EDMONTON - Alberta's official Opposition says a $1-billion loan guarantee from the government to a refinery project shows poor business judgment. Wildrose party critic Jason Hale says the money is at risk because the project has already hit cost overruns and delays at a time when other refinery developments are being mothballed. On Friday, Premier Alison Redford's cabinet agreed to put up $1 billion in provincially backed loans or other guarantees for the $8.5-billion North West Redwater [Read more]

Oil prices fell Monday after a big jump in the previous trading session that was sparked by expectations the Fed might delay stimulus reduction.Benchmark U.S. oil for February delivery was down 36 cents to US$92.36 a barrel at 3: 25 a.m. ET in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract surged $1.06 to settle at $92.72 a barrel on Friday.The U.S. added just 74,000 thousand jobs in December, way below market expectations of 196,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell from [Read more]

CALGARY - A Calgary-based seismic company claims its business is being undercut by regulatory agencies that have been publicly disclosing data it says it spent hundreds of millions of dollars to collect in Canada's offshore. Geophysical Service Inc. makes — or rather made — its money by mapping the earth's layers beneath the ocean floor using sonogram-like technology, amassing a trove of valuable information that it would sell to oil and gas companies hunting for their next big find. In a [Read more]

The price of oil jumped more than $1 a barrel Friday as the U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected, fuelling speculation that the Federal Reserve will reconsider its plans to slow economic stimulus. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery gained $1.06 to US$92.72 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The world's largest economy added just 74,000 thousand jobs in December, the Labor Department said, while analysts had forecast the addition of 196,000 jobs. The [Read more]