Alberta Premier Rachel Notley warned Canadian senators on Thursday that proposed federal legislation for major project reviews, including crude oil pipelines, risks worsening a slump in the country's energy sector. Notley appeared before a Senate committee considering Bill C-69, controversial legislation aimed at revamping Canada's environmental approval process, but which critics say will deter investment in the oil sector. Alberta is the country's main crude-producing province but oil [Read more]
Alberta premier warns new energy project bill could worsen oil sector slump
Alberta premier Rachel Notley warned Canadian senators in Ottawa on Thursday that proposed federal legislation addressing major energy project assessments, including crude oil pipelines, risks swapping "one broken system for another".Notley appeared before a Senate committee considering Bill C-69, a controversial piece of legislation aimed at streamlining the new project approval process, but which critics say will in fact deter investment in Canada's energy sector.Alberta is the [Read more]
Alberta cuts budget deficit forecast, warns of oil export drag
Alberta said on Wednesday its 2018-19 budget deficit will be nearly $2 billion less than previously forecast, but warned congestion on crude export pipelines would continue to hurt the economy. Higher resource revenues in the first part of the fiscal year as well as personal income tax and federal transfers boosted provincial revenues, the government said in its third-quarter fiscal update. It now expects the budget deficit to narrow to $6.9 billion in the current fiscal year through [Read more]
Trump calls on OPEC to ‘relax,’ says oil prices are too high
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday expressed concern about oil prices and repeated his previous calls on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to keep prices steady. On Monday, oil prices edged up amid political uncertainty and sanctions and involuntary curbs on several producers but could face pressure from continued anxiety over the global economy and record U.S. exports. “Oil prices getting too high. OPEC, please relax and take it easy. World cannot take a [Read more]
U.S. oil drillers cut rigs for first week in three
U.S. energy firms this week cut the number of oil rigs operating for the first time in three weeks week after U.S. crude production hit an all-time high, boosting exports to a record high and stockpiles to their highest in over a year. Drillers cut four oil rigs in the week to Feb. 22, bringing the total count down to 853, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. For the month, the rig count fell by nine. That was the first time [Read more]
NEB recommends expanding Trans Mountain Pipeline
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]