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Canadian National’s Main Line Shuts After Crude Cars Derail

(Bloomberg) — Canadian National Railway Co. shut its main line linking western and eastern Canada after an eastbound train carrying crude oil derailed in Ontario. The train of 100 cars, all carrying crude from Canada’s oil-producing region of Alberta to eastern Canada, derailed just before midnight Saturday in a remote and wooded area about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Gogama, Ontario, spokesman Patrick Waldron said in an e-mail. About 18 freight trains a day use the line, he said. A total of 29 cars were involved in the incident and seven caught fire. The remaining 71 cars were moved from the site, Waldron said. Some oil was spilled. Shipments scheduled along the affected corridor will be delayed by at least 24 hours, the company said. Canadian oil producers have grown dependent on shipping crude by rail as pipeline capacity has become constrained. The shutdown happened as locomotive engineers […]

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Train Carrying Crude Oil Derails in Ontario

A train carrying crude oil and operated by Canadian National Railway Co. derailed near the town of Timmins in northern Ontario just before midnight on Saturday, causing a fire but no reported injuries. The train derailed in a remote wooded area, according to a spokesman for Montreal-based CN, Canada’s largest railroad company. He said the railway company had deployed firefighting and environmental crews to the scene. The cause of the incident wasn’t yet known, he said. “Our emergency crews continue to conduct a full site assessment to determine the number of rail cars derailed and involved in the fire, and if any product has been spilled,” said CN spokesman Patrick Waldron in an emailed statement on Sunday afternoon. “Seventy-one cars of the 100-car train have been safely moved away from the derailment site. Early site assessments indicate that at total of 29 cars are involved in the incident. That […]

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Threatened Canadian Rail Strike Seen Weakening Heavy Oil Prices

(Bloomberg) — Canadian crude prices near a six-year low may weaken further should workers at Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd carry through with threats to strike this weekend. The company faces a work stoppage as soon as Feb. 15 by Teamsters Canada Rail Conference and Unifor Local 101R, which represent a combined 5,000 workers. Canadian Pacific will deploy managers “to maintain a reduced freight service” on its Canadian lines. Canadian oil companies have increasingly relied on rail cars to deliver crude produced in Alberta to refineries as far away as the U.S. Gulf Coast. Canadian Pacific delivered 110,000 carloads of crude last year, 22 percent more than in 2013, according to company data. Without “enough trains operating, I could see how it will delay the deliveries of crude shipments,” Dinara Millington, a vice president at the Canadian Energy Research Institute, said by phone Friday. “The prices of WCS could decline […]

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ConocoPhillips Mulling Sale of Western Canada Gas Properties

Employees torque a pipe at a wedge well at Christina Lake, a situ oil production facility half owned by Cenovus Energy Inc. and ConocoPhillips, in Conklin, Alberta, Canada. Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg (Bloomberg) — ConocoPhillips is considering the sale of properties that account for about 20 percent of its production in Western Canada outside the oil sands. The largest U.S. independent oil and natural gas producer is weighing whether to sell properties spread across British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan in 2015, according to a copy of a marketing document seen by Bloomberg. Production from the properties is mostly gas and amounts to the equivalent of about 31,000 barrels of oil a day after royalties. The company hopes to select advisers for the process soon, Kristen Ashcroft, a company spokeswoman, said in a phone interview Friday. The sale is part of the company’s regular review of its assets across the region, […]

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Total Canadian oil production up 8 percent

One Comment on "Total Canadian oil production up 8 percent" I know the following is off topic, however it needed to be posted somewhere, in which this chief economist on CNBC explains that all this talk of the economy accelerating is wrong – when you go to the link below click on debt rattle then on the video. Great stuff! He says the economy for the last five years continues to move along at about 2% growth. http://www.theautomaticearth.com/2015/02/debt-rattle-february-11-2015/ • Truth to Power: This Man Will Never Be Invited Back On CNBC (Zero Hedge) While Steve had a number of hard to hear quotes for the CNBC anchors – such as: “There is no acceleration in underlying economic activity,” and “There’s this wrong concept that I keep on hearing about in the financial press about the acceleration in economic growth… It’s not happening!” A stunned Simon Hobbs rebuffs, “That’s a […]

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Alberta Plans to Lean on Consumers to Weather Oil Slump

(Bloomberg) — Alberta, Canada’s third-largest provincial economy, will lean on consumers to help offset a drop in oil royalties that has led to the “evaporation” of 17 percent of revenue, Premier Jim Prentice said. Albertans should expect increases to user fees and personal taxes over three budget cycles to help pay for the most expensive public services in the country, Prentice said in an interview at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York. Imposing higher taxes on companies would increase the burden of confronting a slowing economy, he said. “I don’t think the right course of action right now is to increase corporate taxes or royalties,” Prentice said. “It’s the wrong time to start taxing investment and wealth. I won’t be part of it.” Sworn in September as the price of oil was in the midst of a collapse, Prentice is now tasked with reducing Alberta’s dependence on petroleum revenue while […]

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Suncor to Push Ahead With Fort Hills Oil Sands Amid Oil Rout

(Bloomberg) — Suncor Energy Inc., Canada’s largest oil company, will push ahead with its planned Fort Hills oil sands project even as the price of oil hovers around $50 a barrel. Suncor will spend C$1.6 billion ($1.3 billion) this year as it advances construction of the project, the Calgary-based company said in a statement Wednesday. The operation will begin producing oil at the end of 2017, the company added. Last month Suncor announced 1,000 job cuts, lowered its 2015 capital budget by $1 billion and delayed projects to weather collapsing prices. The company and its competitors are squeezing spending in oil sands, among the most expensive reserves to develop. “Our commitment to capital discipline has put us in a better position to weather the price downturn,” Steve Williams, Suncor’s chief executive officer, said in the statement. On Wednesday, oil traded below $50 a barrel amid the most volatility since […]

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Loonie Seen Reaching 69 U.S. Cents on Oil

(Corrects currency forecasts in headline and the first two paragraphs.) (Bloomberg) — The Canadian dollar will sink as low as 69 U.S. cents with little to drive the economy after oil’s collapse, according to Macquarie Group Ltd, joining a growing list of forecasters lowering their projections. Macquarie forecast Monday the currency would reach a bottom near 69 U.S. cents. Royal Bank of Canada and Credit Suisse Group AG last week lowered their forecasts to 75 cents. HSBC Holdings Plc is calling for a 74 cent Canadian dollar. Morgan Stanley sees the loonie dropping to 71 U.S. cents by next year. “There’s going to need to be even more Canadian dollar weakness than people expect because of the significant loss of competitiveness,” Evan Brown, an analyst with Morgan Stanley, said by phone from New York. With consumer debt loads at a record high, manufacturing hobbled by the surge in the […]

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Imperial Oil Profit Falls 36%

Imperial Oil Ltd. , the Canadian subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corp. , posted a 36% decline in fourth-quarter earnings on Monday, hurt by lower oil prices and volumes. Imperial Oil said the continued slump in oil prices reduced earnings by about 100 million Canadian dollars ($78.7 million), while lower volumes shaved about C$50 million from profits. The Calgary, Alberta-based integrated energy company said its quarterly profit fell to C$671 million, or 79 Canadian cents a share, from C$1.06 billion, or C$1.24 a year earlier. Earnings came in ahead of the 72 Canadian cents a share analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting. Revenue of C$8.03 billion was down from C$8.36 billion a year earlier. Lower commodity prices also took a bite out of parent Exxon’s earnings. It reported a 21% drop in fourth-quarter earnings earlier Monday and unveiled plans to slash its share buyback program. Imperial Oil said production […]

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Keystone XL need mulled in shale era

Energy scholar from the University of Calgary says Canadian oil sector needs new pipelines, but not necessarily Keystone XL. (UPI/Shutterstock/smereka) Pipelines to the Canadian coasts, not necessarily Keystone XL, will diversify an export economy dependent on U.S. markets, a Canadian energy scholar said. Canada exports nearly all of its oil to the United States, which is relying less on foreign oil because of the increase in shale oil output. Data from the U.S. government show oil imports from Canada were down about 6 percent for the week ending Jan. 23. Dan McFadyen, program director of the extractive resource governance program at the University of Calgary, said in a Wednesday interview with the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association pipeline access to the East and West Coasts would help diversify the nation’s export economy . "We are mostly limited to the U.S. market, and it’s not clear in that market, whether they […]

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Canada’s Imperial Oil Considering Sale of Esso-Branded Fuel Stations

Exxon Mobil Corp. ’s Canadian subsidiary said Wednesday that it was considering the sale of its remaining company-owned Esso-branded retail fuel stations to independent third-party operators. Calgary-based Imperial Oil Ltd. said most of its 1,700 Esso sites in Canada already operate under that model, which sees the company supply fuel to third parties who own and/or operate the sites under the Esso banner. The move announced Wednesday covers the remaining 500 company-owned sites, and will involve a nonbinding bid process, it said. The integrated energy company also said it would look at options for the On the Run convenience-store brand in Canada. Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. acquired about 450 of Exxon’s On the Run convenience stores in the U.S. in 2009. “Esso has a long, successful history as a leading retailer of high-quality fuels,” said Brad Merkel, vice president of fuels and lubricants at Imperial Oil. “This evaluation will […]

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Top Canadian oil producer cuts spending

One of Canada’s top oil producer, Cenovus, cutting spending plans as national energy sector slows. (UPI/Shutterstock/ekina) CALGARY, Alberta, Jan. 28 (UPI) — Canada’s second-largest oil producer, Cenovus Energy, said Wednesday it was cutting its capital expenditures for 2015 deeper than originally planned. The company in December said it was trimming its capital spending plan by 15 percent to $2 billion. With oil prices off roughly 30 percent since then, the company said it was cutting the projected spending again to around $1.5 billion. Cenovus President and Chief Executive Officer Brian Ferguson said the company has the flexibility to make further cuts without compromising growth objectives . "Our plan is to continue to pursue our long-term growth strategy, but at a pace we believe is more in line with the current pricing environment," he said in a statement. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said last week oil production nation-wide […]

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Canada hit hard by falling oil prices

Canadian oil group says it expects decline in commodity prices will have widespread impacts on sectors and economies. UPI/Gary C. Caskey CALGARY, Alberta, Jan. 22 (UPI) — Canadian oil production is expected to drop by more than 100,000 barrels per day because of slumping oil prices, an industry group forecasts. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said in a short-term review it expects oil production to decline by 65,000 bpd this year and 120,000 bpd in 2016. CAPP President Tim McMillan said weak oil prices present a challenge across a wide range of sectors and economies in Canada. "Investors have seen their portfolios shrink. And governments will see reduced revenues from the industry’s royalty and tax payments," he said in a Wednesday statement. "We all will feel the effects." Because of the complexities involved with bringing some of the more viscous forms of Canadian crude oil to the surface, […]

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Suncor Executive Says Growth Plans Based on Bullish Crude Price Outlook

A senior Suncor Energy Inc. executive said Wednesday the company won’t delay its biggest long-term growth projects because it expects crude oil prices to double from current levels within the next three to four years. “In the longer term, oil is going to go back to $90-$100,” Alister Cowan, the oil sands producer’s chief financial officer, told investors attending a Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce conference in Whistler, British Columbia, saying that prices would rebound to that level “probably in three years or four years’ time.” That bullish outlook echoes recent comments by CEO Steve Williams, who has said he also expects oil prices to climb back to the lofty levels of last summer. U.S. oil for March delivery traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled Wednesday at $47.78 a barrel. Oil prices have tumbled more than 55% since June, with the steepest decline following the Organization of […]

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Gas exports down for Canada

Canadian energy sector getting pinched by low commodity prices and the U.S. shale boom. Photo by Kodda/Shutterstock The Canadian government said exports of natural gas to the United States were 5 percent lower year-on-year thanks in part to the U.S. shale boom. Pipeline exports to the United States averaged 7.3 billion cubic feet per day during the first 10 months of last year, a 5 percent decline from the same period in 2013. "Exports have declined steadily since 2008," the National Energy Board said in a Thursday release. "A combination of factors contributed to this, the largest being the emergence of highly productive shale gas plays in the U.S. located close to markets traditionally served in part by Canadian exports." Canadian leaders have said that, with the United States relying more and more on its own energy reserves, it’s time to start courting potential Asian consumers. Analysis published last […]

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Suncor Cuts Jobs, Spending as Oil Rout Rattles Canada

Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) , Canada ’s largest oil company, said it will cut 1,000 jobs, lower its 2015 capital budget by about 13 percent and delay projects to weather collapsing prices. The company will spend C$1 billion ($836 million) less this year than originally forecast in November, following Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNQ) in revising its budget lower this week. Suncor also plans to reduce operating expenses by C$600 million to C$800 million in two years, according to a company statement today. “Cost management has been an ongoing focus, with successful efforts to reduce both capital and operating costs well underway before the decline in oil prices ,” Steve Williams , Suncor’s chief executive officer, said in the statement. “In today’s low crude price environment, it’s essential we accelerate this work.” The cuts are the latest blow to Canada’s energy industry and economy as plummeting prices reverberate in […]

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Canadian Natural Slashes Spending, Production Targets

CALGARY— Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. , one of Canada’s largest oil and gas producers, cut its full-year capital spending plans and production forecast on Monday, citing the rapid drop in crude oil prices since setting its initial 2015 budget in early November. The Calgary-based company said it would spend 6.2 billion Canadian dollars ($5.25 billion) on growth projects, down from an earlier target of C$8.6 billion, and increase production of crude oil and natural gas liquids about 7% over 2014 levels, down from an earlier projection of around 11% growth. The moves come after the Canadian unit of Royal Dutch Shell PLC on Friday said it would cut up to 10% of its oil sands mining workforce due to lower crude prices. The slump in global oil prices is expected to trim profit and slow growth at many energy producers, especially those with higher cost operations. Canadian Natural said […]

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As Oil Slips Below $50, Canada Digs In for Long Haul

ENLARGE A machine works at the Suncor Energy Inc. mine near Fort McMurray, Alberta, on June 19, 2014. Bloomberg News CALGARY—In the escalating war of attrition among top oil-producing nations, Canada’s biggest oil-sands mines have a message for the market: Don’t look to us to cut production. Long the unloved stepchild of so-called unconventional crude production, the oil sands have lured some of the world’s top energy producers to a remote corner of Northern Alberta where the heavy oil deposits are richest. There, they have plowed billions of dollars into building up a sprawling industrial complex amid the surrounding forests. And even as oil prices settled below $50 a barrel Monday for the first time in nearly six years, those companies are unlikely to shut off the tap anytime soon thanks to those huge upfront costs, combined with long-term break-even points and lengthy production lives. Unlike shale oil, which […]

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Shell’s Canadian Oil-Sands Operations to Cut Jobs Amid Crude Oil Price Swoon

By Chester Dawson CALGARY-Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Friday it plans to cut jobs at its Canadian oil-sands operations, becoming the first major energy company to shed workers in Canada’s oil patch amid a recent swoon in global crude oil prices. Shell, which produces 250,000 barrels of oil a day from its oil-sands mines, will trim about 2% of its 3,000 workers, or about 60 positions, some of whom will be reassigned to other jobs, said company spokesman Cameron Yost. "We’re continuing to review our business to make sure that we remain competitive," Mr. Yost said. "When prices are low the importance of that is underlined," he said. The president of Shell Canada, Lorraine Mitchelmore, said in August that the company’s oil-sands business met internal yardsticks for profitability when Brent crude trades above $70 per barrel. Prices for Brent, the global oil benchmark, have spiraled lower in recent weeks, […]

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Oil price slump hits Canadian producer

Canadian oil company Arc Resources to unload shares to help fund operations during low oil price conditions. (UPI Photo/Roger L. Wollenberg) CALGARY, Alberta, Jan. 8 (UPI) — Canadian energy company ARC Resources Ltd. said it plans to sell more than 15 million shares to raise capital to fund operations in the slumping oil market. ARC in mid-2014 rolled out an $875 million capital program for this year that envisioned oil priced at around $80 per barrel, about 35 percent higher than the current market price. In a statement Wednesday, the company said it plans to sell 15.5 million shares to raise around $350 million to fund developments in 2015 . "ARC plans to execute a $750 million capital program in 2015, reduced from the previously announced $875 million capital budget, due to the continued deterioration in commodity prices," it said. The company last year set a production target of […]

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Canada PM: Resilient Oil Industry Will Survive Low Prices Shock

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the country’s energy industry was resilient and could survive the stresses caused by plunging crude oil prices. DELTA, British Columbia, Jan 8 (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday said the country’s energy industry was resilient and would survive the stresses caused by plunging crude oil prices. Harper also told reporters that while lower prices would have a significant impact on oil-producing provinces, consumers would enjoy the benefit. Benchmark prices for crude have halved over the past six months, posing a particular challenge for oil producers. "As rapid a negative a change that this is for the industry, the industry, even in my lifetime, has lived through changes this extreme and more on many occasions," Harper told reporters during an event in British Columbia. "This not without precedent. It’s a resilient industry and it will see its way clear to a […]

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Crescent Point Scales Back 2015 Spending Plans on Oil Woes

Canadian oil producer Crescent Point Energy Corp. on Tuesday cut its capital-spending budget for 2015 by 28% from 2014 levels due to slumping oil prices, and said it is pursuing options to cut costs. Calgary, Alberta-based Crescent Point, like many of its peers in the oil patch, is scaling back spending plans to combat the more-than-50% drop in oil prices since last June. U.S. prices briefly fell below $50 a barrel Monday for the first time since April 2009, and continued to slide Tuesday , recently trading below $49 a barrel. Surging oil production in North America and a decline in global demand have led energy producers to rethink investment plans. In mid-December, Crescent Point’s Canadian peers, Husky Energy Inc. and Penn West Petroleum Ltd. , reduced capital-spending plans for 2015 due to the dramatic plunge in oil prices. Crescent Point, which called its budget plans “conservative and disciplined,” […]

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Canadian Oil Surge to U.S. Gulf Puts Mexico on Defensive

A price war is brewing between Canada and Latin America over who will satisfy U.S. Gulf Coast refiners’ hunger for heavy oil. The new Seaway Twin pipeline will almost double the amount of heavy Canadian crude coming to Gulf terminals and plants to about 400,000 barrels a day starting in January, according to Calgary-based based ARC Financial Corp. The shipments are growing even without the Keystone XL pipeline, which has been delayed for six years because of environmental opposition. The Canadian supply will square off against crudes from Mexico and Venezuela that have traditionally fed refineries along the Texas and Louisiana coasts. State-owned Petroleos Mexicanos widened its discount for U.S. buyers in December by the most since August 2013. Valero Energy Corp. and Marathon Petroleum Corp., which invested in special equipment to refine heavy crude, stand to gain the most from the Canadian supply. “Something’s going to have to […]

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Falling Oil Prices Could Rock Canada’s Politics

Canada oil map Brace for a bumpy ride, Canada and Alberta, says Stanford expert Terry Lynn Karl. Canada and global oil image via shutterstock . Reproduced on Resilience.org with permission. What do the plummeting oil prices tell us not only about our near term economic future in Canada, but the political fragility of the world’s petro states? If Canada fully joins the petro state club, as our prime minister and his party desire, is oil’s volatility just the cost of doing business, or a threat to our nation’s well-being? The ideal person to ask is Terry Lynn Karl, one of North America’s foremost experts on the politics of oil. The Tyee recently caught up with Karl, who teaches at Stanford University and lives in San Francisco. Asked in a wide ranging interview what Canadians might expect if oil prices stay low for a few years, she predicted "a rapidly […]

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Chevron Suspends Arctic Offshore Drilling Program in Canada ‘Indefinitely’

CALGARY— Chevron Corp. told Canadian regulators Wednesday that it has “indefinitely” suspended plans to drill for oil in Arctic waters, citing uncertainty over the outlook for crude prices. The move is the latest sign that a glut in crude oil is impacting major energy companies’ exploration and production programs. The Arctic holds billions of barrels of untapped oil reserves, but offshore-drilling costs there are among the highest in the world due to its remote location and severe weather. Chevron’s Canadian unit has pursued a test well drilling program in the Beaufort Sea in recent years, but said in a letter to Canada’s National Energy Board that it would put that project “on hold indefinitely” due to “the level of economic uncertainty in the industry.” Chevron confirmed the decision, noting all of its projects “must be competitive in our global exploration portfolio.” A 50% drop in oil prices since June […]

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Canadian Oil Producers Slash 2015 Capital Budgets

URL: http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/136417/Canadian_Oil_Producers_Slash_2015_Capital_Budgets Canadian oil producers Husky Energy and Penn West Petroleum slash their 2015 capital budgets due to a slide in crude oil prices. CALGARY, Alberta, Dec 17 (Reuters) – Canadian oil producers deepened 2015 spending cuts on Wednesday, as Husky Energy , MEG Energy and Penn West Petroleum joined those hacking back capital budgets in response to tumbling crude prices. Penn West, one of Canada’s largest conventional oil producers, also cut its dividend to 3 Canadian cents per share from 14 Canadian cents. The three are the latest in a growing list of Canadian oil companies to clamp down on investment plans for next year. Others include Cenovus Energy, Tourmaline Oil Corp and Canadian Oil Sands Ltd, the largest-interest owner in the Syncrude oil sands project. Late on Tuesday Whitecap Resources also dialed back its 2015 budget and reduced the number of wells it is planning to drill, […]

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Canadian Oil Producers Pare Spending Plans as Prices Drop

A host of Canadian oil producers said Wednesday that they were paring capital spending plans as an uncertain outlook caused by lower oil prices rocks the industry. Husky Energy Inc. and Penn West Petroleum Ltd. were among the Calgary-based companies that said they would reduce capital investment next year following the dramatic plunge in oil prices in recent weeks. Surging oil production in North America, coupled with a decline in global demand, has led many energy producers to rethink their investment plans for the coming year. Oil prices have fallen more than 50% since June. Prices for light, sweet crude closed up 54 cents, or about 1%, at $56.47 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday. Husky Energy said it plans to cut capital spending 33% to 3.4 billion Canadian dollars ($2.9 billion) in 2015. It also projected total 2015 production of between 325,000 and 355,000 […]

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Canadian PM Says Country Will Get Crude Oil to Markets Other Than U.S.

OTTAWA—Canada will get its landlocked crude oil to foreign markets other than the U.S., although the marketplace will ultimately decide the fate of pipeline projects to run through the country, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday. In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., Mr. Harper said planned pipelines such as Enbridge Inc. ’s Northern Gateway, Kinder Morgan Inc. ’s expansion of its Trans Mountain corridor and TransCanada Corp. ’s Energy East must obtain approval from regulators before they can proceed. Once approval is granted, “I think it’s ultimately up to the marketplace” whether the projects proceed, he said. “There’s the market process and there’s a scientific evaluation process, and those are directed by others” and not the government. Regardless, Mr. Harper said it is “inevitable” crude will get to new markets other than the U.S., based on the demand abroad for energy. Mr. Harper’s government has championed industry […]

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Canada’s U.S. Oil Imports Dwarfs Saudis’ Share: Chart of the Day

Canada ’s share of U.S. oil imports is dwarfing Mexico and Saudi Arabia , as the country is faced with few outlets for its growing oil sands production. The CHART OF THE DAY tracks the proportion of U.S. crude oil imports supplied by Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico since November 2004, when each provided a bit more than 15 percent of demand. Canada’s dominance started in 2006, when output from Alberta ’s oil sands formations boosted the country’s production to a then-record 3.29 million barrels a day. Its share has climbed to about 42 percent while the others combine for 24 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Canadian production rose 5.6 percent to a record last year and is projected by the U.S Energy Information Administration to reach 4.47 million barrels a day in 2015. The country’s refineries can process 2.12 million barrels a day, according to the […]

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Encana: U.S. shale tops agenda despite low oil prices

Canadian energy company Encana builds bear market for crude oil into its U.S. shale strategies for 2015. UPI/Gary C. Caskey CALGARY, Alberta, Dec. 16 (UPI) — Capital efforts in U.S. shale basins for 2015 are tailored to account for a "volatile price environment," Canadian energy company Encana said Tuesday. Encana said it was directing about 80 percent of its capital expenses, or around $2.2 billion, toward the Montney, Duveray, Eagle Ford and Permian shale reserve areas in the United States. Dough Suttles, the company’s president and chief executive officer, said Encana was moving forward with a new aggressive strategy in mind. "Built into our 2015 plan is the flexibility to respond to the challenges and act on potential opportunities presented in this volatile price environment," he said. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil price index, has shed close to half of its value since June. Prices are at the […]

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Repsol Agrees to Buy Canada’s Talisman for $8.3 Billion

Repsol SA (REP) , Spain ’s largest energy company, agreed to buy Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM) for $8.3 billion, ending a months-long search for acquisitions to help boost crude reserves and production. Under the terms of the all-cash offer, Talisman shareholders will receive $8, or C$9.33, for each share they own, according to statements from both companies. That’s a 60 premium to Talisman’s 30-day weighted average price, the Canadian company said. Repsol has been seeking to spend about $10 billion on takeovers since it received compensation in May from Argentina for the 2012 nationalization of YPF SA . In losing the Argentine producer, Repsol gave up almost half of its oil and gas reserves and has been looking for ways to replace them. “The transaction with Talisman is the result of an thorough analysis of more than 100 companies and assets around the world,” Repsol Chief Executive Officer Josu […]

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Canada Finance Minister Confident in Economy Amid Oil Decline — 2nd Update

By Paul Vieira OTTAWA–The Canadian economy is in solid shape and the government remains on track to record a budget surplus next year amid the steep decline in oil prices, Finance Minister Joe Oliver said Monday. Mr. Oliver’s comments, at a meeting here with provincial finance ministers, came as signs emerge that the energy swoon is starting to weigh on real-estate markets in resource-rich regions of the country. The sharp fall in crude-oil prices has become a source of consternation in regions of Canada that rely on commodities to drive income growth. Crude oil, which fell below the $57 a barrel mark Monday, is Canada’s top export, and the 40%-plus price fall from its recent peak has prompted economists to cut their growth and inflation forecasts. Mr. Oliver, though, remained bullish on the Canadian outlook. "We are confident we will achieve a budget balance next year," he said, adding […]

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Canada Heavy Oil Nearing $40 Threatens Oil Sands Projects

Canadian heavy crude fell to near $40 a barrel, threatening projects under construction as producers boosted output and space on a pipeline was rationed. Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO) is increasing output at its Kearl oil sands project to 110,000 barrels a day after a shutdown last month, Pius Rolheiser, a Calgary-based spokesman, said by phone yesterday. Enbridge Inc. apportioned space on the Spearhead pipeline, which carries Canadian crude south to Cushing, Oklahoma , after demand to ship on the line exceeded capacity, according to a company statement. Heavy West Canadian Select rose 82 cents to $43.01 a barrel after falling to $42.19 a barrel yesterday, the lowest since April 2009, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. Crude has fallen into a bear market as U.S. output surges to the highest in more than three decades. Calgary-based Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE) said today it “substantially” slowed development plans at the Narrows […]

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Canada vows to make pipelines safer

Government of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper vows to make pipelines safer. UPI/Yao Dawei/Pool OTTAWA, Dec. 9 (UPI) — The Canadian government said it’s committed to a world-class regime for pipeline safety, calling for new "polluter pays" rules and other control measures. The government of Prime Minister Stephan Harper outlined amendments to pipeline safety rules , rules it says will lead to one of the safest networks of pipelines in the world. "The Harper government is committed to having a world-class safety system in place for pipelines and other energy transportation and production sectors," it said. "No development will proceed unless rigorous environmental and regulatory reviews have indicated they are safe for Canadians and the environment." Counting electricity and coal, the energy sector accounts for about 7 percent of the gross domestic product in Canada. Exploration and production alone accounts for more than $54 billion annually in capital expenses. […]

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Petronas Delays Go-Ahead for Canadian LNG Project, Cites Costs

VANCOUVER, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Petronas, Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas company, delayed giving the final go-ahead on Wednesday for its planned investment in a $11 billion liquefied natural gas export terminal in British Columbia, citing high costs and other outstanding issues. "Costs associated with the pipeline and LNG facility remain challenging and must be reduced further before a positive FID (final investment decision) can be undertaken," the company said in a statement. Petronas had hoped to be in a position to green light its Pacific NorthWest LNG project before the end of 2014, but said it still needs more clarity on "substantive items of importance" and is reviewing the impact of declining oil prices on the economic viability of the remote development. The company warned back in October that the economics of the project, part of a roughly $35 billion investment in Canadian gas, were marginal and said […]

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IEA Chief Economist Urges Oil Producers to Invest in New Projects

Petroleum storage tanks at the Suncor tar sands operations near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. IEA… ENLARGE Petroleum storage tanks at the Suncor tar sands operations near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. IEA has singled out Canada as a key focus area for future oil production. Reuters MADRID—The International Energy Agency’s chief economist on Friday urged oil producers to boost investment in new projects to meet an anticipated rise in demand, a move that he said may avoid oil price spikes in coming years. Speaking in Madrid during the presentation of the IEA’s annual report, Fatih Birol said that a tumble in oil prices makes it hard to believe a supply crunch may happen any time soon, but the slow pace of development of new projects makes it imperative to act. “We shouldn’t just ignore tomorrow’s challenges,” Mr. Birol said. “This is hard point to make in this context of lower […]

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Canadian Dollar Ends Lower As Oil Prices Plummet

By Don Curren TORONTO–The Canadian dollar ended sharply lower on Friday, suffering another day of deep losses, as oil prices spiralled lower. The currency didn’t derive sustained support from unexpectedly robust data on gross domestic product for the third quarter early in the session. The U.S. dollar was recently at C$1.1429, up from C$1.1332 at Thursday’s close, according to data provider CQG. The Canadian dollar initially advanced after news that Canada’s GDP grew 2.8% in the third quarter, much more than the expected 2.1% and the Bank of Canada’s previous forecast of 2.3%. The Canadian currency drove the U.S. dollar to C$1.1366 immediately after the data, but it was unable to hold onto gains, as crude-oil prices continued the decline after Thursday’s OPEC’s decision not to reduce production targets. The early about-face and subsequent losses by the Canadian dollar proved a little puzzling to some market participants and a […]

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Alberta Producers With World’s Cheapest Oil Face Cascading Woes

Canada ’s biggest energy producers now face the same prospects of shrinking budgets and declining profit as their smaller rivals as prices drop for what’s already the world’s cheapest oil. Producers including Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNQ) , which each fell the most in at least three years yesterday, operate in one of the most expensive places on earth to produce oil. If crude prices continue sinking following OPEC’s decision not to cut global oil supplies, Canada’s producers big and small will have to tighten their belts to prepare for declining profits. “This is a pretty big shock,” said Justin Bouchard, an analyst at Desjardins Securities Inc. in Calgary. “There’s no question there’s going to be a slowdown. Even the big guys will have to look at their capital spending plans.” Western Canada Select, the Canadian benchmark, has lost more than a third of […]

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Oil Boom Triggering Cowboy Shortage Across Canada

There’s been a lot of attention paid to how Canada ’s oil boom has helped make gasoline cheaper. What many people may not realize is that the boom is also driving up the prices they pay for burgers and steaks. Surging energy investment in Prairie Provinces, home to most of the nation’s farms and cattle ranches, has boosted domestic crude output to a record and sent pump prices to a three-year low. That’s led to jobs on drilling rigs or pipe crews paying two-thirds more than those in livestock, luring cowboys and beef-plant workers to the oil patch. The labor shortage is squeezing a cattle industry already diminished over the past decade by mad cow disease, drought and floods. The herd in Canada, the world’s eighth-largest beef exporter, is the smallest in 21 years. Beef supplies are so tight that Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) is importing more meat from […]

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Canadian protesters defy authorities over Trans Mountain pipeline

A proposed pipeline expansion that would transport  tar sands oil  through a park in British Columbia has unified Canadians from all walks of life in their opposition to the project — which they said does not respect public opinion and could endanger both land and sea. “I’ve never seen in my 30 years of being environmentally active an issue that so galvanizes so many people,” said John Bennet, executive director of Sierra Club Canada. “It’s absolutely clear that the public, not just a handful of crazies willing to get arrested, don’t want it.” The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion proposed by Houston-based oil giant Kinder Morgan would see the line’s capacity nearly tripled to 890,000 barrels per day, bringing tar sands oil from Alberta to the British Columbia coast. It would also increase tanker traffic carrying the oil through the pristine waters local residents and First Nations groups depend on […]

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Keystone Left Behind as Canadian Oil Pours Into U.S.

Print Back to story Delays of the Keystone XL pipeline are providing little obstacle to Western Canadian oil producers getting their crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast, with shipments set to more than double next year. The volume of Canadian crude processed at Gulf Coast refineries could climb to more than 400,000 barrels a day in 2015 from 208,000 in August, according to Jackie Forrest , vice president of Calgary-based ARC Financial Corp. The increase comes as Enbridge Inc.’s Flanagan South and an expanded Seaway pipeline raise their capacity to ship oil by as much as 450,000 barrels a day. Canadian exports to the Gulf rose 83 percent in the past four years. The expansion shows Canadians are finding alternative entry points into the U.S. while the Keystone saga drags on. In the latest chapter, a Democratic senator and a Republican representative are seeking votes in their chambers to […]

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Shell Says LNG Canada Project To Cost Up To $35.3B

URL: http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/135812/Shell_Says_LNG_Canada_Project_To_Cost_Up_To_353B CALGARY, Alberta, Nov 7 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc , the lead partner in the consortium planning the LNG Canada facility on British Columbia’s remote northern coast, said on Friday the project to liquefy natural gas for export to Asia could cost as much as C$40 billion ($35.3 billion) when fully complete. Shell’s cost estimate for the LNG Canada facility near Kitimat, British Columbia, was included in the environmental assessment filed with provincial regulators on Friday. The filing begins a 180-day review of the proposal but the company cautioned it and its partners have not yet decided whether to build the plant. "While today’s announcement is an important step forward for the proposed project, LNG Canada must ensure the project is economically viable and meet several other significant milestones related to gas supply, engineering and cost estimates, supply of labor and regulatory approval prior to making […]

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TransCanada moves closer to eastern Canadian market

TransCanada proposes more pipeline infrastructure for Eastern Canadian markets. (UPI/Shutterstock/tcly) CALGARY, Alberta, Nov. 4 (UPI) — Pipeline planner TransCanada Corp. said Tuesday it was moving ahead with a transit system in the east of Canada expected to bring shale gas to the market. The company said it was moving ahead with plans for its Vaughan pipeline project, which it says is the next stage in the development of gas infrastructure in southern Ontario . "Over the past year, TransCanada has announced plans to invest almost $2 billion in facility enhancements to allow growing supplies of Marcellus gas to reach Ontario and Quebec markets," Russ Girling, president and chief executive officer of TransCanada, said in a statement. "These enhancements help minimize the duplication of infrastructure, reduce delivery costs and improve the diversification of gas supply to markets in Eastern Canada." TransCanada in recent weeks has focused its strategies heavily on […]

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Oil Rout to Weigh on Alberta’s Carbon Emissions Policy

Oil’s 25 percent slide since June will play a role in Alberta ’s new climate and carbon regulations, Premier Jim Prentice said. The Canadian province will make a decision by the end of December on whether to raise its levy of C$15 ($13.29) a metric ton for large carbon emitters, while revisions on a broader range of climate policies may come at the same time, Prentice said. The drop in the price of oil, which is probably here to stay for a while, means it’s “time for caution,” he said. “You have to be very careful how you balance the environmental enhancements with the effects on your competitiveness,” Prentice said in an interview at Bloomberg’s Calgary office on Oct. 31. Environmental groups and U.S. and European legislators have highlighted the higher carbon intensity of Alberta’s oil sands, the world’s third largest crude reserves, as a reason for slowing construction […]

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Advocates blast TransCanada pipeline proposal

Critics tell TransCanada its new Energy East oil pipeline will face stiff opposition. UPI/Brian Kersey Pipeline planner TransCanada can expect to face "considerable opposition" to its Energy East tar sands pipeline for the eastern Canada, an advocacy group said. TransCanada submitted a formal permit to move ahead with its Energy East pipeline. The project would add new pipeline and convert existing gas infrastructure to carry Alberta oil to the eastern Canadian market. Advocates with the Natural Resources Defense Council’s International Program said the project puts the eastern Canadian shoreline at risk . "A new tar sands pipeline called Energy East proposed by TransCanada — the company behind the contentious Keystone XL tar sands pipeline — faces considerable opposition and numerous hurdles that make this project far from a done deal," they said in a Thursday statement. TransCanada says Energy East would give refineries a source of domestic crude in […]

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TransCanada: Energy East pipeline application submitted

TransCanada submits application to Canadian regulators for Energy East oil pipeline. (UPI/Shutterstock/tcly) Pipeline planner TransCanada Corp. said Thursday it filed a formal application for its Energy East pipeline project for eastern Canadian oil refineries. The Energy East oil pipeline involves the construction of a new 930-mile segment and converting 1,800 miles of gas line for oil service. It’s designed to carry 1.1 million barrels of oil per day from Alberta and Saskatchewan to eastern Canadian refineries. "Energy East will also eliminate the need for Eastern Canada to import most of the 700,000 barrels it consumes every day," Russ Girling, TransCanada’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. TransCanada said Energy East would make eastern Canadian refineries more competitive because they’d be sourced by domestic crude and bring in more than $7 billion in tax revenues during its first 20 years of operation. Critics of the project said […]

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Petrofac goes ultra-deep for Nova Scotia

British oil services company Petrofac to study ultra-deep water reserves off the coast of Nova Scotia. UPI/A.J. Sisco. Nova Scotia tap into potential oil prospects offshore. The provincial government awarded Petrofac with a contract to examine the prospects of oil trapped in the deep waters off the eastern Canadian coast. Nova Scotia’s government estimates there may be as much as 120 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 8 billion barrels of oil offshore. Petrofac said the region is geologically similar to oil basins off the northwest coast of Africa, though reserves offshore Nova Scotia are thought to lie nearly 2 miles below the sea bed in mile-deep waters. Craig Muir, a engineering consultant for Petrofac, said the contract could provide significant returns for the provincial government. "The potential outcomes of this study are of strategic importance for the Nova Scotia government and a great step forward for Petrofac […]

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TransCanada’s Keystone Stand-in Faces $1 Billion Gas Feud

Print Back to story TransCanada Corp. (TRP) will have to spend $1 billion more than planned on an oil pipeline to Canada’s Atlantic Coast if natural gas customers get their way, a move it says would threaten the viability of the project. TransCanada has delayed seeking regulatory approval of the C$12 billion ($10.7 billion) Energy East line as it negotiates with Quebec’s Gaz Metro Inc. and Ontario units of Spectra Energy Corp. (SE) and Enbridge Inc. (ENB) , said two people familiar with the talks who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. The spat centers on TransCanada’s plan to convert a 3,000-kilometer (1,865-mile) stretch of its mainline gas conduit to carry oil. The nation’s largest pipeline operator after Enbridge is pursuing Energy East as environmental opposition imperils other planned lines from Canada ’s oil sands to tidewater, including its Keystone XL. Gas distributors claim that converting […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple