BOE Report

Dozens drop out of ‘biased’ energy board review of Trans Mountain pipeline

VANCOUVER - The National Energy Board has issued 145 draft conditions that Kinder Morgan must meet if its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is approved, including increased consultation with First Nations and upgrading its emergency response.The sweeping requirements were released Wednesday, the same day 35 participants in the board's review said they were dropping out of a "biased" and "unfair" process.The conditions — which could be changed after NEB hearings — would force the company to hold [Read more]

Syncrude faces protection order after heron deaths in northern Alberta

FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. - Oilsands giant Syncrude is facing an environmental protection order following the deaths of 30 great blue herons at one of its sites."It's guidance to the company," Alberta Energy Regulator spokesman Bob Curran said Tuesday. "We're specifying what our expectations are, what information we expect the company to deliver and in what time frame."Syncrude revealed on the weekend that 29 carcasses from the large shorebirds were discovered last Friday near a pump house at an [Read more]

Alliance Pipeline: could take several days to burn off hydrogen sulphide gas

CALGARY - It could take several days to dispose of hazardous gas that mistakenly got into a major Canada-U.S. natural gas pipeline.Alliance Pipeline, whose B.C.-to-Chicago system has been shut since Friday, started burning off the gas at two locations in southeastern Saskatchewan on Sunday.In an online notice, Alliance said flaring was the safest way to get rid of the gas that was contaminated with poisonous hydrogen sulphide, or H2S.It said people in the Alameda and Arcola areas of Saskatchewan [Read more]

Alberta politicians reply to Toronto NDP candidate’s anti-oilsands remarks

EDMONTON -- A comment by a prominent Toronto NDP candidate Friday on Alberta's oilsands touched off a political storm on Saturday with the other parties and one provincial politician chiming in. Linda McQuaig, a well-known author and journalist, was quoted as saying during a CBC television panel discussion on Friday that "a lot of the oilsands oil may have to stay in the ground" if Canada is to meet its climate change targets. A Calgary Conservative incumbent, who was also on the program [Read more]

TransCanada braces for Obama rejection, already planning next move

WASHINGTON - The Canadian company involved in the controversy-plagued Keystone XL pipeline project has begun planning its response to an anticipated rejection of the project by U.S. President Barack Obama.In its public statements, TransCanada Corp. is expressing hope Obama might still approve the pipeline, which over the course of its years-long delay has become an irritant between the U.S. and Canadian governments.But people close to the project say the company has become all but convinced a [Read more]

Kinder Morgan pulls Trans Mountain pipeline ads during election campaign

VANCOUVER - Kinder Morgan will pull advertising for its proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion during the federal election campaign, after a British Columbia New Democrat seeking re-election complained about a flurry of ads in local newspapers.Kennedy Stewart sent a letter to Canada's elections commissioner earlier this week. He said if the company wants to promote a position on an election issue, it must register with Elections Canada as a third-party advertiser subject to spending [Read more]

Natural gas pipeline from B.C. to Chicago shut down due to hydrogen sulphide

CALGARY - A natural gas pipeline that extends from northeastern British Columbia to the Chicago area has been shut while its operator disposes of dangerous hydrogen sulphide gas that got into the system.Alliance Pipeline said it expects its mainline to be closed for an "indeterminate amount of time" as it deals with the gas, which is poisonous, corrosive, flammable and smells like rotten eggs. The company did not say how much of it entered the pipeline, only that the amount exceeded its [Read more]

Canadian Natural posts $405-million net loss on higher tax rate, lower revenue

CALGARY - Canadian Natural Resources is warning that Alberta's corporate tax hike will hit employment, though both company executives and Premier Rachel Notley agree the steep drop in crude prices is a much bigger challenge.The Calgary-based oil and gas giant posted a net loss of $405 million during the second quarter, mostly because of a $579-million charge related to the higher tax rate.All things being equal, the higher tax tab means $579 million less will be invested over the lifespan of [Read more]

Natural gas supplier seeks assurances on pipeline access over LNG plants

HALIFAX - The senior manager of Nova Scotia's natural gas distributor says his company wants to ensure that it has adequate access to the sole pipeline into Atlantic Canada if liquefied natural gas export terminals are approved in the region.Heritage Gas applied in May to intervene in licence applications by three potential LNG export facilities filed with the National Energy Board.The subsidiary of AltaGas (TSX:ALA) says if the proposed East Coast projects by Pieridae Energy Ltd., Bear Head LNG [Read more]

New chairman appointed to lead Nova Scotia’s offshore petroleum board

HALIFAX - The independent agency that regulates Nova Scotia's offshore petroleum industry is getting a new chairman.Federal and provincial politicians announced today that Keith MacLeod will begin his six-year term at the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board on Aug. 17.MacLeod is an engineer with 33 years' experience in the international oil and gas industry.He recently retired as CEO and chairman of Sproule, a Calgary-based company that specializes in economic evaluations of oil and [Read more]