BOE Report

LNG pipeline deals with B.C. nets First Nation millions of dollars

VICTORIA - Millions of dollars are expected to flow to a First Nation in British Columbia's northwest as a result of two new deals tied to proposed liquefied-natural-gas pipelines.The Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation says it has signed benefits deals with the Moricetown Band.One deal is tied to TransCanada's proposed Coastal GasLink pipeline and will give the First Nation located between Smithers and New Hazelton $6 million as project milestones are reached.Moricetown is also [Read more]

Oil prices take small jump on death of Saudi king, but no change in policy expected

NEW YORK - Oil prices rose initially on news of the death of Saudi Arabia's powerful King Abdullah, but the increase was moderate and short-lived.The king's death is unlikely to lead to a change in the kingdom's immense crude production or change the course of oil prices in the coming months, analysts say.The benchmark U.S. crude futures contract rose more than $2 a barrel in the hours after the king's death was announced Thursday evening in New York. But by the time commodity markets opened [Read more]

King of Saudi Arabia dead at 90

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, the powerful U.S. ally who joined Washington's fight against al-Qaida and sought to modernize the ultraconservative Muslim kingdom with incremental but significant reforms, including nudging open greater opportunities for women, has died, according to Saudi state TV. He was 90. More than his guarded and hidebound predecessors, Abdullah assertively threw his oil-rich nation's weight behind trying to shape the Middle East. His priority [Read more]

Prentice gloomy about quick oil recovery, suggests raising taxes

CALGARY - Alberta Premier Jim Prentice says there's no chance that the province can "ride things out" while waiting for a rebound in oil prices.Prentice says a full discussion must be held with Albertans to find a way to deal with a decline of $7 billion in resource revenues triggered by a fall in world oil prices to below US$50 a barrel."I know there is a thought out there that we should just ride this out and prices will rebound and we'll be back into happier times," Prentice said [Read more]

Prentice says austerity will start at top in bid to balance budget amid low oil

EDMONTON - Premier Jim Prentice says with low oil prices knocking the legs out from under the Alberta economy, austerity will start at the top."We can't expect people in the public sector to tighten their belts unless they see the premier, his office, and the people that work with him in government tightening their belts," Prentice told reporters Wednesday during an announcement at the Edmonton International Airport.He declined to be more specific and wouldn't say if the austerity will include [Read more]

CAPP predicts oil investment will drop by a third as prices languish

FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. - The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers is expecting oilpatch investment to drop by a third — or $23 billion — this year compared with 2014, while output is seen growing at a slower clip than previously predicted.The oil and gas industry group normally releases its annual production outlook every June, but decided to provide a mid-year update on Wednesday given the "meaningful changes" that have occurred in crude oil markets, CAPP president Tim McMillan said in an [Read more]

A winking president teases Republicans, and the Keystone XL pipeline

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama delivered a dig at the Keystone XL pipeline and drew a politically revealing standing ovation from Democrats during his state of the union address Tuesday.It illustrated the political headwinds now confronting the Canadian oil-infrastructure project: The president voiced his increasingly blunt disdain, and a vocal cheering section from his party roared in approval.Obama took his latest shot from the biggest political stage of the year, the annual [Read more]

Oil services giant Baker Hughes to lay off 7,000 workers

HOUSTON - Oil services company Baker Hughes Inc. will lay off about 7,000 workers as it prepares for a downturn in orders because of the plunge in crude prices, the company said Tuesday.The layoffs represent about an 11 per cent cut to the 62,000-plus workers Baker Hughes says it employs worldwide.The announcement came in a conference call after the Houston-based company exceeded analysts' estimates with a record $663 million in net income in the fourth quarter of 2014, more than double its [Read more]

B.C. premier wants more details on spill-response plans for proposed pipeline

VANCOUVER - Oil pipeline builder Kinder Morgan says it is more than willing to share its entire spill-response plan directly with the British Columbia government as it seeks approval for a proposed $5.4-billion pipeline-expansion project.While the energy giant raised concerns over disclosing personal, security or commercially sensitive information, Premier Christy Clark demanded on Tuesday that more details of the safety plan be made public through the National Energy Board."There's always going [Read more]

With Nebraska route cleared, TransCanada takes steps to acquire land for Keystone XL pipeline

LINCOLN, Neb. - TransCanada (TSX:TRP) is moving to acquire the remaining land in Nebraska needed to build its controversial Keystone XL pipeline after the state's high court earlier this month removed a major legal barrier for the planned route.Officials of the Calgary-based company said Tuesday they've filed paperwork in nine counties to acquire access to the remaining land needed to construct, operate and maintain the controversial $8-billion pipeline, which is in its seventh year of [Read more]