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Canada-South Korea trade deal would remove duties for Canadian oil, LNG exports

A proposed free trade agreement between Canada and South Korea would remove the current 3% to 8% tariff that Canadian oil and gas producers have to pay for exports into that Asian nation, a Canadian government spokeswoman said Monday. Claude Rochon, a spokeswoman with Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, said crude oil and LNG exports — with current duties of 3% — would become "duty-free immediately" upon implementation of the FTA. A duty of up to 8% imposed by the South Korean government on imports of Canadian refined products would be removed in stages, she said, noting 96% would be "free" right away with the FTA coming into effect and the remaining 4% over the next five years. Canada is not known to export large volumes of crude oil to South Korea, but Rochon said the deal would significantly improve market access for the Canadian oil and gas […]

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Enbridge Set to Win Canada Approval on Northern Gateway

Enbridge Inc. (ENB) is poised to win government approval as soon as today for its proposed Northern Gateway pipeline to the Pacific coast, a major step for the project that still faces opposition from aboriginal and environmental groups. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s cabinet must decide by midnight tomorrow whether to approve the C$6.5 billion ($6 billion) pipeline, which would carry diluted bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands across British Columbia. Canada’s petroleum industry is seeking measures to move landlocked crude to offshore markets with another proposed pipeline, TransCanada Corp’s, Keystone XL, in regulatory limbo in the U.S. Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said signs point toward the federal government permitting Northern Gateway. “We’re hopeful approval’s coming,” Wall said in a June 12 phone interview. “I’m reading the tea leaves and picking up on signals like everyone else.” Alberta Energy Minister Diana McQueen said in an interview last week that she was […]

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Canadian leader bows out of refinery review

British Columbia Premier Christy Clark said she’s recusing herself from decisions about a planned oil refinery in the province, citing a conflict of interest. "Out of an abundance of caution I’ve decided to take action today to ensure that there is no conflict, whether that is perceived or real," she said during a Tuesday meeting with reporters. Clark said she would sit on the sidelines of any government decisions regarding an oil refinery planned in her province by Pacific Future Energy Corp. Her former husband, Mark Marissen, was named executive vice president of communications at the company. Pacific Future Energy said it would spend the next nine to 12 months conducting feasibility studies for an oil refinery planned for the north coast of the province. The $10 billion project was billed as the "world’s greenest refinery," and would process oil sands into refined petroleum products like […]

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$10 billion Oil Sands Crude Refinery Planned For Canada's Pacific Coast

A Vancouver-based company said on Tuesday it was planning to build a C$10 billion oil refinery on the north-west coast of British Columbia that could eventually process up to 1 million barrels per day of oil sands bitumen. Pacific Energy Future Corp, which was set up in January, is looking at three potential building sites in Prince Rupert, BC. The project is the second new refinery proposed for Canada’s west coast to process the large quantities of crude oil coming out of Alberta’s oil sands and export the refined products. Pacific Energy Future Corp Executive Chairman Samer Salameh said the refinery could be producing products such as gasoline and diesel in about seven years. The announcement comes a week before a federal government decision on whether to approve Enbridge Inc plans to build a 525,000 bpd pipeline from the oil sands to Kitimat, […]

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$10 billion Oil Sands Crude Refinery Planned For Canada’s Pacific Coast

A Vancouver-based company said on Tuesday it was planning to build a C$10 billion oil refinery on the north-west coast of British Columbia that could eventually process up to 1 million barrels per day of oil sands bitumen. Pacific Energy Future Corp, which was set up in January, is looking at three potential building sites in Prince Rupert, BC. The project is the second new refinery proposed for Canada’s west coast to process the large quantities of crude oil coming out of Alberta’s oil sands and export the refined products. Pacific Energy Future Corp Executive Chairman Samer Salameh said the refinery could be producing products such as gasoline and diesel in about seven years. The announcement comes a week before a federal government decision on whether to approve Enbridge Inc plans to build a 525,000 bpd pipeline from the oil sands to Kitimat, […]

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Aboriginal leaders outraged by Canadian oil pipeline

A decision by the Canadian government to approve the planned Northern Gateway oil pipeline will be an insult to the aboriginal community, a tribal leader said. Canadian company Enbridge Energy aims to build its Northern Gateway pipeline to the coast of British Columbia. The pipeline received conditional approval from the National Energy Board, the country’s independent regulator, and a final decision is expected before the end of the month. Members of the aboriginal community and some eastern provincial leaders have expressed concern about the potential environmental threats from a pipeline designed to carry the heavier grade of crude oil in Canada. Dubbed oil sands, it’s viewed by critics as more toxic than conventional oil. Stewart Phillip, the chief of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, said a decision in favor of the pipeline from the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper would undermine the relationship […]

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Canada lowers oil expectations

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said 2014 estimates for oil production to 2030 are down more than 7 percent from the previous year. CAPP said oil sands are the primary source of production growth from Canadian reserves. Production from those deposits is expected to increase to 4.8 million barrels per day by 2030, down from the 5.2 million bpd estimated in its 2013 forecast. Conventional oil production, meanwhile, is expected to remain stable at 1.5 million bpd, up from the 1.4 million bpd estimate in 2013. CAPP said Monday the difference between the two forecasts reflects growing uncertainty for the timing of new oil developments and the capital necessary to exploit those reserves. Canada sends nearly all of its oil to the United States. CAPP Vice President Greg Stringham said the Canadian economy needs more options to get its oil to a more diverse market. "Global demand for […]

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Pipeline Projects Key for Canada to Win N. America Oil Export Race

Sharing a border that spans more than 5,000 miles, the United States and Canada are longstanding allies that maintain numerous cultural and economic ties. Even friends, however, can compete against each other from time to time – consider the two countries’ famous rivalry in the sport of ice hockey. Within the energy sphere, Canada and its southern neighbor are engaged in a different type of competition: the race to gain first-mover advantage for exporting crude oil to markets throughout the Atlantic and Pacific basins. According to the U.K.-based research and consulting firm GlobalData, Canada is outperforming the United States in this rivalry by advancing three critical pipeline projects. TransCanada’s Energy East Pipeline , which would carry 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries and terminals in Eastern Canada Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Pipeline , a twin pipeline that would carry up […]

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Canada, Australia Prime Ministers Talk Climate Change

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott, said Monday they are taking action on climate change but are against measures that they say would destroy their economies. The comments from the two leaders, who head right-leaning governments, come a week after the Obama administration released a draft rule to regulate carbon emissions from the U.S. coal industry. The proposed rule mandates that fossil-fired power plants cut U.S. carbon-dioxide emissions 30% by 2030 from 2005 levels, and come amid U.S. President Barack Obama’s push to make fighting climate change one of his administration’s achievements. Speaking at a joint news conference with Mr. Abbott, who was on his first official visit to Canada, Mr. Harper said he doesn’t feel added pressure to rethink Canada’s plans on addressing climate change in response to the Obama administration’s move. "I don’t feel any additional pressure other than the pressure we […]

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Canadian Oil Producers' Group Cuts Oil-Sands Production Forecast

A Canadian oil and gas trade group on Monday lowered its long-term outlook for oil-sands production by 400,000 barrels a day, or 7.7%, to 4.8 million barrels a day, citing higher costs and deferment of projects. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers also said overall oil production in Canada will likely rise from 3.5 million barrels a day in 2013 to 6.4 million barrels daily by 2030, which is 300,000 barrels below its forecast a year ago. The lowered estimate comes amid growing concern in Canadian industry and government circles that oil-sands output may be slowed by a lack of pipeline capacity and access to global markets beyond the U.S. "We really do need to see some of these [pipeline] projects get put in place over the next few years in order to enable this growth to happen," said Greg Stringham, vice president of oil sands and markets at […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple