BOE Report

As White House confirms plan to veto Keystone XL, five facts about its status

WASHINGTON - An attempt to force U.S. President Barack Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline is being rebuffed, with the White House confirming that the president will veto a pro-Keystone bill, the first legislation of its kind passed by Congress.It may be a milestone in a long debate — but it's not the end of the years-long saga, which involves plans to build a new oil pipeline from Alberta and connect it to an already-functioning portion in the southern U.S. Here are five facts about the [Read more]

Obama intends to quietly kill off Keystone XL bill, White House confirms

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is about to make good on his oft-stated threat to veto legislation to build the Keystone XL pipeline, a spokesman announced Monday."I would anticipate that, as we've been saying for years, the president would veto that legislation," Obama spokesman Josh Earnest told a press briefing."And he will."The Republican-controlled Congress passed the legislation earlier this month, and plans to send it to the president Tuesday. The president then has 10 days to send it [Read more]

US rig count drops by 48 in latest week to 1,310; Texas down 22

HOUSTON - Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. fell by 48 this week to 1,310 amid depressed oil prices.The Houston firm said Friday in its weekly report 1,019 rigs were exploring for oil and 289 for gas. Two were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago 1,771 rigs were active.Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas' count fell by 22, Oklahoma lost 16, North Dakota and Wyoming each lost four, Alaska lost three, [Read more]

Enbridge exploring low-cost expansions to get around pipeline delays

Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB) says it's exploring a number of low-cost expansions to its pipeline infrastructure to keep crude oil moving while various larger-scale pipeline proposals remain mired in legal and regulatory delays."All of these involve relatively small, low cost, bolt-on projects that can be staged in increments as required to meet shipper needs," Guy Jarvis, the company's president of liquids pipelines, said during a conference call Friday."For that reason, we think that they will be [Read more]

Ivanhoe Energy seeks court protection from creditors, stock trading suspended

VANCOUVER - Ivanhoe Energy Inc. (TSX:IE) stock has been suspended as the company works to renegotiate its debt obligations and sell assets under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.The company, which has been focused on developing and using a proprietary upgrading process for heavy oil, said Friday that it's seeking a 30-day court order to protect it from creditors. Ernst & Young has been appointed trustee.The TSX said shortly after the announcement that Ivanhoe Energy's stock listing is under [Read more]

Harper announces tax breaks for LNG industry in B.C. to spur job growth

SURREY, B.C. - Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced tax breaks Thursday for British Columbia's liquefied natural gas industry, though not a single project has yet reached a final investment decision.Harper, who made the announcement at a technical university in Surrey, B.C., said companies will receive a capital cost allowance of 30 per cent for equipment used in natural gas liquefaction and 10 per cent for buildings at a facility that liquefies natural gas.Tax relief will be available for [Read more]

Alberta NDP launch online petition to fight corporate tax freeze amid low oil

EDMONTON - The Alberta NDP is launching an online petition to urge Premier Jim Prentice to reverse his decision to not hike corporate taxes.NDP Leader Rachel Notley says it's unfair for Prentice to freeze corporate taxes and oil royalties while signalling there will be hikes in personal income taxes and user fees.Prentice has said hiking Alberta's 10 per cent corporate tax would harm the economy at a time it is already reeling from billions of dollars in lost revenue due to low oil.Notley says [Read more]

TransCanada to seek US approval for $600M Upland Pipeline, going north from North Dakota

BISMARCK, N.D. - The Canadian company behind the long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline will seek U.S. government approval for another pipeline — this one going north.Industry officials in North Dakota say the proposed Upland Pipeline could reduce reliance on the railroads to ship crude following recent concerns about safety.TransCanada Corp.'s proposed $600 million Upland Pipeline would begin near the northwestern North Dakota oil hub of Williston and go north into Canada about 200 miles. At [Read more]

Berkshire Hathaway unloads Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips stakes as oil prices fall, adds Deere

OMAHA, Neb. - Billionaire Warren Buffett's company unloaded its 41 million shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. and sold a smaller stake in ConocoPhillips as oil prices fell last fall.Berkshire Hathaway Inc. filed an update on the stocks it held at the end of 2014 with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday.Berkshire recorded a number of moves during the last three months of last year, including buying 15.6 million shares of Deere & Co. stock and adding nearly 6.5 million shares to its already [Read more]

Keystone bill signed by U.S. House Speaker, who urges Obama to add his name

WASHINGTON - The Republican leadership in the United States Congress has made it official, formally enrolling legislation to build the privately funded Canadian Keystone XL pipeline and urging President Barack Obama to sign it.In a ceremony on Friday, the Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Speaker John Boehner, put his signature on the bill and called on Obama to "do the right thing" and add his name.While the next stop for the measure is the White House — where Obama has [Read more]