BOE Report

Oil above US$100 on upbeat economic outlook

Crude oil closed above US$100 a barrel Friday, the first time it has crossed that threshold since October.Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery rose 77 cents to close at $100.32 in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.The price got a boost from a drop in applications for unemployment benefits and expectations of a decline in U.S. crude stockpiles.Both inspired optimism about the U.S. economic recovery and, in turn, lifted expectations for energy demand.The last [Read more]

Kitimat chief wants jobs for people in town expecting bust-to-boom times

VICTORIA - A decade ago, Kitamaat Village in northwest British Columbia was broke as residents of the First Nations community faced non-existent job and economic development prospects. But that was then. Now, Haisla Nation Chief Ellis Ross is waiting for the bust-to-boom times as restructuring of the Rio Tinto aluminum smelter continues and oil company giants such as Shell and Chevron consider liquefied natural gas developments near the village site, bringing plenty of labour and service [Read more]

Pipeline opponents promise pipeline war

VANCOUVER - Opponents of Northern Gateway said Friday that the war against the pipeline will now be waged against the federal government, which will decide the project's fate after a federal review panel recommended approval. A coalition of environmental groups gathered in Vancouver the day after the National Energy Board released its report and recommendations, to say that Calgary-based Enbridge (TSX:ENB) may have had the support of the panel, but not the public. Gerald Amos, chairman of [Read more]

A timeline of Northern Gateway milestones

A chronology of Northern Gateway milestones: May 27, 2010 — Enbridge files an application to the National Energy Board to build the Northern Gateway pipeline and tanker terminal. The plan first surfaced several years earlier but was shelved as other projects took priority. By 2008, Enbridge began pursuing the proposal in earnest and preparing for the application. Aug. 10, 2010 — A joint Canadian Environmental Assessment and National Energy Board review panel holds its first panel session [Read more]

Quotes of support for Northern Gateway pipeline

Here is a look at what some political, business and environmental groups had to say after a federal review panel recommended that the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project go ahead, with conditions: "From the beginning of this project, Northern Gateway has worked with one goal in mind: to access new markets by building a safer, better pipeline." — Janet Holder, leader of the Northern Gateway Project ---"Now that we have received the report, we will thoroughly review it, consult with [Read more]

Oil rises, natural gas soars to 29-month high

The price of oil rose one per cent Thursday as stockpiles declined and there were new indications that demand is rising in the United States, the world's largest crude consumer. Meanwhile, natural gas soared nearly five per cent to close at US$4.46 per thousand cubic feet — the highest price since July of 2011 — after the government reported a huge draw in supplies, the result of cold temperatures across the U.S. in recent weeks. The Energy Department said Thursday that natural gas [Read more]

Oil trains raise concerns in small towns, cities

WOLF POINT, Mont. - It's tough to miss the trains hauling crude oil out of the Northern Plains. They are growing more frequent by the day, mile-long processions of black tank cars that rumble through wheat fields and towns, along rivers and national parks.As common as they have become across the U.S. and Canada, officials in dozens of towns and cities where the oil trains travel say they are concerned with the possibility of a major derailment, spill or explosion, while their level of [Read more]

Shale gas violence highlights deeper issues

An obscure conflict between the Mi'kmaq of eastern New Brunswick and a company searching for shale gas had dragged on for more than two years before it exploded as a national issue two months ago amid images of flaming Molotov cocktails and torched police cars.Until then, few Canadians had heard of the Elsipogtog First Nation or SWN Resources.Like so many other disputes between aboriginals and companies hoping to exploit the land where they live, this quarrel failed to attract much attention [Read more]

Yea or nay for Northern Gateway? Federal review panel report coming

VANCOUVER - Following months of hearings, years of debate and dozens of protests, the federal panel reviewing the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline will release its report later today. Much hangs in the balance. The $6-billion pipeline that would connect the Alberta oil sands to tankers on British Columbia's coast bound for the emerging markets of Asia has become the beachhead in the battle between economics and the environment. If approved, the pipeline will likely be just the [Read more]

Mulcair says Northern Gateway a non-starter

OTTAWA - Tom Mulcair predicts the Northern Gateway pipeline will never be built, even if it passes environmental muster. Indeed, the NDP leader says the controversial project should have been vetoed outright, without wasting public money on an environmental assessment. The National Energy Board is poised to release Thursday the results of its environmental review of Enbridge's proposed $5.5-billion pipeline to carry Alberta oilsands bitumen to the northwest Pacific Coast for export to [Read more]