BOE Report

Less hiring planned after 65% of oil and gas companies trim staff, survey finds

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CALGARY - Nearly a third of oil and gas industry employers are expecting another tough year in 2017 after 65 per cent of them were forced to cut staff this year, according to a survey by recruitment firm Hays Canada. About 28 per cent of energy sector employers expect to hire fewer people in 2017 than in 2016, while 15 per cent expect some growth and about half predict stability, the Canadian arm of U.K.-based Hays reported in its annual sample of hiring intentions released Tuesday. [Read more]

Junex moves to begin oil production in Quebec, reports record testing output

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MONTREAL - A battle is brewing in Quebec as Junex attempts to become the province's first oil producer in a century. Environmentalists say they'll strongly oppose the company's (TSXV:JNX) application for a provincial permit to begin production by next spring. Junex announced Tuesday that it's recovered through eight months of testing nearly 18,000 barrels of light, sweet crude produced at its Galt No. 4 horizontal well. "What we see here is the most significant oil [Read more]

New rules for Saskatchewan pipelines after Husky oil spill into river

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REGINA - Saskatchewan is proposing tougher rules for pipelines following an oil spill into the North Saskatchewan River that jeopardized the drinking water of thousands of people. Legislation introduced Monday would establish new inspection, investigation and compliance powers for government staff, as well as update and modernize penalties. It would also provide requirements for financial assurance from operators for pipelines in high-risk locations such as water crossings. [Read more]

Alberta on track for $10.8B deficit, but 25,000 jobs added: finance minister

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EDMONTON - Alberta's fiscal outlook for this year is a tiny bit better, but still billions of dollars in the red. Finance Minister Joe Ceci says the estimated deficit for this year has been revised to $10.8 billion, slightly lower than the $10.9 billion forecast three months ago. "(It's) a small but measurable improvement," Ceci told reporters at the legislature Monday as he gave the second-quarter update for the 2016-17 budget. Ceci said there are signs that an economy [Read more]

First Nation against Kinder Morgan pipeline rejects Standing Rock-style protests

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OTTAWA - Representatives of a B.C. First Nation that is deeply opposed to a proposed pipeline expansion emerged from a meeting Monday with Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr to say they believe the fix is in. But Chief Maureen Thomas of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation says that if the federal Liberals do approve Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain oil pipeline, her people have no interest in the kind of violent confrontations taking place in Standing Rock over the Dakota Access pipeline. [Read more]

‘Troubled children’ failures restore stability for rest of Canadian oilpatch

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CALGARY - Mergers and acquisitions experts are predicting fewer Canadian oil and gas companies will go bust over the next year as most of the "troubled children" of the industry have already failed or been sold. Tom Pavic, vice-president of Calgary-based Sayer Energy Advisors, said 26 Canadian energy companies have entered into a court-monitored receivership or restructuring process so far this year. That's up from 20 in 2015, when the total matched the number of failures [Read more]

Manitoba grand chief says blockades could support pipeline protesters in U.S.

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PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. - A Manitoba indigenous chief says there's a desire for action — which could include blockades of Canadian pipelines and railways — in support of a protest against a North Dakota pipeline project. Grand Chief Terry Nelson of the Southern Chiefs Organization says chiefs and others attended a meeting Saturday at the Dakota Tipi First Nation near Portage la Prairie to discuss how to react if the U.S. government clears demonstrators from a camp occupied by the Dakota [Read more]

Feds say they’ll negotiate national clean fuel standard with provinces

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TORONTO - The federal government says it will work with the provinces to develop a national clean fuel standard, the latest piece in its pan-Canadian climate plan. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna announced the measure in a speech Friday to the Toronto Board of Trade as she continues preparing the ground for a first minister's meeting next month in Ottawa. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is tentatively scheduled to sit down with the provincial and territorial premiers in two [Read more]

Liberals delay announcing fate of Line 3, Northern Gateway

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TORONTO - The federal environment minister touted oil and gas as "essential bridges" to a low-carbon economy Friday even as the government delayed announcing the fate of two pipeline projects. Catherine McKenna, who was speaking at an event hosted by the Toronto Board Region of Trade, said the government wasn't ready to make an announcement about Enbridge's proposed Line 3 pipeline replacement and the Northern Gateway pipeline, saying only that a decision would be made public "shortly." [Read more]

CAPP says pipeline delays hurting Canada’s reputation with investors

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Canada’s pipeline gridlock is harming its global reputation as an attractive place to invest in oil and gas projects, says a leading industry group. Tim McMillan, CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), said Donald Trump’s election in the United States adds pressure to Canada to clear regulatory hurdles blocking new projects. “We may see some or a lot of that capital that would normally come to Canada going other places and to the U.S., who is targeting it,” McMillan [Read more]