BOE Report

Enbridge looks to transfer Cdn liquids pipeline biz to Enbridge Income Fund

CALGARY - Enbridge Income Fund (TSX:ENF) says it has received a formal proposal that would see the transfer to the fund of the Canadian liquids pipelines business of Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB) along with some renewable energy assets.The liquids business is owned by Enbridge Pipelines Inc. and Enbridge Pipelines (Athabasca) Inc."If completed, the transaction would be transformational for the fund, significantly increasing its business scale and scope as well as providing a highly transparent source [Read more]

Credit counselling in high demand in Alberta as oilpatch downturn hits home

CALGARY - The Racette family is on a cash-only diet for the next four years.Dale Racette, a truck driver, and his wife, a school bus driver, are trying to dig themselves out of a $45,000 hole.It wasn't any one thing. The day-to-day costs of raising two children just piled up over 14 years, Dale Racette said from Red Deer, Alta.Two months ago, the Racettes sought the help of a credit counsellor to work out a debt repayment plan. The first step was to shred their six credit cards.Racette says he's [Read more]

ATB Financial says province’s economy slowing significantly, job losses likely

CALGARY - The chief economist of Alberta’s Crown-owned financial institution says the province's economy is slowing significantly due to slumping oil prices.Todd Hirsch of ATB Financial says that will likely mean job losses and curtailed investment in the energy sector.He says housing starts remain stable, but the residential real estate market is soft, which suggests construction activity will cool.Hirsch says people are still moving to Alberta, but in lower numbers.He says the biggest change [Read more]

Oil jumps almost 5 per cent; Saudi Air strikes in Yemen lead to fears of supply disruptions

The price of oil rose sharply on Thursday as mounting tensions in Yemen got traders worried that the flow of crude from the Persian Gulf region could be disrupted.Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states launched strikes on key military installations in Yemen. They aim to oust Shiite rebels who forced the country's embattled president to flee.U.S. crude rose $2.22, or 4.5 per cent, to close at $51.43 a barrel in New York. U.S. crude oil has jumped 17 per cent since hitting a low of $43.96 a barrel a [Read more]

Shell announces 250 job cuts in North Sea operations amid falling oil prices

LONDON - Shell U.K. says it will cut at least 250 staff and contractors in the North Sea, amid sharp drops in the price of oil.The oil company said Thursday the cuts are part of a range of initiatives it has been pursuing to manage costs and improve competitive performance.The price of Brent crude, an international variety of oil, dropped about 50 per cent last year and the industry is scrambling to figure out how to address the price shock.Paul Goodfellow, Shell's upstream vice President for [Read more]

Low oil prices spur North Dakota drill rig count to drop below 100 for first time in 5 years

BISMARCK, N.D. - The number of drill rigs in western North Dakota's oil patch has slipped below 100 for the first time in five years due to the sagging price of crude.There were 98 rigs drilling in North Dakota on Wednesday. That's 100 fewer than on the same day one year ago. It's the lowest since March 2010.North Dakota is the nation's No. 2 oil producer behind Texas. North Dakota has been producing about 1.2 million barrels of oil daily.Industry officials say about 115 rigs need to be drilling [Read more]

Ontario rejects NDP call for ban on hydraulic fracking to extract natural gas

TORONTO - An NDP private member's bill to ban high volume hydraulic fracking to produce natural gas from shale in Ontario was quickly shot down by the Liberal government Wednesday.NDP environment critic Peter Tabuns introduced a private member's bill to have Ontario follow the lead of Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and New York and ban fracking.Tabuns said fracking poses substantial risks to ground water, which is combined with toxic chemicals under extreme pressure to fracture shale [Read more]

Oil conference presenters say oilsands environmental record improving

EDMONTON - It's a seemingly small thing, the matter of a dozen or so degrees difference in the water temperature during one part of the lengthy and complex process of squeezing oil from Alberta bitumen.But it's saving energy and shaving a significant amount of greenhouse gases from the production of every barrel."Behind the scenes, the development of these technologies is always happening," said Vicki Lightbrown of Alberta Innovates, one of several partners in the project now being [Read more]

‘Go big’: Inside the $24 million, two-year federal plan to market Canadian oil

WASHINGTON D.C., United States - The multimillion-dollar campaign to market Canadian oil in the U.S. was hard to miss.The Maple Leaf was plastered on the walls of subway stops in Washington, D.C., and it popped up in all sorts of American publications with messages like, "America's Best Energy Partner," and "Friends and Neighbors."Documents obtained by The Canadian Press offer a peek at the behind-the-scenes strategic considerations in 2013, as the federal government conducted a $1.6-million [Read more]

US oil and natural gas rig count drops by 56 to 1,069, Texas down 36, with oil price slump

HOUSTON - Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. tumbled by 56 this week to 1,069 amid slumping oil prices.Houston-based Baker Hughes said Friday 825 rigs were seeking oil and 242 exploring for natural gas. Two were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, 1,803 rigs were active.Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas lost 36 rigs and Louisiana 18. New Mexico declined by five, North Dakota and Ohio each dropped three [Read more]