Canadian PrimeMinister Justin Trudeau is set to pile pressure on BritishColumbia's provincial government to drop its resistance to apipeline project, but will try to avoid tougher measures thatmight alienate voters who helped his Liberals win power, asource close to the matter said on Wednesday.Trudeau is racing against time. Kinder Morgan Canada said it would scrap the C$7.4 billion ($5.9 billion)Trans Mountain pipeline expansion from Alberta to the west coastunless all legal and [Read more]
Phillips 66 JV Borger refinery shut gasoline units, hydrotreater -sources
* Phillips 66 shut the gasoline-producing units andahydrotreater at the 146,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) joint-ventureBorger, Texas, refinery, said sources familiar with plantoperations on Wednesday. * The two 30,000-bpd gasoline-producing catalytic crackingunitsand 73,000-bpd cat feed hydrotreater may restart by early nextweek, the sources said. (Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Peter Cooney) [Read more]
Heavy crude discount narrows as cuts ease bottleneck
The Canadian heavy oil discountnarrowed against the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark onWednesday, as capacity cuts continued to ease the impact ofpipeline and rail bottlenecks. * Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for Maydelivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $15.25 a barrel belowthe WTI benchmark crude price , according to ShorcanEnergy brokers, compared with Tuesday's settle of $15.45. * The discount has narrowed in recent weeks as producerslike Canadian Natural [Read more]
Cushing’s oil market clout wanes amid U.S. export boom
The volume of oil sitting in 300 steel tanks in a nine-square-mile radius in Cushing,Oklahoma has long been a key barometer for the health of U.S.crude supply and the nation's benchmark for daily trading of billions of dollars in the commodity. But those tanks could soon drain to levels near effectively empty, even as U.S. oil production soars past a new record of 10.4 million barrels per day. Oil supplies have fallen before in Cushing for a variety of seasonal or market-driven reasons. [Read more]
Heavy crude discount narrows as pipeline talks continue
The Canadian heavy oil discountnarrowed against the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark onTuesday, as capacity cuts continued to fuel demand for cheaperCanadian crude and various levels of government pledgedfinancial support for a troubled pipeline expansion. * Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for Maydelivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $15.45 a barrel belowthe WTI benchmark crude price , according to ShorcanEnergy brokers, compared with Monday's settle of $16.20. [Read more]
Investors back Kinder Morgan Canada’s Trans Mountain move
Kinder Morgan Canada shareholders on Tuesday backed the pipeline operator's decision to pause most work on its Trans Mountain expansion as away to force the Canadian government to give final approval for the project. The company said on Sunday it would scrap plans to nearly triple the capacity of its existing Trans Mountain pipeline, which extends from Alberta to British Columbia's coast, unless various legal and jurisdictional challenges could be resolved by May 31. The project was [Read more]
Notley says willing to buy Trans Mountain pipeline
Alberta is willing to purchase the Trans Mountain pipeline outright should Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd walk away from its planned expansion of the crude oil line, Premier Rachel Notley said on Tuesday. Texas-based Kinder Morgan said on Sunday it would scrap plans to nearly triple the capacity of its existing Trans Mountain pipeline, which extends from Alberta to British Columbia's coast, unless various legal and jurisdictional challenges could be resolved by May 31. "We are considering a [Read more]
Saskatchewan sees smaller fiscal deficit as spending kept tight
Saskatchewan, home to major potash and uranium reserves, said on Tuesday it would run a smaller deficit in the current fiscal year and balance its books in 2019-20 as it keeps a tight lid on spending despite projected higher commodity prices. Saskatchewan, which has endured a slump in its resource revenues in recent years, projected a $365 million deficit for 2018-19, which follows a $595 million deficit forecast for the fiscal year that ended on March 31. The 2018-19 projection does not [Read more]
Husky shuts isocracker at Lima, Ohio refinery -source
* Husky Energy unexpectedly shut down an isocrackerunit at its 177,000 bpd refinery in Lima, Ohio, on Monday toconduct repairs ahead of the summer season, according to asource familiar with the refinery's operations.* The repairs are expected to take a "few weeks" and have animpact on production rates, the source said.* The refiner is also running less heavy crude afterrecently cutting rates to coker due to furnace issues, thesource said, adding rates will likely increase by [Read more]
Devon Energy will lay off 9 percent of staff to boost returns
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Devon Energy Corp said on Tuesday it would lay off 300 workers, roughly 9 percent of staff, part of a plan to streamline operations and boost the shale oil producer’s sagging returns and stock price. The cuts will affect all areas of the company’s operations, not just its Oklahoma City headquarters. Staff will be let go “in the weeks ahead,” Devon said in a statement. Devon, like many of its shale peers, has come under pressure from Wall Street in recent months to focus [Read more]