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Canada’s Energy-Rich Alberta to Cap Oil Sands Emissions

The Suncor oil-sands extraction plant near Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada. CALGARY, Alberta—The government of oil-rich Alberta province in western Canada on Sunday pledged to phase out coal emissions by 2030, limit greenhouse gases from oil-sands production and implement an economywide carbon tax. The province unveiled the long-awaited plan one day ahead of a meeting in Ottawa among Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, and the leaders of other Canadian provinces and territories to discuss environment policy. Mr. Trudeau has pledged to develop a framework for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions before a United Nations summit on Nov. 30. The plan comes at a challenging time for coal and oil producers in western Canada that are struggling to cope with low commodity prices. “Our goal is to become one of the world’s most progressive and forward-looking energy producers,” Ms. Notley said at a news conference in Edmonton. “We are […]

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Oil Rout Puts Canada in C$3 Billion Hole as Trudeau Steps Up

Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau released forecasts showing he’s inherited a much worse fiscal outlook than expected as the country’s finances take a big hit from the oil price slump. A fiscal update released by the finance department showed Canada on pace for red ink even before newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kicks off his plan for deficit spending. The latest projections are for a C$3 billion ($2.3 billion) deficit in the fiscal year that began in March, compared with a C$1.4 billion surplus budgeted by former Finance Minister Joe Oliver. To take into account growing risks to the outlook, Friday’s update — which doesn’t reflect any new measures — includes revenue assumptions that fall C$2 billion short of those used in the previous government’s April budget . It’s a more cautious outlook that suggests Trudeau will need to bring Canada deeper into deficit than he campaigned on, […]

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Morneau Releases Canada Fiscal Update Friday Amid Oil Price Drop

Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau will detail the state of play of the federal government’s finances Friday, amid worries about falling oil prices. The update won’t include the cost of new measures promised by the Liberal Party in the election campaign, according to an advisory on the finance department’s website. The world’s 11th largest economy shrank in the first half of the year as crude oil prices dropped below $50 a barrel and manufacturers struggled to rebuild U.S. orders even with the aid of a falling currency. The Parliamentary Budget Officer cut its 2015 growth forecast to 1.1 percent on Nov. 10 and projected additional deficits of C$13 billion ($9.8 billion) over three years in addition to the Liberal Party’s plan for C$25 billion of deficits.

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OPEC Targets U.S. Shale, But Hits Canada Instead

A bucket loader digs for oil sands at a mine in this aerial photograph taken near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on June 4, 2015. OPEC took a swing at U.S. shale and knocked down Canada. Threatened by surging production from North America, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has been pumping above its quota for 17 months as it seeks to take market share from higher-cost regions. The resulting 60 percent price crash is hitting Alberta harder than Texas. Canadian producers are struggling to cut the cost of extracting bitumen from the oil sands, and their other wells are failing to match the efficiency gains of U.S. rivals, a Bloomberg Intelligence analysis shows. While output keeps rising in the Permian Basin, the largest U.S. shale play, companies are slowing output from wells in Alberta and have shelved 18 oil-sands projects during the downturn, according to ARC Financial Corp. “OPEC […]

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TransCanada will grow without Keystone XL

TransCanada says it will remain resilient in North American energy sector despite fallout from Keystone XL decision. Photo by tcly/Shutterstock CALGARY, Alberta, Nov. 18 (UPI) — Pipeline company TransCanada said it had $9.75 billion worth of projects on tap that will expand its North American footprint despite recent political setbacks. "Our $50 billion portfolio of high-quality, long-life energy infrastructure assets are expected to continue generating stable and predictable results through various market conditions," Russ Girling, TransCanada’s president and chief executive officer, told investors in Toronto. In its third quarter earnings report, the Canadian pipeline company said earnings of $337 million were 2 percent lower than third quarter 2014. For the nine months ending Sept. 30, earnings of $970 million were down 7.6 percent year-on-year. That beat some of its peers in an energy sector struggling to endure through a depressed oil economy. Girling said his company was performing well, […]

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Suncor Plans Higher Spending of Up to $5.5 Billion Next Year

Suncor Energy Inc., Canada’s largest crude producer, plans to boost capital spending to as much as C$7.3 billion ($5.5 billion) next year to expand operations and increase efficiency. The investment would be an increase from about C$6.3 billion this year, the average of 14 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The program is flexible, within a range starting at C$6.7 billion, to respond quickly to any further deterioration in market conditions, Suncor said Tuesday. Both capital and operating expenditures can be scaled back. Suncor has announced 1,000 job cuts, lowered its 2015 capital budget by $1 billion and delayed projects to weather collapsing prices. The company, along with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Cenovus Energy Inc. and other competitors, has squeezed spending in the oil sands, one of the world’s most expensive reserves to develop. “We’re well-positioned to invest in our base business and growth projects, even in a lower for […]

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Canada’s Trudeau unveils plan to fund green infrastructure at G20

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prioritizes green infrastructure in investment strategy unveiled from the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Turkey . Photo by Heinz Ruckemann/UPI ANTALYA, Turkey, Nov. 16 (UPI) — Dedicated funding for infrastructure supporting a low-carbon economy is one of the pillars of a new investment strategy, Canada’s prime minister said. Lower crude oil prices are hurting a Canadian economy that depends heavily on oil and natural gas exports. Exports from Canada largely target a U.S. economy that’s relying less on foreign reserves because of increased production from shale basins in the Lower 48. Government data show a national unemployment rate of 7 percent in Canada, compared with 4 percent in the United States. Monthly gross domestic product increased in August — the last full month for which data are available — by 0.1 percent for Canada, compared with 1.5 percent for the United States in […]

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Canada needs to keep an eye on low oil prices: finance minister

Canada’s Finance Minister Bill Morneau speaks during a news conference in Ottawa, Canada November 10, 2015. Canada needs to keep a close eye on low oil prices, which the ruling Liberal Party took into consideration when drawing up an election platform that called for extra stimulus, new Finance Minister Bill Morneau said on Saturday. Morneau, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit, also said U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew was encouraged by the Liberals’ plans for new infrastructure spending. The Liberals won the Oct. 19 election, in part on a promise to run three years of budget deficits to boost the economy. Canada is a major exporter of crude and has been hard hit by slumping oil prices, which are now barely half what they were in the middle of 2014. "Obviously we need to pay close attention to the price of oil, the […]

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Canada to Ban Tankers on North Pacific Coast in Blow to Enbridge

Canada plans to formally ban oil tanker traffic on the northern coast of British Columbia, adding another hurdle to Enbridge Inc.’s Northern Gateway pipeline proposal. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has instructed Marc Garneau, the minister of transport responsible for the Coast Guard, to implement the ban which has informally been in place for years and was part of the leader’s campaign platform, according to the prime minister’s office. The ban will add to hurdles Enbridge has faced since proposing the pipeline to move Alberta crude to the port of Kitimat, at the end of the Douglas Channel, and onto Asia to open new markets for Canadian oil. The project has been met with intense resistance from local communities over concerns including potential spills that could harm fisheries and threaten their livelihood. The company won conditional approval under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, so long as it met hundreds of […]

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Canadian Energy Sector Pain Spreads

TORONTO—The impact of the oil-price collapse is increasingly seeping into other areas of the Canadian economy, as insurers, telecommunications companies and even liquor retailers signal the energy sector’s pain is spreading. While production from the oil sands continues to flow, the lack of investment is lowering demand for labor and services, which is seeping into other industries and contributing to the economic drag that led a contraction in Canadian growth in the first half of the year. Showing the spillover effects, Vancouver-based wireless provider Telus Corp. TU -1.73 % announced last week it would lay off 1,500 employees across the country, mainly due to “stress” in Alberta. Toronto-based Redline Communications Group Inc., RDLCF -4.02 % a maker of networking equipment, attributed a 30% drop in its third-quarter revenue to “ongoing low oil prices and subsequent delays in purchasing.” “From 2002 to 2008, oil prices were going up, the Canadian […]

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Encana Posts Another Steep Quarterly Loss

Calgary, Alberta-based Encana said it had a net loss of $1.2 billion, or $1.47 a share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, well off the $2.8 billion it earned a year earlier. Results in the latest quarter included a $1.07 billion impairment charge, which followed similar charges in the first two quarters of the year. Excluding the latest charge, Encana posted an operating loss of $24 million, or 3 cents a share, which was a penny better than the 4-cent loss analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected. “Decisive action across the organization is continuously strengthening our business,” Chief Executive Doug Suttles said in a statement. He said the company is benefiting from a more-focused portfolio and disciplined capital program, plus cost reductions. Encana has been shedding assets to shore up its balance sheet , streamlining its portfolio to focus on its four key oil-and-gas plays in the Eagle […]

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As total U.S. crude oil imports fall, Canada’s import supply share rises

Although overall U.S. crude oil imports have been declining since 2005, crude oil imports from Canada have been increasing. As of August, Canada provided 45% of all crude oil imports to the United States, almost three times as much as all Persian Gulf countries combined. The United States has been the primary destination for Canada’s crude oil exports since the early 2000s. Based on data through the first half of this year from Canada’s National Energy Board, 99% of Canada’s crude oil exports were sent to the United States. More than half of these volumes went to petroleum refineries in the Midwest (Petroleum Administration for Defense District, PADD 2). Import data from the U.S. Department of Commerce specify the nearest port of entry but not the mode of transit used to import this crude oil. Based on entry port data and pipeline locations, it is reasonable to expect that […]

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IEA praises Canadian carbon capture initiative

Shell starts a first-of-its-kind carbon storage operations at an oil sands facility in Canada to the praise of the International Energy Agency. Photo courtesy of Royal Dutch Shell PARIS, Nov. 9 (UPI) — The launch in Canada of the world’s first carbon capture project for oil sands is a welcome statement from an industry under the microscope, the IEA said. With momentum building for the U.N. climate negotiations in Paris, the International Energy Agency said the Canadian oil sands industry was taking remarkable steps with the launch of a novel carbon capture and storage project, which is meant to reduce emissions from oil-sands processing facilities in Alberta. Royal Dutch Shell last week started operations at its Quest CCS project, which the company said would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1 million tons per year by storing it deep underground. "The launch of the Quest CCS project in Alberta, Canada, […]

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Keystone XL decision may indicate changing energy landscape

President Barack Obama’s stance on the Keystone XL oil pipeline planned from Canada may be a reflection of a changing energy landscape in North America. Despite the rejection, some analysis says Canadian oil will still find its way south. Pool Photo by Michael Reynolds/UPI WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) — U.S. and Canadian statements regarding the decision on the Keystone XL oil pipeline may reflect a changing energy landscape in North America. Industry supporters, and leaders whose economies depend in part on oil revenue, expressed frustration with the U.S. decision to deny TransCanada’s permit to build the cross-border pipeline. But from the economic standpoint, many statements reflect evolving priorities in the new era for oil. In its record of decision and national interest determination of the pipeline, the U.S. State Department, charged with vetting the project, said there were questions about the necessity for additional North American pipeline capacity given […]

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Obama Keystone Rejection Stings Oil Producers Less After Crash

PlayCurrent Time 0:00/Duration Time 0:00Remaining Time -0:00Stream TypeLIVELoaded: 0%Progress: 0%00:00Fullscreen00:00MutePlayback Rate1Subtitles subtitles off Captions captions settings captions off Chapters Chapters No compatible source was found for this video.Foreground—WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan—OpaqueSemi-OpaqueBackground—WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan—OpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindow—WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan—OpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyDefaultMonospace SerifProportional SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional Sans-SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsDefaultsDonexShare & EmbedCopy CodeAdvertisement What Obama’s Rejection of Keystone XL Means for Canada President Barack Obama’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline solidifies what the market has been saying for months — there’s less appetite for expensive Canadian oil sands in an era of $45 crude. The $8 billion pipeline to transport crude from Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico first proposed by TransCanada Corp. in 2008 has lost its urgency as the industry endures the worst price crash since the 1980s. Producers are shelving projects and reducing drilling, and after waiting so many years for the line’s approval, they can afford to wait longer for a new one. They’ve also found other […]

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Canada Prime Minister Faces Early Test from Keystone Rejection

OTTAWA—Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces an early test in his pledge to improve Canada-U.S. relations after the White House on Friday rejected the Keystone XL pipeline project after seven years of review. The Obama administration said no to the controversial project just two days after Mr. Trudeau was sworn in as Canada’s prime minister. While not a surprise, the decision represents a setback for Canada’s key energy sector, which is reeling from lower commodity prices and has encountered many hurdles in trying to move landlocked crude to new markets other than the U.S. Under former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper , Ottawa placed significant importance on securing U.S. approval for the project, meant to ease the transport of oil from Alberta to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Mr. Trudeau said he was “disappointed” with the rejection but saw an opportunity to rebuild strained ties between the two […]

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Keystone Refusal Shifts Focus to Next Oil-Sands Pipeline Sagas

With Keystone XL shot down by President Barack Obama, the Canadian energy industry — and its opponents — are turning their attention to the other options. Three pipelines proposed to carry rising oil-sands volumes from landlocked Alberta to Canada’s Pacific and Atlantic coasts face delays as activists, local communities and politicians attack their risks to the environment in a repeat of TransCanada Corp.’s seven-year saga seeking U.S. approval. Producers from Suncor Energy Inc. to Royal Dutch Shell Plc are banking on the alternatives. TransCanada is touting an even bigger line to Canada’s eastern shores, while Kinder Morgan Energy Inc. and Enbridge Inc. are aiming for routes to the country’s west coast. The headwinds they face are putting the long-term development of the world’s third-largest oil reserves at risk. “We’re working hard with stakeholders, and we intend to act decisively to increase the likelihood of getting our product to tidewater,” […]

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