EDMONTON - A group has delivered to the Alberta legislature petitions with more than 11,00 signatures from residents who are opposed to oil and gas exploration in their city.Sheila Rogers with "No Drilling Lethbridge" gave the petitions to the city's MLA, Greg Weadick, on Monday.Rogers said the group had a massive response to its petition, which calls on the province to prohibit oil and gas drilling within the city.GoldenKey Oil has secured mineral rights from Alberta Energy in an undeveloped [Read more]

VANCOUVER - Environmental advocates say the B.C. government has been illegally granting natural gas companies repeated short-term approvals, allowing them to use large quantities of fresh water for years without obtaining full water licences.The Western Canada Wilderness Committee and the Sierra Club of B.C. are in a Vancouver court today asking it to throw out the short term approvals granted for water use for natural gas extraction known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.Under provincial [Read more]

FREDERICTON - The New Brunswick Energy Institute will spend more than $500,000 on a groundwater study to assess the effects of shale gas development on domestic well water.David Besner, Interim Chair of the New Brunswick Energy Institute, says it’s clear people have concerns about their groundwater supply as it relates to resource development.Besner says the institute will provide scientific data to provide a better understanding about water quality and conditions.The project will be the first [Read more]

Oil prices were slightly lower Monday after Crimea's vote to split from Ukraine and join Russia.Benchmark U.S. crude for April delivery was down 9 cents to $98.80 a barrel at 0715 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 69 cents to close at $98.89 on Friday.Brent crude, used to set prices for international varieties of crude, was down 21 cents to $108 on the ICE exchange in London.Residents in Crimea voted Sunday overwhelmingly in favour of the split in a [Read more]

EDSON, Alta. - Alberta Health Services is urging residents near a gas plant to not use water from their wells due to possible contamination.AHS says the potential contaminant is Sulfolane, an industrial solvent used to purify natural gas.The government says residents located within five kilometres of the South Rosevear Gas Plant in Yellowhead County near Edson should get drinking water from other sources than their private wells.AHS says foods can be cooked in well water only if water will be [Read more]

The price of oil rose Friday on concerns that tensions over Ukraine could rise with this weekend's referendum on Crimean secession.But oil still finished the week down more than three per cent, largely because traders were concerned about the strength of demand from China.Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery rose 69 cents to close at US$98.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday. But for the week, oil was down US$3.69 a barrel, or 3.6 per cent.Brent crude, [Read more]