Canada's National Energy Board (NEB) regulator recommended on Friday that Ottawa approve expansion of the government-owned Trans Mountain oil pipeline, but made new, nonbinding recommendations to mitigate harm to Pacific Ocean killer whales and the environment.The pipeline is in the national interest as it will create jobs and give Canadian oil access to more markets, the NEB said in a report. But expanding it is likely to significantly harm the killer whale population off the coast of [Read more]
Cenovus bets on rail to move crude, fearing full pipelines
Cenovus Energy is pressing ahead with aggressive plans to transport more crude by rail, contrasting itself with peers who have hit the brakes, as the Canadian oil producer bets that pipeline bottlenecks are likely to return. Pipeline congestion depressed Canadian oil prices last year, prompting Cenovus and other producers to increase their reliance on rail to move crude to U.S. refineries. Alberta's provincial government imposed mandatory production cuts in January, an unusual step that [Read more]
Buffett’s Suncor bet to revive investor interest in Canadian energy
Berkshire Hathaway Inc's re-investment in Suncor Energy Inc highlights the benefits of being an integrated oil company and could revive investor interest in the languishing Canadian energy sector, fund managers said. The move is also seen by some as a wager the energy sector could benefit from a change in the guard in Canada's oil-rich Alberta province, which has an election this year. Berkshire's new 0.7 percent stake in Suncor, valued at $488 million at current prices, is already worth [Read more]
TransCanada restarts shut portion of Keystone oil pipeline
TransCanada Corp restarted a section of the Keystone oil pipeline on Tuesday, following a leak in Missouri earlier this month, company spokesman Terry Cunha said.TransCanada had shut an arm of Keystone from Steele City, Nebraska to Patoka, Illinois on Feb. 6 after leaking 43 barrels of crude oil. The shutdown restricted the flow on the 590,000 barrels-per-day Keystone pipeline system, a critical artery taking Canadian crude from northern Alberta to refineries in the U.S. Midwest.The line [Read more]
Alberta leases 4,400 rail cars to clear oil glut
Alberta has leased 4,400 rail cars in its latest, multi-billion-dollar move to clear a glut of crude that depressed prices, Premier Rachel Notley said on Tuesday.Notley, who faces a spring election, said Alberta would start putting cars into service as early as July, 2019. Canadian National Railway Co and Canadian Pacific Railway will haul a combined initial volume of 20,000 barrels per day that will reach 120,000 bpd by mid-2020.The three-year plan will cost Alberta C$3.7 billion ($2.80 [Read more]
TransCanada restarted shut portion of Keystone oil pipeline – spokesman
TransCanada Corp restarted a section of the Keystone oil pipeline on Tuesday, following a leak in Missouri earlier this month, company spokesman Terry Cunha said.TransCanada had shut an arm of Keystone from Steele City, Nebraska to Patoka, Illinois on Feb. 6 after a 43-barrel leak. The shut-down restricted the flow of Western Canadian crude to U.S. refineries. (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba) [Read more]
U.S. drillers add oil rigs for second week in a row
U.S. energy firms this week increased the number of oil rigs operating for a second week in a row amid concerns that crude supplies will swamp global demand as U.S. output keeps growing from record levels. Companies added three oil rigs in the week to Feb. 15, bringing the total count to 857, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. The U.S. rig count, an early indicator of future output, is still higher than a year ago when 798 [Read more]
Canadian energy shares cheer Buffett’s Suncor investment
** Shares of Canadian oil and gas producers rise on the Toronoto Stock Exchange after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc takes a stake in Suncor Energy Inc ** SU up 3.2 pct, Cenovus Energy rises 2.4 pct, Canadian Natural Resources up 3 pct and MEG Energy edged up 1.5 pct** Berkshire, in a filing, says it has a stake of 10.8 mln shrs, representing ~0.7 pct of SU's total outstanding shrs, according to Eikon data from Refinitiv.** Investment seen as positive for [Read more]
U.S. court dismisses Energy Transfer Partners lawsuit against Greenpeace
A federal court in North Dakota has dismissed a lawsuit from Energy Transfer Partners LP against environmental group Greenpeace, according to a court order on Thursday. ETP had sued Greenpeace and other environmental groups in 2017, accusing them of racketeering and defamation with the aim of blocking the Dakota Access Pipeline. In the lawsuit, ETP argued that the environmental groups' actions and negative publicity against it, its sister company Energy Transfer Equity LP and other firms [Read more]
Berkshire Hathaway takes new stake in Canada’s Suncor Energy
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc said on Thursday it had taken a fresh stake in Suncor Energy Inc for the second time in about six years, sending the U.S.-listed shares of the energy major up 4 percent in after-market trading. Suncor, Canada's biggest oil and gas company, is considered one of the safest Canadian energy companies to invest in, given its integrated structure and diversified business mix. Berkshire's investment puts the Buffett stamp on Suncor and could be seen as a [Read more]