BOE Report

Alberta premier nixes corporate tax hikes to fill budget hole left by low oil

EDMONTON - Premier Jim Prentice says he won't hike corporate taxes to help rescue Alberta's economy from the deep hole created by plunging oil prices."When it comes to corporate tax, other Canadian provinces have caught up to the Alberta Advantage, and I think it would be unwise at this point to increase our corporate income tax," Prentice told reporters Tuesday in a conference call from Washington, D.C."It will simply result in less investment, fewer jobs, and it will contribute to a decline in [Read more]

Oil rises another 3 per cent as BP cuts spending, adding to signs of production cuts

NEW YORK - Oil soared again Tuesday as the low prices of the past few months force oil companies to slow down production in the U.S. and elsewhere.In the morning, BP became the latest major oil company to announce it will cut exploration spending this year. Oil seemed to get a further boost in the afternoon from a run-up in the U.S. stock market.U.S. oil rose $3.48, or 7 per cent, to $53.05 a barrel, its highest closing price this year. Brent crude, a benchmark for many international oils [Read more]

In Fort McMurray, contractors bearing the brunt of oilsands cutbacks

FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. - Roman Skowroniski would go back home to British Columbia if he thought the job prospects there were any brighter.But, for the time being, the heavy equipment operator will keep trying to make a go of it in Fort Mac."Right now the economy's very, very slow," he said. "The situation has started to get from bad to worse."Most of the time, Skowroniski is able to land short-term jobs through his union, but he's had little success lately."Our job board — it's equal to zero right [Read more]

Wall says Saskatchewan faces up to an $800 million shortfall due to oil prices

SASKATOON - Premier Brad Wall is warning the world oil price slump means the Saskatchewan government will face a budget shortfall of between $600 to $800 million this year.Wall told Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association delegates Monday that the shortfall amounts to about seven per cent of the province's revenue.He says that means spending cuts are likely, because he says his government wants to keep taxes low and not run a deficit.In its last budget update in November the province was [Read more]

Alberta premier says rally in oil prices won’t save province’s budget

WASHINGOTN, D.C. - Alberta's premier says a recent rally in the price of oil won't help the provincial government much as it tries to plug a multibillion dollar hole in its budget.Jim Prentice says US$50 a barrel oil is better than $40 a barrel, but the province still needs to find more stable sources of revenue to deal with what will be a sizable deficit. Prentice says prices will fluctuate, but analysts expect them to stay low for up to two years.Oil closed just below US$50 a barrel today [Read more]

Prentice in Washington: An Obama veto won’t be the end for Keystone XL

WASHINGTON - Alberta's premier expressed optimism during a trip to the United States that a presidential veto won't spell the end of the Keystone XL pipeline project.Jim Prentice made that observation amid a series of meetings Monday in the U.S. capital, where the debate over the controversial Alberta-to-Texas pipeline is entering a critical phase.He said everything he's heard suggests President Barack Obama is about to veto a Keystone bill that just made it through Congress — but that the issue [Read more]

A pause, but not panic, in Fort McMurray as oil prices languish below US$50

FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. - The city at the heart of Canada's oilsands is no ghost town, but things have slowed down a bit in Fort McMurray, Alta.And that's not necessarily a bad thing, according to the president of the local chamber of commerce."Do you know what? To me — for us — this is nice," Nick Sanders said in an interview at a downtown cafe that had a smattering of customers in the middle of a weekday morning."We have a chance to sit back and say 'Ok, let's figure out what we need to get ready [Read more]

Kinder Morgan stops pursuing B.C. court action against anti-pipeline protesters

BURNABY, B.C. - Kinder Morgan says it will not continue court action against protesters who demonstrated against the proposed expansion of a pipeline while survey crews drilled on Burnaby Mountain.The company has filed a discontinuance of its B.C. Supreme Court civil lawsuit against five people who protested at the site last November and December.It says it approached all the defendants last month and offered to stop its proceedings and that two of the defendants agreed but discontinuing the [Read more]

N.W.T. opens land for first oil exploration auction since devolution

OTTAWA - The Northwest Territories is holding its first auction for energy exploration licences since that responsibility was delegated to Yellowknife from Ottawa.The territory is putting rights to more than 160,000 hectares in the central Mackenzie Valley on the block.The devolution agreement with the federal government took effect last April."It's a positive step forward for us, and a bit of a maturation for us as we move into our new responsibilities as a government," Dave Ramsay, industry, [Read more]

N.W.T. premier launches study to lay groundwork for oil pipeline to Arctic Ocean

OTTAWA - The premier of the Northwest Territories says it's time to start laying the groundwork for a potential oil pipeline to the Arctic Ocean, notwithstanding currently depressed global energy prices.Bob McLeod announced to an Ottawa reception Thursday evening that he's launching a year-long feasibility study that will examine an energy, communications and transportation corridor up the Mackenzie Valley."We know we need to find a way to get our resources to market and it is time for us to [Read more]