These are volatile times for the oil and natural gas industry. The impact on Albertans has been hard as thousands of jobs have been cut. Drilling and service rigs are idle. Tools are down in machine shops. More office spaces are empty. Restaurants are quieter. Economic activity across Alberta is slowing as uncertainty clouds the […]
Comment: Pipelines vs rail cars
The fiery derailment of two trains carrying crude oil in the space of three days underscores the worrisome impact of such incidents. Images of huge fireballs from the crash of an oil train in West Virginia will have brought back memories for many Canadians of the Lac-Megantic disaster where 47 people died. Two days before the West […]
List of Canadian pipelines on hold
Mounting opposition from environmentalists have delayed a number of oil industry projects, here are the top four. 1) Keystone XL Keystone XL is a proposed 1,897-kilometre pipeline that would carry crude oil from Hardisty, Alta., to Steele City, Neb., where it would link up with other pipelines that run to the Gulf Coast and the […]
Comment: Jeff Immelt is the right guy to make changes in the oil sands
General Electric Co. chairman and chief executive officer Jeff Immelt is just what Canada needs to develop its oil sands — an American leader with stature in Washington, on Wall Street, in the oil patch and in Silicon Valley. He said this week that GE will help companies clean up the oil sands so that […]
Cenovus Energy can use all the pipelines it can get
When it comes to pipeline projects, Cenovus Energy says it needs them all to be built. That’s not all, chief executive Brian Ferguson says his company needs every major pipeline project, along with rail, to allow it to transport its growing oil sands production. Ferguson’s comments contradict some analysts predictions who say all the proposed […]
Plan to ship from the oil sands to the east coast runs into a snag
Oil-sands opponents rallied in Bretton Woods, N.H., where New England governors held their annual meeting with eastern Canadian premiers. On the table – energy trade and innovation. “We are calling on Northeast leaders to oppose projects that would bring more tar sands oil into the region, and to implement a regional clean fuel standard along […]
All publicity is not good publicity
Was it a bribe or good faith financial deal? TransCanada Corp. has given an Ontario town $30-thousand. Mattawa plans to use the cash to purchase a new rescue vehicle. Some people are asking what the money is really for. You see Mattawa is located on the proposed Energy East pipeline route and Bloomberg.com is reporting […]
Northern gateway pipeline approval approved in Alberta’s heartland
While environmental groups and First Nations criticized the Harper government for approving the Northern gateway pipeline, the provinces industrial heartland has a different take. Not surprisingly it wants the pipeline to satisfy the 209 conditions and get the go ahead to start building. The Executive Director of Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association (AIHA), Neil Shelly, told […]
It’s time to think about renewables
As the smoke clears from the Enbridge Northern Gateway decision, one thing is clear — this pipeline will never be built. Given opposition from the British Columbia government, a litany of First Nation lawsuits, a possible referendum and inevitable protests, Northern Gateway’s demise is already being written despite the federal green light. Beyond Gateway, the […]
Are U.S. dollars propping up environmental groups in Canada?
$84-billion per year, that’s the potential impact the oil sands could have on the Canadian economy. The industry it could be argued is the most important economic issue we will have. The greatest hindrance to future projects appears to be the gridlock due to opposition from environmental organizations and First Nations. This gridlock has been […]