BOE Report

Newfoundland and Labrador to announce regime for offshore oil development

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Premier Paul Davis made waves Tuesday with talk of a term sheet "in coming weeks" for the next big oil project off Newfoundland and a new royalty regime to speed offshore development."'We can't say there will be a term sheet until there is one but we're very confident in the process," Davis said of negotiations with Statoil ASA of Norway to develop its Bay du Nord prospect.Hopes for the province's economically vital offshore sector are pinned on exploration and oil production [Read more]

2,600 more oilpatch job losses coming: industry association report

CALGARY - An industry group says low commodity prices and regulatory uncertainty will mean even greater job losses in the oilpatch this year than it previously predicted.The Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors has revised its January jobs forecast and now predicts nine per cent more job losses — equivalent to about 2,600 positions — because of an expected 13 per cent further drop in operating days.The association is now forecasting there will be 25,110 fewer jobs this year than [Read more]

Petronas LNG go-ahead seen as an good sign for other West Coast projects: expert

CALGARY - A tentative green light for a multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas project in British Columbia sets the stage for other players to follow suit, say energy industry experts.Pacific NorthWest LNG "breaks some ground" for its peers by being the first B.C. LNG player to officially decide to go ahead, said ARC Financial vice-president Jackie Forrest."I view this as a good thing for the industry as a whole," she said."The first project is often the most difficult one. Just establishing [Read more]

Coast Guard removes activists attached to Shell ship in Washington to protest Arctic drilling

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Two activists spent about six hours Friday suspended from the anchor chain of a Royal Dutch Shell support ship docked north of Seattle to protest the petroleum giant's plans to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean.The protesters sitting in cloth slings attached themselves around 3:30 a.m. to the anchor chain of the American Trader at the Bellingham harbour. A spokeswoman for the group said they were comfortable, in good spirits and excited to be there.The Coast Guard reported [Read more]

As oilpatch downturn continues, job seekers wrestle with career change

CALGARY - Eight months into his search for a new job in the oil and gas industry, Rashad Bayramov says he's open to switching industries.But it's not so simple."There are some perceptions from employers," said Bayramov, who previously worked in cost control. "They prefer people with experience in the specific field. It's not easy to change, even if you wish so."Bayramov was one of close to 2,000 people who showed up at the Global Energy Career Expo in Calgary that ran this week. But with only [Read more]

Indonesia to rejoin OPEC after 7-year hiatus in move to forge closer ties with oil exporters

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesia's energy ministry said Friday the country will rejoin the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries this year to forge a closer relationship with oil suppliers.I Gusti Nyoman Wiratmadja Pudja, director-general of oil and gas at the ministry, said Indonesia will reactivate its membership in November after all OPEC members approved its application to rejoin the oil cartel at a meeting in Vienna last week.The Southeast Asian country left the group in 2008 after [Read more]

Malaysia-led group gives conditional approval for B.C. LNG project

VANCOUVER - A Malaysia-led consortium has become the first in British Columbia to announce conditional approval of a liquefied natural gas project, a major step forward for the Liberal government as it stakes its future on development of the industry.Pacific NorthWest LNG, which is controlled by Malaysian energy giant Petronas, said Thursday it will confirm a final investment decision on the $36-billion project in northwest B.C. subject to two conditions.The first condition is approval of the [Read more]

Alberta’s energy minister defends key staffer who worked for anti-pipeline group

EDMONTON - Alberta's energy minister is defending her new chief of staff despite his recent work for an anti-pipeline lobby group.Marg McCuaig-Boyd said Graham Mitchell worked briefly earlier this year for Vancouver-based LeadNow but strictly in an administrative capacity.She said Mitchell, while listed as executive director and registered lobbyist for LeadNow, did not do any lobbying and is in lockstep with the Alberta NDP's policy to grow and improve market access for oil."He was just doing [Read more]

Big Oil’s push for a carbon tax a pragmatic move, not just PR, experts say

CALGARY - It may seem odd to hear Big Oil tout a policy that would make it costlier to do business.But experts say recent calls for a carbon tax have pragmatic — not just public relations — motivations.Michal Moore, an energy economist at the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy, said savvy companies see a higher price of carbon as "inevitable" and want to influence how those policies take shape.That's why the likes of Suncor Energy (TSX:SU) boss Steve Williams have been publicly [Read more]

Risks to Canada’s financial stability inched higher amid oil slump: central bank

OTTAWA - The Bank of Canada governor tried to offer calming words Thursday about the disappointing retreat of the country's economy over the first three months of 2015, saying the performance was only a little worse than its projection.But it remains to be seen how that unexpected contraction might influence Stephen Poloz's forecasts for the rest of the year.Poloz made his first public remarks since a recent data release showed Canada's economy shrank in the first quarter at an annualized rate [Read more]