CALGARY - As world leaders descend on Glasgow this week for the start of the 2021 UN Climate Conference, Alberta — the Canadian jurisdiction with perhaps the most on the line — will be watching. COP26, as it is known, will be the most significant global climate change summit since Paris in 2015. At that time, Canada committed to reducing the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, with the aim of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. That [Read more]

HOUSTON, B.C. - RCMP say officers will be patrolling a forestry road in an area where two people were arrested among a group blockading a Coastal GasLink workers' camp near Houston, B.C. Cpl. Madonna Saunderson says in a release that police received several complaints about alleged vandalism and theft by protesters who had set up a blockade outside the workers camp over several days. Saunderson says the arrests were made Wednesday when RCMP were called to help keep the peace as the [Read more]

CALGARY - A shortage of rig workers could delay progress when it comes to cleaning up Alberta's tens of thousands of inactive oil and gas wells. The Canadian Association of Energy Contractors says drilling and service companies are struggling to find enough workers as oil and gas companies ramp up production in response to surging commodity prices. Many of the same companies that provide rigs for new drilling programs are also involved in industry cleanup efforts. The Alberta government [Read more]

OTTAWA - Canada is nearly doubling its target to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector as it prepares to sign a new global pledge at next month's climate talks in Scotland. The United States and Europe are pushing a Global Methane Pledge asking other governments to commit to cutting total methane emissions 30 per cent by 2030. But the International Energy Agency said last month that hitting global climate targets means methane from the oil and gas industry alone must be cut 75 [Read more]

Get ready to pay sharply higher bills for heating this winter, along with seemingly everything else. With prices surging worldwide for heating oil, natural gas and other fuels, the U.S. government said Wednesday it expects households to see their heating bills jump as much as 54% compared to last winter. The sharpest increases are likely for homes that use propane, which account for only 5% of U.S. households, but others are also likely to see big increases. Homes that use natural gas, [Read more]

CALGARY - Canadian energy contractors are facing a shortage of rig workers that could slow oilpatch recovery. Oil and gas companies are ramping up production to meet global energy demand as COVID-19 restrictions ease. Oil prices are at seven-year highs, with West Texas Intermediate trading this week at more than US$80 per barrel. The Canadian Association of Energy Contractors says there were 175 active drilling rigs in Canada last week, compared to just 75 in the same period last year. It [Read more]