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Canada considers oil offshore Quebec

Canada considers management regime for oil and gas reserves off the coast of Quebec. UPI/A.J. Sisco… OTTAWA, Oct. 15 (UPI) — An agreement with Quebec outlines how best to manage offshore petroleum resources in eastern Canada, the Canadian prime minister said. Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a decision to move forward with plans to manage reserves in the Gulf of St. Lawrence with the provincial government in Quebec. "The joint management of offshore resources will create new opportunities for economic growth in the province and make Quebec more prosperous," Harper said in a statement Tuesday. The central government estimates the Gulf of St. Lawrence may hold as much as 1.5 billion barrels of oil and 39 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. A 2011 draft agreement between the two governments envisions joint management during the pre-discovery phase in the gulf region. A discovery would trigger a new regulatory regime, […]

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Keystone Be Darned: Canada Finds an Oil Route Around Obama

By Rebecca Penty, Hugo Miller, Andrew Mayeda and Edward Greenspon So you’re the Canadian oil industry and you do what you think is a great thing by developing a mother lode of heavy crude beneath the forests and muskeg of northern Alberta. The plan is to send it clear to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast via a pipeline called Keystone XL. Just a few years back, America desperately wanted that oil. Then one day the politics get sticky. In Nebraska, farmers don’t want the pipeline running through their fields or over their water source. U.S. environmentalists invoke global warming in protesting the project. President keeps siding with them, delaying and delaying approval. From the Canadian perspective, Keystone has become a tractor mired in an interminably muddy field. In this period of national gloom comes an idea — a crazy-sounding notion, or maybe, actually, an epiphany. How about an […]

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Outrage over EU proposal on tar sands

EU proposals on Canadian crude oil draws criticism from environmental circles. UPI/Brian Kersey LONDON, Oct. 8 (UPI) — Advocates for a low-carbon economy cried foul over a European decision to ease restrictions on oil sands produced from Canadian fields. The European Commission ruled Tuesday to pull back on some of the low-carbon policies governing oil sands. The Canadian government has lobbied for the measure as it tries to diversify an export economy based almost exclusively on the United States. Caroline Lucas, a member of the British Parliament for the Green Party, told the Independent newspaper the European decision was shameful. "It completely defies reason, enormous public opposition and paves the way for big business to profit from gross exploitation of the earth’s resources," she said in comments published Tuesday. "Tar sand oil is one of the dirtiest, most polluting fuels." Oil produced from Canada is said to be more […]

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US Canadian crude imports at record high 3.248 mil b/d last week: EIA

New York (Platts)–8Oct2014/201 pm EDT/1801 GMT US imports of Canadian crude rose 494,000 b/d to 3.248 million b/d for the reporting week ended October 3, US Energy Information Administration data showed Wednesday. That said, the more accurate and most recent monthly data for July pegs Canadian flows at 2.802 million b/d. The record for monthly data was set in February 2013 at 2.852 million b/d. The lion’s share of Canadian imports heads to the US Midwest, where crude stocks last week jumped 3.107 million barrels to 91.6 million barrels. Article continues below… Every Monday, Capitol Hill newshounds Brian Scheid and Herman Wang analyze, dissect and debate the key US oil policy issues affecting the industry. This week, Herman and Brian launch a new dating show for crude-by-rail regulations as PHMSA considers the proposals from oil companies, trade groups, railroad organizations and more. Midwest demand for crude held steady last […]

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The Tar Sands Bubble

The Canadian tar sands industry has seen better days. Energy giant Statoil announced last week that it would postpone a major mining project in Alberta for at least three years. It was just the latest in a string of major setbacks for tar sands oil, which has become nearly as bad for corporate profits as it is for the environment. High labor costs and the falling price of crude oil have contributed to the industry’s dark days, but environmental activists can also take a bow. By delaying the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would ship tar sands oil across the Midwest to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast, they have helped make digging up Alberta’s boreal forest an increasingly bad investment. How did this happen? First you need to understand a bit about the economics of tar sands oil—a cheap, off-brand version of conventional crude. (You know a product […]

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CN Train Crash Blaze Contained by Firefighters in Canada

Firefighters contained the blaze triggered by the derailment of a train carrying petroleum products and toxic material in a rural area in Saskatchewan yesterday. While there were still flames at the site in the early evening, firefighters managed to “significantly diminish” the blaze and prevent it from spreading, Jim Feeny, a company spokesman, said by phone yesterday. No one was injured in the accident on the Canadian Prairies. Two of 26 derailed cars spilled petroleum distillate at the site, causing the fire, Feeny said. The crash extended a series of fiery derailments dating to July 2013, when an unattended crude-oil train rolled downhill, derailed and exploded in Lac Megantic, Quebec , killing 47. That tragedy and crashes like a train that burned in downtown Lynchburg, Virginia , have spurred U.S. and Canadian regulators to seek tougher tank-car standards. “Our government has done tremendous work on rail safety in this […]

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Petronas wary of Canadian LNG decisions

Malaysian energy company Petronas mulls fate of LNG project slated for western Canadian coast. (UPI/Gary C. Caskey) VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 7 (UPI) — Malaysian energy company Petronas said Tuesday it may have to suspend plans to develop a Canadian liquefied natural gas project because of fiscal uncertainty. Members of the government in British Columbia are debating tax and regulatory policies on planned West Coast LNG projects. Petronas said it was encouraged by support thus far from legislatures in the province for the company’s Pacific Northwest LNG project, but expressed reservations because of the lack of a clear fiscal framework. With falling energy prices, Petronas President Tan Sri Dato’ Shamsul Azhar Abba said his company needs to hedge its bets on its project investments. Potential regulatory policies in Canada could threaten the competitiveness of the western LNG project. "This is further exacerbated by preliminary project costs, which indicates cost […]

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EU gives break to Canadian crude oil

Europe relaxes greenhouse gas rules governing certain types of crude oil. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian BRUSSELS, Oct. 7 (UPI) — European Union members are called on to choose low-carbon fuels over more polluting ones like oil sands under new fuel rules, a commissioner said Tuesday. A proposal Tuesday from the European Commission calls on regional refiners to report carbon emissions from feedstocks rather than list so-called oil sands as more carbon intensive than other types of crude oil. The proposed directive, however, retains a provision for calculating carbon intensity of different fuel types over their life cycle. "It is no secret that our initial proposal could not go through due to resistance faced in some member states," European Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said in a statement. European leaders in September met in Ottawa with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and trade representatives to discuss comprehensive economic and trade agreements. Harper’s administration […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple