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In Canada, Stunning Rout by Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party

Photo Justin Trudeau of the Liberal Party and his wife before giving his victory speech in Montreal, Canada. Credit Jim Young/Reuters OTTAWA — The nine-year reign of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party came to a sudden and stunning end on Monday night at the hands of Justin Trudeau , the young leader of the Liberal Party . Starting with a sweep of the Atlantic provinces, the Liberals capitalized on what many Canadians saw as Mr. Harper’s heavy-handed style, and the party went on to capture 184 of the 338 seats in the next House of Commons. The unexpected rout occurred 47 years after Mr. Trudeau’s father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, first swept to power. Justin Trudeau, who will be 44 on Christmas Day, will become Canada’s second-youngest prime minister and the first to follow a parent into office. While the Liberal Party had emerged on top in […]

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S&P Downgrades Six Canadian Energy Issuers on Decline in Oil

Cenovus Energy Inc. and Husky Energy Inc. and four other Canadian energy companies have seen their ratings or outlooks lowered by Standard & Poor’s as slumping commodities prices put pressure on their businesses. Cenovus’s grade was cut to two levels above junk to BBB from BBB+ with a stable outlook and Husky saw the outlook on its BBB+ ranking lowered to negative from stable, the rater announced Friday. "The rating actions taken on both Cenovus and Husky reflect our view of the changes to each company’s business risk and financial risk profiles caused by the persistent weakness of crude oil and natural gas prices, and the resulting downward revision of our hydrocarbon price assumptions," S&P said in its ratings rationale. Cenovus spokesman Brett Harris said in an e-mail that "nothing has changed" for Cenovus despite the credit rating downgrade. "We are still a solid investment-grade company with one of […]

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Canadian Oil Sands Takeover `Ill Advised,’ Venator’s Osten Says

Suncor Energy Inc.’s offer to buy Canadian Oil Sands Ltd., the largest stakeholder in oil-sands miner Syncrude Canada Ltd., is “ill advised” because of the low oil price and the potential for further share-price declines, said Venator Capital Management Chief Executive Officer Brandon Osten. For the the Canadian Oil Sands purchase “to offer reasonable rates of return, you kind of need $70 dollar-plus oil and you’re not really there,’’ Osten said in an interview Wednesday at Bloomberg’s Toronto office. Venator Capital is a Toronto-based hedge fund with about C$300 million ($233 million) under management, and has shorted Suncor since the first quarter, he said. Suncor, Canada’s largest crude producer, is taking advantage of a prolonged oil rout to renew its effort to take over Canadian Oil Sands after two friendly offers were turned down earlier this year. Suncor has offered to trade 0.25 Suncor share for each share of […]

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Exclusive: Canada railroads cut crude freight rates to lure shipments

The Canadian Pacific railyard is pictured in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia February 15, 2015. Canadian rail companies are slashing rates for shipping crude in their first serious effort to revive an industry rocked by the rout in global oil prices, according to shippers and terminal operators who are seeing discounts of as much as 25 percent. The move highlights how railroads are struggling to compete with pipelines for a share of shrinking crude shipments across North America, particularly in Canada, where a long hoped-for boom in oil sands traffic has fizzled with the oil bust. Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway, which together account for the vast majority of crude-by-rail cargoes shipped across the country, are dropping prices, four people familiar with the cuts told Reuters. The size of the cuts varied among sources, leading one source to suggest that railroads may be working with individual shippers to […]

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Oil Company Workers Kiss Their Perks Goodbye

Canadian energy companies have cut thousands of jobs and scrapped projects in a drive to cut costs. Now they’re raiding workers’ perks. Holiday parties, childcare benefits and Fridays off are being targeted as the rout in crude prices grinds into its 16th month, workers and company representatives say. The clampdown on perks comes as firms dig deeper for savings after eliminating about 36,000 oil and natural gas jobs in the crash, according to a tally by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. At Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.’s office in Aberdeen, Scotland, the only microwave is in overdrive after the cafeteria stopped serving hot meals and raised the price of sandwiches. The coffee cups are smaller, too. While the company has avoided job cuts, salary reductions of as much as 10 percent mean some workers are also earning less. ConocoPhillips, which is cutting 500 workers in Canada this year, removed […]

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Canadian Oil Sands Adopts Poison Pill in Wake of Hostile Suncor Bid

Calgary, Alberta-based Canadian Oil Sands said the shareholder rights plan is meant to give its shareholders and board adequate time to evaluate Suncor’s 4.3 billion Canadian dollar ($3.3 billion) all-stock offer and any other unsolicited bid or strategic options. The company reiterated that shareholders take no action on the Suncor bid until the offer has been fully reviewed by its board. “The board will consider Suncor’s unsolicited offer in both the current context and in light of the strong long-term potential of Canadian Oil Sands,” Canadian Oil Sands Chairman Donald Lowry said in a statement. Shareholder rights plans, or poison pills, are designed to dilute the value of a stock by flooding the market with additional shares, which makes it expensive for an investor to acquire a controlling stake. The rights plan, which is in addition to one already in place, would be triggered upon the purchase of 20% […]

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Oil Patch Braces for Exploration Chill After Canada’s Election

As Canada’s oil patch grapples with a price shock, pipeline delays and rising tax rates, the federal election could add another barrier to recovery by reining in a key incentive for development of new wells. (Bloomberg) — As Canada’s oil patch grapples with a price shock, pipeline delays and rising tax rates, the federal election could add another barrier to recovery by reining in a key incentive for development of new wells. Two of the three major parties jostling for power in the Oct. 19 vote are campaigning against “fossil fuel subsidies” and propose tightening the rules for a tax deduction that allows oil-and-gas producers to write off exploration costs against profits entirely in the year they’re incurred. Justin Trudeau’s Liberals and Tom Mulcair’s New Democratic Party would both restrict use of the Canadian Exploration Expenses (CEE) deduction, which Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives expanded in their pre-election budget. […]

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TransCanada Says Cutting 20% Of Senior Management Positions

CALGARY, Alberta, Sept 24 (Reuters) – Pipeline company TransCanada Corp is cutting 20 percent of its senior management positions as a result of the continuing slump in oil prices, a company spokesman said on Thursday. TransCanada is the company behind the controversial and long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline to the United States, and the cross-Canada Energy East project. (Reporting by Nia Williams; Editing by Chris Reese)

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Native Women Shut Down Pipeline “Consultation”

Montreal — First Nations women and supporters sent a clear message to TransCanada this Wednesday evening that the Energy East pipeline is not welcome through First Nations lands. “What we want TransCanada to understand is that no means no. This is Kanien’ke, this is Mohawk Land and we are tired of occupation, we are tired of environmental disaster.” said Lickers at Wednesday night’s hearing. “This is our land and we are going to protect it.” Amanda Lickers and Vanessa Gray were 2 of several First Nations opponents to the Energy East present to express their outrage at the public hearings hosted by the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal. The purpose of the hearings is to establish a community report to submit to Office of Public Hearings on the Environment (BAPE) and the National Energy Board (NEB). “But the consultation process does not work”, states Lickers, whose family is from Six […]

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Imperial Cuts Spending on Existing Projects as Costs Drop

Imperial Oil Ltd. has been able to lower the amount of capital reinvestment needed to sustain the business to about C$1.2 billion ($900 million) a year from C$2 billion a year ago, helped by shrinking supplier costs. Imperial expects overall annual spending on expansion and maintenance to average about C$2.5 billion in the coming years as it reduces costs and slows expansion, Chief Executive Officer Rich Kruger said Wednesday in a webcast of the company’s annual investor day. The company is basing its operations on the current price for oil, which is helping to create a “challenging” environment for Canadian producers, Kruger said. “If prices rise, so be it,” he said, adding that the company is planning for the “long term.” Canadian oil-sands producers have cut budgets along with the sinking price for crude this year. Imperial operates bitumen mining at its Kearl site, in addition to its Cold […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple