BOE Report

B.C. gives five northern First Nations cash to study LNG-related employment

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. - The B.C. government is giving money to a group of five First Nations to study liquefied natural gas-related job opportunities.The province says the Treaty 8 Tribal Association will get nearly $134,000 for a labour market study that will culminate in a report to be released next year.The project is expected to take 43 weeks and involve a consultant working with the First Nations to look at what skills are needed for future jobs in economic development including LNG.Peace [Read more]

Canadian oil sands exporters narrowly survive vote in European Parliament

OTTAWA - Canadian oilsands exporters narrowly survived a vote in the European Parliament on Wednesday that could have once again penalized Alberta bitumen as dirty oil.A proposed fuel quality directive for European Union refineries has been the subject of a well-funded Canadian lobbying campaign for more than two years.Canadian negotiators thought the matter was settled this fall when the European Commission backed off and decided all European feedstock crude would be assigned common carbon [Read more]

Obama signs order withdrawing Alaska’s Bristol Bay from offshore oil and natural gas drilling

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - President Barack Obama announced Tuesday that he's removing more than 52,000 square miles of waters off Alaska's coast from consideration for oil and gas exploration or drilling.The president said in a video announcement that Bristol Bay and nearby waters, covering an area roughly the size of Florida, would be withdrawn from consideration for petroleum leases. He called Bristol Bay one of the country's great natural resources and a massive economic engine."It's something [Read more]

Priority No. 1 for incoming U.S. Congress: Keystone XL pipeline, Republicans say

WASHINGTON - A showdown over the Keystone XL pipeline is set for early in the new year, with the Canadian oil project having been anointed as the No. 1 priority of the new Republican-dominated Congress.A Keystone XL bill will be the first item in the Senate after the new Congress convenes on Jan. 6, the next leader of the chamber, Republican Mitch McConnell, announced Tuesday.McConnell also said he'll allow amendments to the bill. That means it could become a venue for horse-trading, as [Read more]

Quebec premier says not interested in exploiting shale gas deposits

MONTREAL - Premier Philippe Couillard has ruled out exploiting Quebec's shale gas reserves — at least for now.Quebecers are largely against hydraulic fracturing and exploiting the natural resource in today's market is not economically viable, he said Tuesday.Couillard made the comments shortly after Quebec's environmental review board concluded the ecological and social risks associated with hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," outweigh the financial benefits.Fracking is a process whereby a [Read more]

Hibernia estimated to have more than 1.6 billion barrels of oil, regulator says

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - The federal-provincial regulator for Newfoundland and Labrador's offshore oil industry says there is more oil in the Hibernia offshore site than previously estimated.The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board says Hibernia is now estimated to have 1.644 billion barrels of oil.That's up from its previous 2010 estimate of 1.395 billion barrels of oil.Hibernia, which began producing oil in November 1997, is Newfoundland's oldest offshore site.It is located [Read more]

Spanish company Repsol to purchase Talisman Energy

CALGARY - The CEO of Talisman Energy Inc. (TSX:TLM) says a multibillion-dollar takeover by Spanish energy giant Repsol is the best case scenario for shareholders in a gloomy oil price environment. The total purchase price is US$13 billion — US$8.3 billion for Talisman stock plus the assumption of its debt. The Repsol deal is a "terrific outcome" for a company facing a litany of challenges as crude prices plummet, from its large debt load to its sizable spending commitments in the U.K. [Read more]

Alberta imposes cost saving measures in face of falling energy revenues

EDMONTON - Alberta is imposing some cost-saving measures to help deal with sharply falling resource revenues.Premier Jim Prentice announced Monday that government hiring will be restricted to critical or frontline positions.There will also be spending restrictions for goods and services and on discretionary items such as travel and training."We do not know how long this price trough is going to continue, but it may go far longer than has been expected," Prentice said Monday as the price of a [Read more]

Not dead yet: Fight continues over EU effort to label oilsands as dirty oil

OTTAWA - Like a movie monster from the black bog, a European Union directive that would stigmatize "dirty" imports of Canadian bitumen refuses to die.A vote Tuesday in the European Parliament could reject a compromise draft bill and revive tough fuel quality directive labelling that would target unconventional crude, specifically Alberta's oilsands.The vote of the full plenary was prompted earlier this month when the European Parliament's environment committee flatly rejected a deal worked out [Read more]

Shale gas not worth the risk, Quebec environmental agency says

MONTREAL - Quebec's environmental review board has concluded that exploiting the province's shale gas deposits is not worth the risk.The agency's highly anticipated report — released Monday — stated there are too many potential negative consequences to the environment and to society from extracting natural gas from shale rock along the St. Lawrence River.The report estimated that Quebec could receive between $71 million and $475 million a year, over 25 years, in royalties from shale gas [Read more]