BOE Report

Prentice pans talk of Alberta recession; calls the suggestion an ‘outlier’

CALGARY - Premier Jim Prentice is scoffing at a suggestion by the Conference Board of Canada that Alberta is likely to face a recession as crude prices continue to plunge."I don't agree with it," he said Tuesday of the Ottawa-based economic think-tank's assessment."I didn't find their analysis to be particularly cogent, to be frank, and the opinion that they put forward is an outlier amongst all of the other opinions that have been put forward by every one of Canada's chartered banks and by [Read more]

Conference Board of Canada says Alberta to likely face recession this year

The Conference Board of Canada says Alberta will likely face a recession this year due to the plunging price of oil. The economic think tank says Alberta’s latest employment and new housing start numbers are holding steady, but if oil prices stay low the province will slip into recession. Chief economist Glen Hodgson says even if oil prices rebound to $65 dollars per barrel he forecasts that investment, profits and consumer spending will be down. Calgary-based Canadian Natural Resources [Read more]

Keystone clears hurdle in U.S. Senate

WASHINGTON - The Keystone XL pipeline passed a major procedural hurdle in the United States Senate, receiving enough votes Monday to override a filibuster for the first time in the years-long dispute.The chamber agreed to move forward with debate on a bill that would force President Barack Obama to approve the controversial Canadian oil infrastructure.The vote reflects the power of the new Republican majority following the midterm elections, and is the first piece of legislation advanced in the [Read more]

Exxon says Prince Rupert LNG plant worth $25-billion and could create 6,000 jobs

VICTORIA - Texas-based energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp., has submitted plans to develop what could be a $25-billion liquefied natural gas project near Prince Rupert on British Columbia's north coast.Exxon and its Canadian partner, Imperial Oil Ltd. (TSE:IMO), outlined a strategy for West Coast Canada LNG, or WCC LNG, in a 141-page report to the provincial government's Environmental Assessment Office.Exxon said in the report that it considered eight potential export facility sites in the Kitimat [Read more]

Revised drilling forecast for oil industry expected after stakeholder meetings

RED DEER, Alta. - An oilwell drilling spokesman expects a revised 2015 forecast in a few weeks in light of tumbling oil prices.Derek Fildebrandt of the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors says the group wants to finish meeting with industry stakeholders first.Fildebrandt says the association is watching the situation very closely.But he adds it's no time to panic.Fildebrandt says the industry has been through oil price swings before, so the situation isn't new to drillers.He [Read more]

Cheap oil dims spirit of energy sector, but businesses optimistic overall: BoC

OTTAWA - The Bank of Canada says while plummeting oil prices have darkened the confidence of firms linked to the energy sector, Canadian businesses overall see brighter days ahead.The central bank's latest business outlook survey, released Monday, found companies in energy-rich Western Canada planned to reduce their investments in equipment and hiring following the oil-price collapse.On the other hand, Eastern and Central Canadian companies said they were planning to invest more, particularly in [Read more]

TSX set for more volatility as traders assess damage from oil price collapse

TORONTO - The Toronto stock market is likely in for another rocky week as traders try to assess where oil prices will end up and how the collapse in prices to 5 1/2 year lows is impacting other corporate sectors. It's a light week for economic data but investors will start to turn their focus to corporate earnings as the fourth-quarter reporting season gets moving in the United States. The Toronto market had a dreadful start to the 2015 trading year, with the TSX losing 369 points or 2.5 [Read more]

Venezuela, Saudi leaders meet and talk oil prices in Riyadh

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro met Sunday with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Salman, a day after talks with Iran's supreme leader focused on the slump in global oil prices. The official Saudi Press Agency reported that the leaders discussed areas of cooperation between the two OPEC-member countries and ways to promote bilateral ties. The brief statement did not elaborate, though it said Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi and Venezuelan Oil Minister Asdrubal Chavez [Read more]

Will low oil prices force Ottawa to open contingency reserve to balance books?

OTTAWA - Experts weighing the threat of low oil prices to the federal government's bottom line are asking themselves a follow-up question: what's to become of Ottawa's contingency reserve?Many budget watchers believe the cheaper crude will challenge the Conservative government to keep its long-held promise to pull Canada out of the red in 2015-16.And the longer oil stays low, the more likely the federal government will have to dip into the country's $3-billion rainy day fund, which was set aside [Read more]

Shell Canada to cut less than 10 per cent of Alberta Albian oilsands workforce

EDMONTON - Shell Canada Ltd. says it is reducing its workforce at its Albian Sands oilsands operations near Fort McMurray, Alta.A company spokesman says the cuts will affect less than 10 per cent of its 3,000-plus workforce at the Muskeg River and Jackpine oilsands mines.Cameron Yost says the actual number of reductions hasn't been determined and most of the people who will be affected will be salaried employees.He says the cuts are to ensure that Shell's oilsands business remains competitive [Read more]