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How North America’s Oil Boom Is Hurting Farmers In Western Canada

“We are not getting the rail capacity we need to move the product,” Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association, which represents major grain companies, said. The 81 million-tonne harvest and increased rail traffic from the energy sector has created a backup of grain sitting in elevators waiting to be transported to the market. The best way to transport the crude oil is by rail since there is no significant pipeline network in place, John Felmy, chief economist at the American Petroleum Institute, told International Business Times. “So, I think [railroading] will fit in well in terms of all of our shipping aspirations,” he said. “Definitely, increased shipments of oil by rail are having an impact,” Blair Rutter, executive director of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, which represents farmers, said. “The fact that we don’t have [enough] pipelines is hurting the Canadian farmer in getting […]

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Canadian Oil Companies Trail on Environmental Disclosure

Canada ’s biggest energy companies including Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) and Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO) are trailing global peers in reporting environmental performance as scrutiny of the oil sands intensifies. The 10 largest Canadian oil and natural gas producers by market value scored an average 31.7 out of 100 on environmental-performance disclosures in 2011, the last year with information for all companies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Environmental Disclosure Scores weigh information such as emissions, spills and water use. The Canadian scores lag behind those of some of their largest U.S. and European competitors, including 54.6 (XOM) for Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s biggest energy company, 48.8 (RDSA) for Europe’s No. 1 oil producer Royal Dutch Shell Plc, and 62 (BP/) for London-based BP Plc, which has taken a charge of $42.5 billion related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil-spill disaster. Canadian oil-sands producers […]

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Canada boasts of gas potential in western provinces

CALGARY, Alberta, Nov. 7 (UPI) — The Montney field across Alberta and British Columbia holds more than 400 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the Canadian government said. The National Energy Board, along with provincial energy regulators, announced they completed the first-ever study of the marketable unconventional resources in the Montney area. The governments said the formation holds 449 trillion cubic feet of marketable natural gas and 1.1 billion barrels of marketable oil. “At current consumption rates the Montney gas resource would meet Canadian needs for 145 years,” NEB Chairman Gaetan Caron said in a statement Wednesday. “The report clearly shows that Canadian energy markets will be well supplied with natural gas far into the future.” The NEB said Montney’s marketable gas reserves add to a lucrative resource base already under development in Western Canada. Montney stretches from northeast British Columbia to northwest Alberta. The NEB said it’s been […]

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Canada's oil relative to others in terms of emissions

HOUSTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) — Oil sands imported from Canada into the United States have a lighter environmental footprint than often assumed, a consulting company said. IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates said oil sands are the largest source of U.S. oil imports. Globally, Canadian oil sands could account for 16 percent of all new oil production by 2030. Oil sands are viewed as more carbon-intensive to produce than rival grades. IHS CERA said the greenhouse gas intensity of oil sands imported from Canada is less of a threat to the environment than often suspected. “Oil sands are on par with other sources of U.S. crude, including crudes from Venezuela, Nigeria, Iraq and heavy oil production in the U.S.,” it said in a report published Tuesday. The debate over emissions is one of the sticking points over the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline planned from Canada. Shawn Howard, a spokesman […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Canada’s oil relative to others in terms of emissions

HOUSTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) — Oil sands imported from Canada into the United States have a lighter environmental footprint than often assumed, a consulting company said. IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates said oil sands are the largest source of U.S. oil imports. Globally, Canadian oil sands could account for 16 percent of all new oil production by 2030. Oil sands are viewed as more carbon-intensive to produce than rival grades. IHS CERA said the greenhouse gas intensity of oil sands imported from Canada is less of a threat to the environment than often suspected. “Oil sands are on par with other sources of U.S. crude, including crudes from Venezuela, Nigeria, Iraq and heavy oil production in the U.S.,” it said in a report published Tuesday. The debate over emissions is one of the sticking points over the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline planned from Canada. Shawn Howard, a spokesman […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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The downside of higher U.S. energy exports

oil tanker Photo: MrHicks46/Flickr. Critics of TransCanada’s Keystone XL project often argue that Canada should reap the full benefits of its natural resources, rather than exporting its petroleum riches south of the border. Head to the U.S. and, ironically, you can hear the same discussion. Much of America’s new found oil wealth is being shipped abroad, which is worrying Americans who figured they had a Made-in-the-USA solution to the country’s energy needs. Since 1975, U.S. federal law has banned raw crude from being exported in the interests of national energy security. The legislation, however, doesn’t cover refined products, such as gasoline or diesel. American refineries are free to export as much refined product as they can sell. And these days that’s a lot. Refineries in the U.S. are shipping record amounts of gasoline around the world, exporting the fruits of the country’s shale revolution to some of the same […]

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Alberta and British Columbia Cancel Pipeline Meeting Amid Strife

Alberta Premier Alison Redford and her British Columbia counterpart Christy Clark canceled a meeting scheduled for today in Vancouver amid a disagreement on how economic benefits of pipeline projects should be shared. Redford and Clark have clashed over British Columbia’s opposition to Enbridge Inc. (ENB) ’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, as landlocked Alberta seeks to move its oil-sands crude to Pacific energy markets. Senior officials from both provinces met yesterday in Vancouver. “We remain hopeful that common ground will be found between our two provinces on moving energy resources to new markets,” Redford said yesterday in an e-mail statement. “Given the ongoing work between our provinces, the meeting between Premier Clark and I will be postponed.” Calgary-based Enbridge, Canada ’s largest oil pipeline operator, is proposing to build a 1,177-kilometer (731-mile) conduit through British Columbia from Alberta to transport bitumen to Asian customers. Alberta contends that British Columbia should […]

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British Columbia's LNG industry to face stiff competition for Asian gas markets

Houston (Platts)–4Nov2013/541 pm EST/2241 GMT Developers of proposed liquefied natural gas terminals on the west coast of Canada’s British Columbia province will have to move quickly to secure supply contracts if they want to beat the competition to ship gas to Asian markets, the co-author of a study on the subject said Monday. “That means they need to act aggressively, they need to compete effectively and they need to be in the market to lock down the contracts that will underpin their projects,” said Len Coad, director of the Calgary-based Center for Natural Resource Policy. The province’s developing LNG industry “must move nimbly and quickly to beat out the competition and capture market share in Asia,” according to the 21-page study, released last week by the Canada West Foundation. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: LNG Daily LNG Daily LNG Daily is essential reading as LNG supply […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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British Columbia’s LNG industry to face stiff competition for Asian gas markets

Houston (Platts)–4Nov2013/541 pm EST/2241 GMT Developers of proposed liquefied natural gas terminals on the west coast of Canada’s British Columbia province will have to move quickly to secure supply contracts if they want to beat the competition to ship gas to Asian markets, the co-author of a study on the subject said Monday. “That means they need to act aggressively, they need to compete effectively and they need to be in the market to lock down the contracts that will underpin their projects,” said Len Coad, director of the Calgary-based Center for Natural Resource Policy. The province’s developing LNG industry “must move nimbly and quickly to beat out the competition and capture market share in Asia,” according to the 21-page study, released last week by the Canada West Foundation. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: LNG Daily LNG Daily LNG Daily is essential reading as LNG supply […]

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Alberta Says ‘Quid Pro Quo’ With U.S. Required on Carbon Rules

Alberta won’t raise its levy on greenhouse-gas emissions unless the U.S. acts on the issue, Premier Alison Redford said. “In Alberta, we’re not looking to increase our price on carbon unless there’s going to be a move from the United States ,” Redford said in a Canadian Broadcasting Corp. radio interview that aired today. “There has to be a quid pro quo.” Redford is heading to Washington this month to lobby for U.S. approval of the Keystone XL pipeline that would connect Alberta’s oil sands with Gulf Coast refineries. She plans to discuss the existing C$15 ($14.40) per metric ton that the province levies on carbon from emitters that don’t meet greenhouse-gas reduction targets, she said. Canada has delayed implementing regulations regarding greenhouse gas emissions for the oil and natural gas industry. The federal government has said it’s working with Alberta, where most of Canada’s energy companies are based, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple