BOE Report

Security firms dealing with uptick in oilfield theft, vandalism amid downturn

CALGARY - Oilfield security firms say they've been dealing with more troublemakers in recent months with the crude price cratering and bringing drilling activity and jobs down with it.Thieves have been nabbing diesel, generators and other odds and ends that aren't bolted down from oilfield sites, said Joden Dorner, security operations manager at Prospector Energy Services Inc. in Bezanson, Alta., in the province's northwest.He's also seen kicked-in doors and broken windows."There has a little [Read more]

Drilling company PHX Energy Services cuts half of workforce, 500 jobs lost

CALGARY - Calgary-based drilling company PHX Energy Services Corp. has laid off nearly 50 per cent of its workforce, putting more than 500 people out of work.The company, which provides drilling technology and services to oil and gas companies in Canada, the United States, Albania and Russia, says most of the job cuts affected people living in Alberta.PHX said in a statement that the layoffs were necessary due to "current market challenges and uncertainty with respect to future oil commodity [Read more]

Royalty review chairman says people saying stability in energy sector is key

CALGARY - The chairman of Alberta’s royalty review says the No. 1 thing his panel has heard in feedback from industry, government and Albertans alike is the need for stability and predictability in the energy sector.Dave Mowat told radio station CHQR on Wednesday that it's now up to the panel to come up with a set of principals that apply whether the price of oil is at $30 a barrel or $100 a barrel.He says it would then be up to oil companies and the Energy Department to make sure that resources [Read more]

Canadian Natural cuts staff salaries in Calgary, Aberdeen by up to 10%

CALGARY - Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. said Wednesday that it is cutting salaries for all of its staff in Calgary and Aberdeen, Scotland, as it grapples with low commodity prices.Salaries will be reduced by up to 10 per cent, with the biggest cuts being absorbed by higher salaried employees, according to company spokeswoman Julie Woo.Canadian Natural (TSX:CNQ) has not reduced its workforce this year, unlike many oil and gas producers who have resorted to mass layoffs in the face of plummeting [Read more]

Alberta on track for lowest oil and gas land sale revenue in decades

CALGARY - With only a few months left in the year, Alberta is on track to post its worst oil and gas land sales revenue in more than two decades.As of late August the auctions for land, in which the province leases out land rights to energy companies, have pulled in $209 million. "It's absolutely the worst that we've seen the 21 years that I've been doing this," said Winston Gaskin, president of Standard Land Company, which assists companies in buying land rights.In 2014 Alberta sold $494 [Read more]

Court hearings to begin this week into Enbridge cross-border oil pipelines

CALGARY - A U.S. court begins hearing arguments this week in a lawsuit that claims increased volumes of oilsands crude have been allowed to flow from Canada into the United States without adequate public input or environmental review.Indigenous and environmental groups filed a lawsuit late last year against the U.S. State Department and Secretary of State John Kerry in federal district court. Hearings start in Minneapolis on Thursday."Plaintiffs' members face increased risk of harm to their [Read more]

Pipeline fire on US side of border forces short evacuation for Canadians

EMERSON, Man. - Two homes in Manitoba that are just north of the Canada-US border were evacuated due to a natural gas pipeline fire.TransCanada says the company and emergency officials responded to the fire at the St. Vincent compressor station in Kittson County, Minnesota, at about 9 p.m. on Saturday.That's about a kilometre south of the border near Emerson.Residents who had to leave were allowed back to their homes two hours later, and the fire was completely out early Sunday morning.No [Read more]

Honeymoon over? Byelection loss ‘bad news’ for Alberta NDP: political scientist

CALGARY - A byelection loss for Alberta's NDP is "bad news" for the government and a sign that Calgarians may be suffering buyer's remorse after May's provincial election, says at least one political scientist.NDP Finance Minister Joe Ceci has acknowledged that a message was sent with Thursday's victory by the Opposition Wildrose in Calgary-Foothills.David Taras of Calgary's Mount Royal University says there is no way to sugar-coat it. "I think the honeymoon is over in Calgary and it didn't last [Read more]

Supreme Court rules in Chevron appeal over Ecuador environmental damages case

OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed an attempt by oil giant Chevron to block Ecuadorian villagers from using an Ontario court to collect billions in damages for environmental contamination.The 7-0 ruling allows the case to proceed in Canada, but it makes no finding on the merits of the long-running legal saga that has played out in courtrooms across the Western Hemisphere.The key issue at play was whether there was a real and substantial connection between the villagers and the [Read more]

Calgary-based Tervita cuts 15 per cent of corporate staff due to downturn

CALGARY - Calgary-based environmental services company Tervita says it has cut 15 per cent of its corporate staff due to the economic downturn.The privately held company, which is heavily involved in the oil and gas industry, did not disclose additional details in its announcement late Wednesday, including how many jobs the cut represents."These actions are in response to the prolonged downturn in the energy markets and the resulting decreased activity levels of our customers," said company [Read more]