BOE Report

Oilsands giant Suncor Energy posts $341-million net loss in first quarter

CALGARY - Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU), Canada's largest oilsands producer, posted a $341 million net loss during the first three months of 2015, when crude prices hovered around a meagre US$50 a barrel.During the same period a year earlier, the Calgary-based company turned a net profit of about $1.49 billion.Without unusual items in the mix, like foreign exchange impacts, Suncor posted $175 million in operating earnings, down sharply from $1.79 billion during the first quarter of 2014.Suncor has [Read more]

Cenovus CEO pans idea of royalty review as May 5 Alberta election looms

CALGARY - The CEO of Calgary-based Cenovus Energy says it would be a bad idea to review Alberta's royalty structure at a time when crude prices are down by half.Brian Ferguson says if Alberta is not fiscally competitive, then jobs and investment will go elsewhere.Royalties have become a hot topic ahead of Tuesday's election, with NDP Leader Rachel Notley saying it makes sense to examine whether Albertans are getting their fair share of the province's resource riches.Notley has also said she [Read more]

NDP’s Notley brushes off Alberta premier ‘fear-mongering’ over energy

CALGARY - Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley says Premier Jim Prentice is fearmongering when he accuses her of turning her back on the oil industry and job creation.Notley has said that if she wins next Tuesday's election, she will hold a review of the province's royalty structure to ensure that Albertans are getting a fair return for their non-renewable resources.Prentice says that would hurt the industry and undermine public confidence in Alberta.Royalties are paid by energy companies to develop [Read more]

Federal pipeline regulator asks public to guide emergency plans for oil spills

VANCOUVER - The chairman of the National Energy Board says the regulator has been "too conservative" in demanding information from oil pipeline companies and is moving to bolster disaster cleanup plan requirements.But Peter Watson contends that issues such as climate change remain outside his agency's mandate — a situation that can't be changed without federal legislation.Watson said the energy board will open a new round of public consultations on the specific emergency response information it [Read more]

Prentice says voter deserve clarity from the Alberta NDP on energy pipelines

EDMONTON - Alberta's election campaign has hit the home stretch with the Progressive Conservatives accusing the NDP of being pipeline defeatists, while the New Democrats chastise the Tories for backing projects they know will never be approved.Premier Jim Prentice attacked NDP Leader Rachel Notley on Monday for her promise to take a hands-off approach on two pipeline projects to get Alberta oil to the coast.Prentice said it reflects an NDP ethos in other provinces. He noted the party in British [Read more]

Surge says $430-million asset sale will reduce debt, help invest in discovery

CALGARY - Surge Energy Inc. (TSX:SGY) is selling some of its oil-producing assets in Saskatchewan and Manitoba for $430 million to an unidentified Canadian company.Calgary-based Surge said the sale will allow it to reduce its indebtedness and prepare it to redeploy capital to the Upper Shaunavon oil discovery in southwestern Saskatchewan.The assets for sale currently produce the equivalent of about 4,750 barrels of oil per day. They have 12.6 million barrels of proved reserves while proved plus [Read more]

Five things to expect when oilpatch firms report first-quarter results

CALGARY - This coming week the toll of weak oil prices will be thrown into stark relief as some of Canada's biggest energy names report first-quarter results and hold annual shareholder meetings. In the first three months of the year, crude hovered around US$50 — less than half last summer's highs. It'll be the first full quarter to register the new crude reality.Oilpatch earnings season kicks off with major oilfield service firm Precision Drilling Corp. (TSX:PD) on Monday, followed by oilsands [Read more]

National Energy Board to audit existing Kinder Morgan emergency response plans

VANCOUVER - Vancouver-area mayors grilled federal officials in charge of pipeline regulation and oil-spill cleanup on Friday, with one saying the Canadian Coast Guard is "vastly underfunded."National Energy Board chair Peter Watson and Canadian Coast Guard Assistant Commissioner Roger Girouard attended a meeting of the Metro Vancouver Mayors' Committee to discuss pipeline safety in the region.Mayors interrogated the coast guard for its response to a recent fuel spill in English Bay and lambasted [Read more]

US oil and natural gas rig count drops by 22 to 932; down 19 in Texas

Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. declined by 22 this week to 932 amid depressed oil prices.Houston-based Baker Hughes said Friday 703 rigs were seeking oil and 225 explored for natural gas. Four were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, 1,861 rigs were active.Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas lost 19 rigs; North Dakota lost five; Oklahoma was down three; and Alaska, New Mexico and West Virginia each [Read more]

B.C. First Nation signs benefit deal over natural gas pipeline

TERRACE, B.C. - The company planning to build a 900 kilometre natural gas pipeline across northern B.C. has signed a benefit agreement with the Kitselas (KIT'-sell-us) First Nation.TransCanada (TSX:TRP) announced the deal, when signed, will provide financial and other benefits related to the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project.Project president Dean Patry says the agreement is an important milestone and reflects his firm's commitment to engage with First Nations.Kitselas Chief Joe Bevan says [Read more]