BOE Report

BOE Report Staff

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Political repercussions of train crash grow

  OTTAWA - A push for parliamentarians to meet this summer to assess railway safety has more to do with partisan politics than with Quebec's horrific train crash, the chairman of the House of Commons transport committee said Friday.Conservative MP Larry Miller was responding to calls from the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois to convene committee hearings as early as next month in the wake of the Lac-Megantic disaster."Right now is not the time to play politics and I just don't think the [Read more]

Leaking propane tank fixed near children’s camp

  COCHRANE, Alta. - Children from an Easter Seals camp had to evacuate during a gas scare in the Alberta foothills Friday, but returned hours later after the smell was traced to a flood-damaged propane tank.Crews originally responded to reports of a gas smell along Highway 66, just south of the Trans-Canada Highway near Cochrane.Area administrator Shawn Polley said about 50 people were told to leave Camp Horizon, an outdoor get-away for children with disabilities."We requested they were [Read more]

Gasoline prices to spike, watchers warn

  OTTAWA - Filling up the tank on the way to the cottage or that vacation destination has become more expensive in recent weeks — and prices at the gas pump are about to get worse, market watchers are warning.Investor thirst for black gold — as opposed to the precious metal — is largely to blame, said Dan McTeague, the former federal MP and gas-price crusader who runs the website tomorrowsgaspricetoday.com.The price of oil has been spiking as gold prices decline, helping to push gasoline [Read more]

Oil rises near US$106 on supply concerns

  NEW YORK - The price of oil rose to near US$106 a barrel Friday, supported by continuing tensions in Egypt and a sharp drop of U.S. crude stockpiles.Benchmark crude oil for August delivery gained $1.04 to $105.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.Even with a drop of $1.60 a barrel Thursday, the price of oil rose $2.73 this week and is up nearly 10 per cent in July.Oil has risen from around $97 on July 1, mainly for two reasons. Traders are concerned that unrest in Egypt [Read more]

Possible natural gas leak closes Alberta highway near Easter Seal camp

  COCHRANE, Alta. - A possible gas leak closed a highway Friday and threatened the evacuation of a children's camp in the Alberta foothills.Fire crews and officials from Alberta's energy regulator and Environment Department were on their way to the area following reports of a strong gas smell along Highway 66, just south of the Trans-Canada Highway near Cochrane.The smell was near Camp Horizon, a children's camp operated by the Easter Seal campaign."Right now, we're just investigating [Read more]

Provocative pro nuclear movie comes to Canada as country debates oil, climate

  OTTAWA - To the chagrin of environmentalists, Robert Stone would like to see a day when nuclear power plants are manufactured like jumbo jets — and are just as common. Stone is the director and producer of "Pandora's Promise," a provocatively pro-nuclear-power film that premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival and opens Friday night for a one-week run in Toronto. The film — a portrayal of former environmental opponents of nuclear power who have seen the glowing green [Read more]

NEB denies request to dub Chevron refinery ‘priority destination’ for crude

  CALGARY - The National Energy Board has denied Chevron's request to deem its refinery in Burnaby, B.C., a "priority destination" for crude shipped on Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline.The Canadian unit of U.S. energy giant Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) brought the case before the regulator more than a year ago because it said it hasn't been able to economically access enough crude for the 55,000-barrel-per-day refinery.The Trans Mountain line wasn't able to accommodate all of the [Read more]

STUDY: Distant earthquakes can affect oil, gas fields

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The powerful earthquake that rocked Japan in 2011 set off tremors around a West Texas oil field, according to new research that suggests oil and gas drilling operations may make fault zones sensitive to shock waves from distant big quakes. It's long been known that large quakes can trigger minor jolts thousands of miles from the epicenter. Volcanically active spots like Yellowstone National Park often experience shaking after a large distant event. Less is known about [Read more]

Moody’s: Quebec train disaster to raise costs for shipping oil by rail

  CALGARY - Credit rating agency Moody's says it expects the deadly train disaster in Lac-Megantic, Que., to make shipping oil by rail more costly, putting pressure on both major railroads and oil producers.Moody's says the disaster will inevitably lead to increased scrutiny and result in regulatory delays from Canadian and U.S. governments.That's expected to increase capital and operating costs for rail companies — as has been the case in the past.Crude producers in North Dakota's [Read more]

Independent tests say oily sheen on Alberta river likely from ALGAE

  FORT CHIPEWYAN, Alta. - Lab tests say a mysterious oily sheen that has covered a long stretch of the Athabasca River in northeastern Alberta is most likely from algae.Consultants hired by the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation say the algae bloom is probably the result of high water from record-breaking rainfall combined with unusually warm temperatures.The scientists say dead fish floating on the river probably died as a result of oxygen starvation from the out-of-control algae [Read more]