Recent Canadian Energy News Links

A Mari usque ad Mare

10/7/2010

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Ignatieff+urges+caution+over+pipeline/3262639/story.html?cid=megadrop_story

Federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff chastised the Harper government Saturday for waiting too long to build a relationship with China, but he remained steadfast against the prospect of tankers shipping oilsands fuel to Asia from the northern B.C. coast.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/energy-resources/Gulf+spill+damage+creates+demand+seafood/3237164/story.html

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has reached the shores of Prince Edward Island. Not the oil, but the repercussions, as American buyers scrambling for replacement seafood are putting in orders to some Island producers.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/health/Ignatieff+hard+line+inconsistent+tanker+traffic+coast/3260789/story.html

Liberals are against large ships jeopardizing offshore waters, but smaller craft are acceptable.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/health/bang+Joslyn+Creek+raises+questions+about+green+oilsands+alternative/3260743/story.html

High-pressure steam injected deep underground caused a giant explosion on May 18, 2006, sending rocks flying hundreds of metres into the air at an oilsands project 65 kilometres north of Fort McMurray. Now, four years later, Alberta’s regulator has wrapped up a lengthy investigation by concluding that the operator was at fault.

http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2662317

A new campaign is pushing to keep oilsands processing north of the border, increasing value and job numbers. Refine it Where We Mine it was launched Wednesday by supporters from Alberta’s petrochemical industry and participating municipalities.

http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=345646&sc=82

It may come as a surprise to some, but Nalcor Energy hasn’t paid dividends to the provincial government since 2006 – using its profits instead to finance its share in four oil projects. One of those investments has just started to pay off as first oil flowed May 31 from North Amethyst, the first White Rose expansion field.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Columnists/1191069.html

The owners of the Sable offshore natural gas project revealed they would not be spending any more money to extend the project’s life.

A Mari usque ad Mare

9/07/2010

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/World+Prices/3254011/story.html

World oil prices at close of business 8/07/2010

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Province+links+record+land+sale+royalties+changes/3253219/story.html

A day after the largest land sale of 2010, Alberta government officials were pointing to the results as an affirmation of its new royalty policies designed to spur oilpatch activity.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/ExxonMobil+plans+buyback/3254013/story.html

ExxonMobil Corp., the largest publicly traded company, plans to buy back $3 billion of its shares this quarter, easing the effect on shareholders from its takeover of natural-gas producer XTO Energy Inc., and said it will pay off or refinance the deal’s assumed debt.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Oilsands+resurgence+yields+boom+pipeline+projects/3255584/story.html

As bitumen production from the oilsands continues to increase, pipeline firms have pushed forward with major projects that are now almost ready to flow.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/Ottawa+Winnipeg+gallon+problem/3223752/story.html?cid=megadrop_story

A team of engineers from the University of Ottawa is taking the term “fuel efficiency” to whole new heights. The Ottawa team was able to show that its car was capable of travelling 1,500 miles (2,414 kilometres) per U.S. gallon (3.79 litres) of regular unleaded gasoline.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/Plasco+form+joint+venture+with+state+owned+Chinese+firm/3193605/story.html

Ottawa-based Plasco Energy Group, which is working on technology to turn garbage into energy, is to sign a joint venture deal with a second Chinese company.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/Building+head+steam/3254571/story.html

Thermal Energy is counting on projects such as the one to harness heat from vents at paper mills to take it to the next level of growth. Many in Ottawa’s growing clean-tech sector would be happy just to get to the first stage.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1191069.html

It was news everyone knew would be coming one day, but on Thursday, owners of the Sable offshore natural gas project revealed they would not be spending any more money to extend the project’s life.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/front/article/1127946

New Brunswick is eyeing the possibility of building a second nuclear reactor under an agreement signed with French nuclear giant Areva, the provincial government announced Thursday.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2010/07/08/nb-nuclear-letter.html

New Brunswick has signed a letter of intent to look at building a second reactor at NB Power’s Point Lepreau nuclear plant.

A Mari usque ad Mare

8/7/2010

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/07/08/deepwater-exploration-cnlopb-flemish-708.html

The regulator supervising Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore oil industry has approved new exploration in deep waters, sparking mixed political opinions.

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Federal+cancel+oilsands+pollution+probe+destroy+report/3244286/story.html

Federal politicians from the government and opposition benches have mysteriously cancelled an 18-month investigation into oilsands pollution in water and opted to destroy draft copies of their report, Canwest News Service has learned.

http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2658518

Oilsands proponents say anti-oilsands assertions by U.S. Congressman Henry Waxman clearly demonstrate the need for more fact-based information to be distributed.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Attack+pipeline+spurs+call+oilsands+markets/3244850/story.html

Renewed opposition to Alberta’s oilsands operations has put pressure on the province to find new markets, as momentum grows in the United States to bar Canadian bitumen.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Region+unites+against+bitumen+exports/3250367/story.html

Energy firms are on the verge of exporting a huge portion of Alberta’s raw bitumen, a move that future generations will view as an incredible loss of economic opportunity, says a co-operative group of municipal politicians, labour leaders and petrochemical industry representatives.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Stelmach+seeks+Clinton+support+pipeline/3248044/story.html

Days after an influential U.S. congressman wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opposing a proposed oilsands pipeline, Premier Ed Stelmach has penned his own letter to her in support of the project.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/breakingnews/alstom-tsupply-three-turbine-generators-for-ontario-power-generation-complex-98034014.html

French hydropower equipment supplier Alstom signs $110 million contract with Kiewit Alarie Partnership for three turbine generator sets, which will be used at the Ontario Power Generation’s Lower Mattagami Hydroelectric Complex in Northern Ontario.

http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=346224&sc=79

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro says it is investing $52 million throughout the province this year to ensure the continued safety and reliability of the provincial electricity system.

A Mari usque ad Mare

7/7/2010

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/technology/Oilsands+billions+expected+unlocked+rising+prices/2180362/story.html

Steadily rising oil prices will combine with lower costs to put some of the more than $100 billion in cancelled oilsands projects back on the front burner, according to a new study.

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Liberals+plan+supertankers+full+holes/3244283/story.html

Differing political views about the transport of crude off B.C.’s coast will have profound implications for a massive Western pipeline project.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/fishermen+plan+join+lawsuit+against+giant/3247614/story.html

A fisherman’s group on P.E.I. plans to join the compensation list being filed against BP over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/energy-resources/Prominent+congressman+calls+halt+Keystone+sands+pipeline/3242197/story.html

House Energy and Commerce committee chairman Henry Waxman, known for his part in the controversial Waxman Markey energy regulation bill, called on the U.S. government to block the expansion of TransCanada Corp.’s proposed pipeline expansion to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Petroleum+board+calls+bids/3244478/story.html

The agency that regulates oil and gas drilling off the coast of Newfoundland is inviting bids for new deepwater exploration licences, despite ongoing reviews at the provincial and federal levels of whether proper safeguards are in place to prevent a major spill.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1190733.html

The Canada Pension Plan’s investment arm is spending $250 million for a piece of privately held Laricina Energy Ltd. — the fund’s first direct foray into northern Alberta’s oilsands industry.

A Mari usque ad Mare

5/7/2010

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Port+officials+environmentalists+split+Vancouver+spill+risk/3238940/story.html

Is the Metro Vancouver region prepared for the inevitability of a serious oil spill in Burrard Inlet? Does it have the resources to deal with a catastrophe if a tanker goes hard aground in Second Narrows and begins spilling its cargo of crude oil?

http://www.calgaryherald.com/technology/Feds+maintain+fossil+fuel+incentives+despite+phase+pledge/3238662/story.html

The Harper government has protected several incentive and subsidy programs for fossil fuels, despite making a G20 pledge to phase them out, according to a leaked document from last month’s conference in Toronto.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Birds+affected+other+energy+sources/3235865/story.html

How about a full disclosure of the real cost, instead of just a whitewash of the so-called green energy sources, because they are really very red with the blood of birds.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Tackling+transit/3236163/story.html

The Citizen recently published poll results showing that transportation, including transit, is far and away the most important municipal issue for Ottawa residents.

A Mari usque ad Mare

3/7/2010

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/TransCanada+opens+first+Keystone/3223226/story.html

TransCanada Corp. chief executive Hal Kvisle celebrated his last day at the helm as first commercial bitumen flowed from the company’s Keystone pipeline into the U.S. Midwest. The $12-billion project is the pipeline and energy company’s first major entry in the world of oil, moving 200,000 barrels of oil per day to Illinois on Wednesday in a three-month journey from Alberta.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/energy-resources/regulators+support+broad/3230925/story.html

European Commission President Jose Barroso said European regulators are in favour of taxes on carbon dioxide emissions.

2/7/2010

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/technology/Enbridge+expand+Alberta+oilsands+join+carbon+capture+project/3212079/story.html

Enbridge Inc. said it plans a C$400 million expansion of its Waupisoo oilsands pipeline system and is joining a carbon-capture project backed by power producers TransAlta Inc. and Capital Power Corp.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Alberta+Premier+Stelmach+defends+oilsands+against+critics/3225983/story.html

In a letter to the Washington Post today, Premier Ed Stelmach is shooting back at American politicians who took aim at Alberta’s “tarsands oil” last week. “A good neighbour lends you a cup of sugar. A great neighbour supplies you with 1.4 million barrels of oil per day.”

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Alberta+pays+oilsands+message+Washington/3228320/story.html

Alberta’s premier delivered his pro-oilsands message to a Washington Post audience Friday morning through a $55,800 half-page ad in the paper, instead of an opinion piece as originally intended.

A Mari usque ad Mare

30/6/2010

http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Energy+execs+give+Quebec+rating/3198630/story.html

Quebec was ranked by oil and gas executives as Canada’s least attractive province to do business.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/energy-resources/Private+firm+plans+pilot+project+upgrade+heavy+near+source/3212731/story.html

Value Creation Inc. announced that it has filed applications for a pilot project to demonstrate new field upgrading technology that could change the way heavy oil is produced and processed.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/energy-resources/Enbridge+invests+400M+sands+pipeline+link/3211558/story.html

Increased activity in Alberta’s oil sands region has prompted Enbridge Inc. to invest $400 million toward expanding its regional system from the Fort McMurray area to its Edmonton terminal.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/laws+could+backfire+minister/3154154/story.html

New low-carbon fuel standards proposed in the Northeastern U.S. could actually slow the greening of the oil sands.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Pipeline+move+demand/3219549/story.html

Enbridge Inc. said its Ozark pipeline in the U.S. will haul about 13 per cent of the crude oil requested by oil producers, traders and refiners next month.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Enbridge+buys+wind+farm/3219548/story.html

Enbridge Inc. has made its first foray into the U.S. renewable energy market, investing $500 million US in a Colorado-based wind farm.

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Teck+coal+mine+explosion+could+dryer+action+months+analyst/3217532/story.html

It could take several months for Teck Mining to rebuild a coal dryer building that was the site of an explosion this week.

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Firm+says+technique+process+oilsands+bitumen/3214714/story.html

Value Creation Inc. announced that it has filed applications for a pilot project to demonstrate new field upgrading technology that could change the way heavy oil is produced and processed.

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Enbridge+expand+Alberta+oilsands+join+carbon+capture+project/3212079/story.html

Enbridge Inc. announced it plans a C$400 million ($384 million) expansion of its Waupisoo oilsands pipeline system and is joining a carbon-capture project backed by power producers TransAlta Inc. and Capital Power Corp.

29/6/2010

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1189583.html

Rather than the four Atlantic provinces planning individual energy strategies, a senator from Nova Scotia is urging them to adopt an idea that’s at least 30 years old — put aside differences and create a regional energy plan

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1189584.html

If a second nuclear reactor is built in New Brunswick, it would come with benefits for other energy sources in the form of an “energy park,” Energy Minister Jack Keir said Monday.

A Mari usque ad Mare

28/6/2010

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1189382.html

PM Harper refused to eliminate tax incentives for the oilpatch at the G28/G20 summits, as the leaders opted in favour of fighting deepening deficits over combating climate change.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/Quebec+labour+group+urges+Shell+boycott+Friday/3134381/story.html

Most of the 550 workers at the closing Shell refinery stand to lose their jobs in September when the closing becomes effective, though many will stay on a few months to help with dismantling.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Canada+India+sign+civilian+nuclear+operation+deal/3209118/story.html

Canada and India signed a civilian nuclear co-operation deal Sunday, 25 years after suspending nuclear relations because India used Canadian technology to make its first nuclear bomb.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/fp/Verdict+good+oilsands/3203976/story.html

The long-anticipated decision Friday by the Provincial Court of Alberta finding Syncrude guilty on both charges related to the 2008 deaths of 1,600 ducks in its Aurora tailing ponds

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/fp/limit+exports+China/3210496/story.html

Federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice reiterated this week the government’s intention to restrict the export of unprocessed oilsands product to countries with perceived weaker greenhouse gas emission standards than Canada.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/fp/Oilsands+help+slash+provincial+deficit/3199472/story.html

As Alberta’s oilsands continue to attract international criticism over environmental performance, the provincial government is becoming increasingly reliant on industry royalties to fund programs and services.

A Mari usque ad Mare

The official motto of Canada, adopted in 1866, is Latin for “From Sea to Sea”

27/06/2010

http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=344984&sc=507

Alberta Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith labels Tories’ defence of oilsands feeble.

http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=344946&sc=82

The Hibernia oil platform’s power failed Wednesday at around 1:40 a.m. as routine maintenance was being performed on one of the main power generators.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/cponline/stories/b3787184.html

G20 documents show no Canadian movement on tax breaks for oil sands

http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_south/victorianews/business/Big_power_projects_hit_hurdles.html

B.C.’s biggest run-of-river proposal is the latest alternative electricity investment to be slowed or stopped in a shifting political environment for private power development.

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/energy-resources/Sask+gets+good+marks+energy+investment/3198490/story.html

Manitoba is the most attractive place in Canada for oil and gas investment for the second year in a row, according to the global petroleum survey released Thursday by the Fraser Institute.

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/energy-resources/CanAlaska+releases+drilling+results/3198496/story.html

CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. said this week winter drilling at the West McArthur Project has intersected separate zones of anomalous uranium mineralization, silification and sandstone alteration.

The links below are stories from media across Canada about Canadian energy and related issues.

A Mari usque ad Mare

The official motto of Canada, adopted in 1866, is Latin for

“From Sea to Sea”

26/6/2010

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/energy-resources/Sale+Syncrude+stake+opens+door+China/3203449/story.html

The federal government’s stamp of approval on Sinopec’s acquisition of ConocoPhillips’ Syncrude Canada stake opens the door for more Chinese investment in the oilpatch, industry and political observers said Friday.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/energy-resources/Oilsands+tops+natural+Alberta+government+income/3199364/story.html

Royalty revenue from oilsands overtook natural gas as Alberta’s leading revenue source for the first…

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/energy-resources/Encana+takes+Chinese+partner+Horn+River+Montney+prospects/3199384/story.html

On a day when the British Columbia government took in $404 million from its fifth highest land sale…

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1189153.html

If Gerald Gabriel has his way, a deal will be signed, sealed and delivered this summer and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering will begin construction of wind turbine parts in Pictou County.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1189118.html

Spanish-owned Genera Avante Holdings Canada Inc. is putting $21,968,890 into Shear Wind Inc.’s Glen Dhu wind power project that straddles Antigonish and Pictou counties, the companies announced Friday.

25/6/2010

http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2639718

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Syncrude+guilty+duck+deaths/3201098/story.html

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Encana+takes+Chinese+partner+Horn+River+Montney+prospects/3199384/story.html

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Ottawa+sets+timeline+coal+fired+power/3194727/story.html

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Yedlin+Phasing+coal+only+part+green+future/3194723/story.html

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Battle+brewing+between+Alberta+Ottawa+over+sands+exports/3189890/story.html

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Leak+makes+Canada+reputation+nuclear/3199279/story.html

24/6/2010

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/technology/Suncor+supports+carbon+evenly+applied/3194591/story.html

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Suncor+chief+Rick+George+supports+carbon/3191676/story.html

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/congressmen+demand+second+look+oilsands+pipeline/3192608/story.html