The Alberta government has started talks with the private sector about Canadian oil producers taking over crude-by-rail contracts signed by the previous government, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said on Tuesday. The talks follow newly elected Kenney's campaign promise to scrap the former New Democratic Party government's $3.7 billion crude-by-rail deals, which he has slammed as poor value for taxpayers. "There are confidential conversations going on between our government and private sector [Read more]
Heavy and synthetic discounts narrow
The discount on Canadian heavy crude oil versus U.S. crude oil futures narrowed on Monday:* Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for July delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $13.65 per barrel below West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil, according to Net Energy Exchange. On Friday, WCS for July delivery settled at $14.10 a barrel below WTI crude futures.* Over the weekend, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd regained access to its Pelican Lake operation in northern Alberta that was [Read more]
Aging Enbridge oil pipelines face setbacks over fears of Great Lakes spills
WINNIPEG, Manitoba/CALGARY, Alberta, June 9 (Reuters) - F ears about oil spills into the Great Lakes from two aging U.S. pipelines have flared, raising doubts about their future and creating fresh headaches for operator Enbridge Inc and the Canadian energy sector. Canada has faced years of delay in getting new oil pipelines built because of environmental opposition, resulting in severe congestion in Alberta, the country's main crude-producing province, that forced the provincial government to [Read more]
Canadian oil pipeline congestion sets up lucrative storage play
Upheavals in the Canadian crude market are providing unique opportunities for firms with sizeable long-term leases on Alberta storage tanks, a cluster that sources say includes Mercuria Energy Group and oil major BP Plc's trading arm. Canada holds the world's third-largest crude reserves, but years of delay in building new pipelines has led to oil production outpacing takeaway capacity. A glut of crude has thus been created, increasing demand for storage tanks in the oil sands province of [Read more]
Canadian oil pipeline congestion sets up lucrative storage play
Upheavals in the Canadian crude market are providing unique opportunities for firms with sizeable long-term leases on Alberta storage tanks, a cluster that sources say includes Mercuria Energy Group and oil major BP Plc's trading arm.Canada holds the world's third-largest crude reserves, but years of delay in building new pipelines has led to oil production outpacing takeaway capacity. A glut of crude has thus been created, increasing demand for storage tanks in the oil sands [Read more]
Aging Enbridge oil pipelines face setbacks over fears of Great Lakes spills
Fears about oil spills into the Great Lakes from two aging U.S. pipelines have flared, raising doubts about their future and creating fresh headaches for operator Enbridge Inc and the Canadian energy sector. Canada has faced years of delay in getting new oil pipelines built because of environmental opposition, resulting in severe congestion in Alberta, the country's main crude-producing province, that forced the provincial government to impose production cuts this year. Pipelines face [Read more]
Heavy crude discount widens, synthetic narrows slightly
The discount on Canadian heavy crude oil versus U.S. crude oil futures edged wider on Friday:* Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for July delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, last traded at $14.10 per barrel below West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil, according to Net Energy Exchange. On Thursday, WCS for July delivery settled at $14.00 a barrel below WTI crude futures.* Heavy crude differentials widened from the start of the week, when the discount had narrowed sharply on concerns about [Read more]
U.S. oil rig count falls to lowest since Feb 2018
U.S. energy firms this week cut the oil rig count to the lowest since February 2018 as drillers follow through on plans to reduce spending with crude prices collapsing to a four-month low. Drillers cut 11 oil rigs in the week to June 7 in the biggest weekly decline since April, bringing the total count down to 789, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. That compares with 862 rigs operating during the same week a year [Read more]
Senate passes major project assessment bill with heavy amendments
The Canadian Senate has approved legislation aimed at changing the way major projects such as oil pipelines are assessed, with more than 180 amendments that were welcomed by the government of Canada's main crude-producing province Alberta.After the vote late on Thursday Bill C-69 will now go back to the House of Commons where Justin Trudeau's Liberal government must decide which amendments it will accept.The federal government introduced the bill to fulfil a 2015 election pledge to [Read more]
MEG Energy: TPH cuts to ‘hold’, cites pipeline bottlenecks in Canada
** Tudor Pickering Holt & Co downgrades Canadian oil producer MEG Energy to "hold" from "buy"** While there is significant asset value in business, it is unlikely to be appreciated in near-term given continued challenges in Canadian energy space that limits investor interests -brokerage ** Delay in Enbridge Inc's Line 3 pipeline replacement project presents uncertainty for MEG to utilize fully the incremental Flanagan South pipeline volumes in 2020** Cos in [Read more]