VANCOUVER - In January of this year, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers made a presentation to high-ranking officials in British Columbia's Environment Ministry, outlining changes they wanted to environmental review rules for natural gas projects.Those changes became law on April 14, but they didn't stay that way for long.An outcry from First Nations organizations forced an about-face from Environment Minister Mary Polak, who rescinded the revisions two days after they were passed [Read more]

WASHINGTON - The United States hit Russia Friday with a new round of economic sanctions, levying penalties on Russia's largest bank and expanding financing restrictions on major energy and defence companies.The sanctions were imposed in co-ordination with the European Union, which unveiled its own package of penalties hours earlier. Officials said the parallel penalties are aimed at punishing Russia for deepening its provocations in Ukraine, including sending forces and weaponry across the [Read more]

WARSAW, Poland - Russian natural gas deliveries to Poland have dropped by almost a quarter this week, the country's gas monopoly said Wednesday, forcing it to stop supplying gas on to Ukraine.The reason for the drop was unclear, with Russian energy company Gazprom denying any fall in exports. Some commentators believe it to be retaliation by Moscow against Poland for its decision to help Ukraine with gas.Neighbouring Germany's energy company E.On also said it registered small reductions in [Read more]

NEW YORK - Exporting more U.S. oil around the world would lower the price of gasoline for U.S. drivers and benefit the nation's economy, according to a new study.While the conclusion may be counter-intuitive, the reasoning is straightforward: It would encourage more U.S. oil production and put that crude on the global market. That would lower the global price of oil, which is linked closely to the price of gasoline in the U.S.Previous studies have reached similar conclusions. The latest study, [Read more]

TORONTO - Nova Scotia could be missing out on an economic opportunity by banning high-volume hydraulic fracturing, federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver warned Thursday after the province decided to indefinitely prohibit fracking for onshore shale gas.Oliver argued that fracking has been going on in several provinces for decades without any contamination of drinking water.However, he didn't point out that the Nova Scotia ban specifically applies to high-volume fracking, which requires far more [Read more]