BOE Report

US rig count drops by 43 in latest week to 1,267

HOUSTON - Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. fell by 43 this week to 1,267 amid depressed oil prices.The Houston-based company said Friday in its weekly report that 86 rigs were exploring for oil and 280 for gas. One was listed as miscellaneous. A year ago 1,769 rigs were active.Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, North Dakota's count fell by 11, Oklahoma lost nine, Louisiana seven, Texas six, New Mexico four, [Read more]

Halliburton closing its Regina office, part of layoffs due to falling oil prices

REGINA - Energy industry giant Halliburton's presence in Regina may well be a short one.A spokeswoman says the company will close its office in the city at the end of March.The branch had been opened in 2013 with a reported 120 employees to serve the southeast Saskatchewan oil and gas sector.In a statement, Susie McMichael of Halliburton says the suspension of operations will continue "until Canadian commodity prices recover."McMichael says all areas of Halliburton's operations will be [Read more]

Keystone XL ‘roller-coaster’ ride likely lies ahead, ambassador Doer says

WASHINGTON - Canada's ambassador to the U.S. predicts a wild ride ahead in the Keystone XL debate, with this week's presidential veto of a pro-pipeline bill just one more twist in the journey."We expect a roller-coaster here and we expect setbacks," Gary Doer said in an interview. He said lawmakers will probably move on to other issues for a while, then return to Keystone. Congress is in a dispute over immigration rules — which has gotten so bitter that it's prompted a standoff that could [Read more]

Alberta premier says Keystone XL battle goes on despite veto by President Obama

EDMONTON - Alberta Premier Jim Prentice says the struggle over Keystone XL is not over, even with the veto of a bill approving the transcontinental pipeline.Prentice says the pipeline is ultimately in the best interests of both Canada and the United States, and says he believes that view will ultimately prevail.He says North America is an integrated energy market and that without a pipeline, Canadian oil will continue to enter the U.S. by rail.Prentice made the comments after U.S. President [Read more]

Timeline: Key dates in the history of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday vetoed a bill that would have approved construction of the privately funded Canadian Keystone XL oil pipeline. The $8 billion project from Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. (TSX:TRP) would connect Canada's oilsands to Gulf Coast refineries. Republicans in the U.S. indicated Tuesday they would continue to fight for the project, which was first proposed in 2008, and the Canadian government expressed confidence that approval would come eventually. Here are some [Read more]

Obama Vetoes Keystone

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama made good Tuesday on a threat to veto a bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, bringing the two sides in the long-running controversy to a rare point of agreement: their battle is far from over.''The president's veto of the Keystone jobs bill is a national embarrassment,'' said the top Republican in the House of Representatives, John Boehner.''We are not going to give up in our efforts to get this pipeline built — not even close.''The issue is about to [Read more]

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]