Energy News Digest

Husky buys Talisman natural gas play in Alberta
Calgary Herald – September 2, 2010

Talisman Energy has confirmed that it is the seller in an estimated $450-million sale of conventional west-central Alberta natural gas assets announced by Husky Energy on We d n e s -day. Read more…

Statoil CEO Says Oil Sands ‘Attractive’ at Current Crude Prices
Bloomberg – September 2, 2010

Statoil ASA, Norway’s biggest energy company, said oil sands are attractive at current crude price levels and the company is working on bringing costs down to proceed with its investments in Canada. Read more…

Alberta to review rules on water in oil sands
National Post – September 1, 2010

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach said Wednesday his government will rewrite the rules governing water in the oil sands region should the province’s own environmental data prove faulty when compared to a recent critical study out of the University of Alberta. Read more…

Alberta reviews how Dirty Oil film got cash
Calgary Herald – September 2, 2010

The Alberta government is reviewing a provincial program that paid out nearly $55,000 in taxpayers' cash to help bankroll the production of anti-oilsands film Dirty Oil, but stressed it's not in the censorship business. Read more…

Horizon output slashed by outage
Calgary Herald – September 2, 2010

Production from Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.' s Horizon oilsands facility crashed to less than half in August due to a maintenance shutdown and problems getting the plant going again. Read more…

Oilsands PR machine ready to hit Ontario
Post Media News – September 2, 2010

Premier Ed Stelmach is sending three of his senior ministers to southern Ontario later this month to trumpet the economic importance of the oilsands to that province's manufacturing sector and affected communities. Read more…

Compton restructuring protested
Calgary Herald – September 2, 2010

A major shareholder of Compton Petroleum Corp. has come out to formally protest the company's direction following its restructuring plans and flagging share price. Read more…

Enbridge denies allegations of coercion
Globe and Mail – September 1, 2010

Enbridge Inc. is facing an investigation by U.S. officials into complaints that it coerced residents near its Michigan pipeline spill into giving up their rights to sue, in return for paying for items such as air purifiers and hotel rooms for those who were evacuated from their homes. Read more…

Capital expenditures in energy sector seen rising
Post Media News – September 1, 2010

Capital expenditures in Canada's oil and gas extraction business are expected to rebound to $42 billion in 2010 after plunging during the economic downturn, Statistics Canada said in a report yesterday. Read more…

Drilling activity doubles in western Canada
Calgary Herald – September 1, 2010

According to the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors, 357 of an available 795 units were working across Western Canada during the week ended Aug. 31, compared with 183 of 852 units working at this time last year. Read more…

Natives fear Ottawa aiming to convert reserves to private land ownership
Globe and Mail – September 1, 2010

Ottawa has quietly ordered a study of Canada’s most economically successful first nations, raising the prospect of a new approach to developing businesses on reserves while sparking fear among some native leaders that their rights to land and resources are at risk. Read more…

B.C. awards energy royalty credits
Herald News Service – September 1, 2010

The credits were granted to 16 companies for 21 projects to support oil and gas development in places such as Fort Nelson and Dawson Creek during the current fiscal year, Energy Minister Bill Bennett said. The credits reimburse up to 50 per cent of the cost of projects such as roads in remote areas. Since it was introduced in 2004, the program has granted $485 million in credits. Read more…

Chevron completes Canada’s deepest well
Globe and Mail – August 31, 2010

Results of oil well drilled in 2,600 metres of water off Newfoundland won’t be known for two years. Read more…

Edmonton unveils biofuels plant to treat city waste
Edmonton Journal – August 31, 2010

Edmonton broke ground Tuesday on the world's first industrial-scale, waste-to-biofuels facility — one that could reduce by 90 per cent the amount of municipal waste heading to the city's landfills. Read more…

Oilsands increase toxic metals downstream: study
National Post – August 30, 2010

National or provincial guidelines for the protection of aquatic life were exceeded for seven of these metals: cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, silver and zinc — in melted snow and/or water, says the research, published in the prestigious scientific journal called the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read more…

Athabasca water study misses bigger picture
Calgary Herald – August 31, 2010

With Alberta dependent on coal for its power, the more relevant question is how much of the mercury in evidence in the Athabasca River system is the result of the oilsands or coal-fired power generation. RAMP's information, which includes approximately two and a half million data points going back to 1997, shows no changes in water quality. The biggest changes, in fact, have come from the sewage effluents discharged by municipalities -- not the oilsands companies operating in the area. Read more…

Not boycotting oilsands, 3 U.S. firms say
CBC – August 30, 2010

On Friday, it was widely reported that The Gap, Levi Strauss and Timberland had told their transportation companies that preference would be given to those that avoided using oilsands fuels. Company spokesmen from all three companies have since contradicted this. Read more…

Lower natural gas prices set to take their toll on energy industry
Financial Post – August 30, 2010

Natural gas prices, in the eyes of analysts at FirstEnergy Capital, just got uglier. They now expect natural gas to trade at an average of US$4.75 per Mcf on the New York Mercantile Exchange in 2011, down from their previous calculation of US$5.50 per Mcf, which was down from an earlier guesstimate of SU$6.50. With this prediction, FirstEnergy reevaluated how it feels about oil and gas stocks. Read more…

Gasification project closer to reality
Drayton Valley Western Review – August 30, 2010

An American-based company wants to run a demonstration project in underground coal gasification about 15 kilometres northeast of Drayton Valley. Underground coal gasification means that coal deposits inaccessible to traditional mining are turned into synthetic gas that can be used similar to natural gas in things such as power generation. Read more…

Banks Grow Wary of Environmental Risks
New York Times – August 30, 2010

After years of legal entanglements arising from environmental messes and increased scrutiny of banks that finance the dirtiest industries, several large commercial lenders are taking a stand on industry practices that they regard as risky to their reputations and bottom lines. Read more…

Enbridge begins pressure-testing repaired Michigan oil pipeline
Calgary Herald – August 30, 2010

Enbridge had been waiting for the green light from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to run the key test. Read more…

Arizona’s energy policies harbinger of things to come
Calgary Herald – August 30, 2010

Arizona’s energy consumption is not by itself significant, but its policy actions are a harbinger of what’s likely to come elsewhere, and pour water on the commonly held view that energy demand will continue to rise ad infinitum in the United States and other western countries. Read more…

UN climate panel urged to reform, stick to science
Reuters – August 30, 2010

The UN climate panel should only make predictions when it has solid scientific evidence and avoid straying into policy advocacy, a group of national science academies said in a report on Monday. Read more…

Staking out B.C.’s place in a clean energy market
Globe and Mail – July 30, 2010

Will the Clean Energy Act clear the way for British Columbia to become a significant exporter of clean energy? Read more…

B.C. will hit industrial emitters from two directions
Vancouver Sun – July 30, 2010

At a conference call on Thursday by the Environment Ministry's Climate Action Secretariat, a government official said B.C.'s major industries will still pay carbon taxes after the 2012 introduction of a cap-and-trade program regulating their smokestack emissions. Read more…

Gas foundation crumbling
Petroleum News – July 30, 2010

TransCanada’s Mainline from Alberta to the big population centers in Eastern Canada, with extensions into the United States, has been a profit and job generator for the gas sector of the Western Canada Sedimentary basin for more than 65 years. Those days could be winding down, reinforcing the grim messages over recent years from TransCanada and organizations such as the Canadian Energy Research Institute. Read more…

Why you pay so much for hydro
Toronto Star – July 30, 2010

Under the old Power Corporation Act, Ontario Hydro had paid no corporation taxes or dividends. Instead, the Ontario government issued Ontario Hydro bonds and collected a guaranteed rate of return from Hydro. It also charged Ontario Hydro and private power companies a water-use fee for power generated on Ontario rivers. Ontario Hydro paid a fee to support the Niagara Parks Commission as well. In 1998, these three costs totalled about $180 million a year.Under the new legislation, there were 10 new charges that cost hydro users at least $1.5 billion on their hydro rates: Read more…

Shell joins global energy asset selloff
Globe and Mail – July 29, 2010

Shell said Thursday it would put $8-billion in assets on the block, joining a growing list of major companies that are aiming to reshape their growth prospects and reduce debt. Read more…

Suncor shifting cash flow for more dependancy on oilsands
Fort McMurray Today – July 29, 2010

As Suncor Energy moves forward with post-merger growth plans, its upstream assets will soon be 90% oil. Read more…

Glencore-Xstrata union would shake up a mining industry in hibernation
Globe and Mail – July 29, 2010

Merger would create an instant super major capable of competing with the heavyweights. Read more…

Please be advised that the Energy News Digest will not be available next week.

Untimely spill for industry
Calgary Herald – July 29, 2010

The timing of the Enbridge pipeline leak in Michigan couldn't have been worse. Read more…

Suncor profit soars on Petro-Canada purchase
Globe and Mail – July 29, 2010

The company says the increase in operating earnings was primarily due to additional upstream production as a result of the August, 2009, merger with Petro-Canada, as well as higher benchmark prices in the quarter. Read more…

Quebec to meet jump in global lithium demand
Financial Post – July 29, 2010

Quebec is poised to become North America's leading producer of a metal that automakers are desperate to get their hands on. Read more…

Husky slashes production target
Globe and Mail – July 28, 2010

A chastened Husky Energy Inc. with a new CEO at the helm, will turn to acquisitions to try to stem the three-year decline in its oil and natural gas production. Read more…

Alberta upgrader deal could be reached by fall
CBC – July 28, 2010

Energy Minister Ron Liepert told CBC News Tuesday a preliminary agreement has been reached with North West Upgrading and its part owner, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., to build a new upgrader in Sturgeon County, north of Edmonton. Read more…

The era of global oil giants is over
Globe and Mail – July 27, 2010

The former group vice-president for strategy and policy development at BP writes that in the wake of the BP disaster, smaller national and larger international oil companies must work together in new partnerships. Read more…

Biggest provinces push plan to cap emissions
Globe and Mail – July 28, 2010

B.C., Ontario, Quebec embrace cap-and-trade system to fight global warming that is based on plan dropped by U.S. Senate. Read more…

B.C. moves to hit industrial air polluters where it hurts
Vancouver Sun – July 28, 2010

In B.C., that threshold captures 40 operations ranging from Spectra Energy's Pine River natural gas processing plant in northeast B.C. to Catalyst Paper's Powell River mill. Read more…

Carbon-cutting target at risk
The Province – July 28, 2010

Shale-gas development would boost provincial carbon-dioxide emissions by almost 10 per cent above where they should be under legislated emissions targets, according to the paper released Tuesday by the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions. Read more…

Nuclear power costly: report
Saskatchewan News Network – July 28, 2010

Constructing a nuclear reactor in Saskatchewan could triple consumers' power bills and would not decrease greenhouse-gas emissions, said a report commissioned by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Read more…

BP may still have more to sell in Canada
Calgary Herald – July 28, 2010

BP is involved in two in situ oilsands projects as a partner: with Devon in its steam-assisted gravity drainage project at Kirby and with Husky Energy at the Sunrise project. But would BP sell long-life, legacy assets that bring no exploration risk, not to mention the closest to a guarantee in terms of the number of barrels in reserves that can be added? Read more…

Turbines to be submerged in river this week
Montreal Gazette – July 28, 2010

The federal and provincial governments have invested nearly $6 million to test a new subaquatic turbine that converts river currents into electricity. The two turbines are to be submerged this week. Read more…

Labour shortages loom over Canada’s clean power sector
Reuters – July 27, 2010

Educators, industry players and analysts see a widening gap between the demand and supply of trained staff for the thousands of green-power projects expected to start operations between 2011 and 2013. Read more…

Hayward authored own downfall
Calgary Herald – July 27, 2010

While some might question whether Hayward should shoulder the blame for the Deepwater Horizon well explosion and oil spill and resign, the fact is he has no choice. On this one, the buck stops at the top. Read more…

Alberta eyes rail to ship bitumen
Calgary Herald – July 27, 2010

As environmental attacks and pipeline protests mount in the United States, the Alberta government and oilsands producers are looking to expand their energy markets to Asia -- and hoping to get there by train. Read more…

Braid: Rail links gain steam as solution to Alberta's bitumen shipping puzzle
Calgary Herald – July 27, 2010

Rail will be a tougher target because it's a complex industry that ships so many products. Read more…

US extends Keystone comment period
Upstream Online – July 27, 2010

The US State Department has extended the amount of time federal agencies will have to comment on TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL pipeline, delaying the construction schedule. Read more…

A cure for the energy crisis
Macleans – July 26, 2010

Shale gas could one day replace coal in power plants and gasoline and diesel for cars and trucks. Read more…

Asphalt: The new darling of the oil industry
Globe and Mail – July 26, 2010

As a product used for roofs and roads, it has been called the ‘poor boy of the refining business.’ But stimulus programs have boosted demand and resulted in sweet profits. Read more…

The energy bridge to China
Globe and Mail – July 25, 2010

Shipping oil sands crude to a thirsty economy has two pipeline firms proposing different B.C. options, but the concept faces fierce opposition. Read more…

China hits an energy break point
Calgary Herald – July 25, 2010

If China executes its three-quarter of a trillion dollar plan, the ensuing changes will be of similar magnitude to what happened in the early 1980s when policy-induced efficiency gains and rapid diversification of energy sources materially altered the world’s energy markets. The net winners will be the same as thirty years ago: nuclear power, natural gas and renewables. Read more…

Beware of solar energy windfalls
Globe and Mail – July 26, 2010

Renewable energy is deserving of public support, both as a source of clean power and as an economic driver. And it is reasonable that preferential treatment will be necessary at the nascent stages of this industry. But government involvement must always be judicious. The virtue of solar power alone cannot justify government guarantees of outrageous rates of return. Read more…

Waging a war of words
Petroleum News – July 25, 2010

Alberta, Canadian industry locked in combat with environmentalists over oil sands impact; Corporate Ethics backpedals on one claim. Read more…

Quebec between a rock and a hard place on gas from shale
Toronto Star – July 25, 2010

It could mean thousands of jobs and billions of dollars for the province, potentially redrawing the energy map in Canada. However, the gas lies in Quebec, the province with arguably the most tortured relationship with fossil fuels. Read more…

Go west, Alberta oil, go west
Calgary Herald  – July 25, 2010

Alberta is one of the few oil-producing jurisdictions in the world that's able to substantially increase production to meet growing Chinese demand, and the only one to offer political stability, the rule of law, and a demonstrated commitment to improving environmental standards. Read more…

BP's Hayward set to step aside as Gulf work resumes
Reuters – July 25, 2010

BP Plc is expected to install an American troubleshooter as chief executive in the next 24 hours, replacing Tony Hayward, who has come under fire for his handling of the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Read more…

Natural gas rigs hit new high
Herald News Service – July 24, 2010

The number of rigs drilling for natural gas in the United States climbed for a fifth straight week to a fresh 17-month high of 982, according to a report on Friday by oil services firm Baker Hughes in Houston. Read more…

Drought puts gas industry practices under microscope
Vancouver Sun – July 23, 2010

Some northeast B.C. residents are questioning government policies that allow natural gas exploration companies to pump water out of streams and lakes despite a severe drought. Read more…

Ontario Solar Industry Stakeholders Vent At Town Hall
Dow Jones Newswire – July 23, 2010

The announcement that the Ontario Power Authority planned to reduce pay rates for small ground-mount solar projects  stunned the industry as FIT price reviews weren't scheduled to take place until October 2011. In the July 2 notice, the OPA said it received far more ground-mount applications than expected. It also said that ground-mount solar installations generate much higher returns than roof-top installations, necessitating the price reduction, which it described as fair and reasonable. Read more…

B.C. land sale raises $53 million
Herald News Service – July 23, 2010

Thirty-one parcels were sold covering 36,413 hectares at $1,462 per hectare, bringing the year-to-date total to over $662 million. Read more…

The BP-Apache Deal: The Beginning of BP's Demise?
Daily Finance – July 23, 2010

Professor J. Robert Brown believes the Apache sale comes at a good time for both companies. He says there's no way BP can avoid coming out of its Deepwater Horizon disaster a smaller company, but he maintains that the deal with Apache doesn't necessarily signal weakness. Read more…

Great Western Minerals digs in
The Saskatoon Star Phoenix – July 23, 2010

Pitchstone Exploration Ltd. has released an update on its uranium exploration program in the eastern Athabasca Basin, saying drilling has been completed at the Wolverine property and drilling has started at its Gumboot, Johnston Lake and Candle sites. Read more…

First Nations say water withdrawal rules violate interests
Fort McMurray Today – July 22, 2010

The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations and the Mikisew Cree First Nation claim the proposed rules for managing water withdrawals by oilsands mining operations will not protect the interests of downstream First Nations by continuing to allow operators to withdraw water during critical flow periods. Read more…

Edmonton firm finds treasure in oilsands tailings
Edmonton Journal – July 22, 2010

Edmonton-based Titanium Corp., which is installing a final demonstration project at the federal CanmetENERGY lab in Devon, expects its system will be ready for the commercial market next year. Read more…

Alberta oilsands tour woos U.S. legislators
CBC – July 22, 2010

Gary Mar, Alberta's envoy to Washington, led the tour Wednesday that included 12 American elected officials. Read more…

Quicksilver Resources Announces $1 Billion Transaction for the Sale of 100% of Its Interests in Quicksilver Gas Services
Marketwire – July 22, 2010

Quicksilver Resources Inc. today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell all of its interests in Quicksilver Gas Services to Crestwood Midstream Partners for $701 million in cash at closing plus up to $72 million in additional earn-out payments and the resulting elimination of $228 million of consolidated debt associated with Quicksilver Gas Services LP. Read more…

EPA raises new Keystone hurdle
Calgary Herald – July 22, 2010

The Environmental Protection Agency says further study is required since the current review of the project to extend the pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast falls short in identifying all potential environmental impacts, including higher carbon emissions by supporting oilsands operations. Read more…

Canada a top 10 country for green infrastructure
Post Media News – July 22, 2010

Provincial initiatives, especially in Ontario and British Columbia, are leading Canada's "shift to green," among them B.C.'s proposed Clean Energy Act and Ontario's feed-in tariff program that sets rates utilities must pay to purchase, for example, surplus power for a home solar-power array. B.C. is considering a similar feed-in program. Read more…

Canadian retreat not BP's first
Calgary Herald – July 22, 2010

BP's latest retreat from Canada marks at least the third time the British supermajor has packed its bags, leaving behind a family tree of independents and corporate offspring that have shaped the oilpatch. Read more…

 B.C., Australian miners merge, form first pure-play lithium stock
Vancouver Sun – July 22, 2010

Australia's Talison Minerals is merging with Salares Lithium, a junior with a handful of large properties in South America, to create the world's first and only pure stock play on a metal that is considered a key component in the development of batteries for electric vehicles as well as other green energy applications- lithium. Read more…

Understanding the Canadian-US gas spread
Commodity Online – July 22, 2010

It’s no secret that Canadian gas prices are low right now, but few investors realize how low it is compared to the U.S. The spread is now over $1/mcf, when it’s usually about 70 cents – that’s nearly a 50% jump. Read more…

Oilsands industry balks at proposed air standards
Edmonton Journal – July 22, 2010

The oilsands industry is resisting a new air emission standard that would back up its claim to environmental stewardship, says a former Alberta Environment director of air and water approvals. Read more…

Irving cancels plan for $8-billion refinery
Financial Post – July 22, 2010

Rising fuel-efficiency standards, changing consumer habits and growing use of ethanol in the United States played a big role in the cancellation of an $8-billion proposed refinery in New Brunswick, an executive of Irving Oil Ltd. said yesterday. Read more…

Judge halts oil, gas development on Chukchi Sea
Victoria Advocate – July 21, 2010

A federal judge on Wednesday stopped companies from developing oil and gas wells on billions of dollars in leases off Alaska's northwest coast, saying the federal government failed to follow environmental law before it sold the drilling rights. Read more…

Investors frown on Encana gas strategy
Globe and Mail – July 21, 2010

Decision to spend extra $500-million on production criticized amid low prices. Read more…

Rising uranium demand still can’t outpace supply
Globe and Mail – July 21, 2010

Nuclear energy is winning more convert, but prices for uranium are staying stubbornly low. Read more…