartel, many of us would think illegal drugs, but that is not included in the articles top 3. 1. The oil industry The oil industry has always been amenable to cartels and monopolies. […]
Comment: Realize the opportunity and take advantage of it
With less than half a percent of revenues spent on R&D, the oil and gas industry has one of the lowest levels of R&D intensity of any sector. Nevertheless, with the shift in focus towards unlocking the vast reserves in unconventional formations — which we define broadly to include tight oil and gas, oil sands […]
Comment: Why oil prices are down
A historic change of roles is at the heart of the clamour and turmoil over the collapse of oil prices, which have plummeted by 50 per cent since September 2014. For decades, Saudi Arabia, backed by the Persian Gulf emirates, was described as the “swing producer.” With its immense production capacity, it could raise or […]
Comment: Three Pinocchios – not a fairytale
Over the past months and right after the Senate defeated legislation authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline, President Obama said the pipeline was just to move Canadian oil through the US to the Gulf Coast for shipment overseas. He has also said he is concerned about its environmental impacts and the small number of jobs that […]
Comment: Why shoot ourselves in the foot?
Alberta Environment Minister Kyle Fawcett seems to be warming to the idea of carbon offset markets — where greenhouse gas emitters buy credits from other sources to compensate for their own output — after returning from the recent United Nations-sponsored climate change conference in Peru. It’s tempting to say Fawcett should stay home in future, if this is […]
Comment: Are metal levels in Athabasca River really being affected by oil sands operations?
Canada’s Athabasca oil sands are big business. Around half of the nation’s oil production – nearly two million barrels per day – is extracted in Alberta. Ever since oil extraction began here in 1967, there has been controversy over the levels of pollution it causes. Now a study reveals the mining has had negligible impact […]
Comment: How $40/barrel oil could impact the country
What does Canada’s economy look like with oil prices at $40 a barrel? Certainly it won’t be the energy superpower envisioned by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. If $40 a barrel still seems a ways off, consider that the benchmark price for oil sands crude is already trading in that price range. What’s more, if production […]
Comment: Prosperity in Canada relies on healthy oil industry
It’s been 30 years since Mancur Olson, wrote The Rise and Decline of Nations. The premise is the longer a society enjoys political stability, the more likely it is to develop powerful special interest groups that erode economic prosperity. His words have proven prescient as we witness Europe’s debt-burdened stagnation and degeneration of the U.S. […]
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