BOE Report

US now producing more crude oil at home than it imports from abroad

WASHINGTON - For the first month in nearly two decades, the U.S. in October extracted more oil from the ground than it imported from abroad, marking an important milestone for a nation seeking to wean itself off foreign oil. A promising sign for a still-slugging economy, the shift could foreshadow future opportunities to boost jobs in the U.S., lower the trade deficit and insulate the economy from foreign crises that can send oil prices rising. But it also speaks to deeper, underlying changes [Read more]

Report says EU fuel standards unfair

OTTAWA - Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver is welcoming a new report that's critical of the European Union's proposal to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions of different oil sources.The report by ICF International bolsters Oliver's frequent argument that the European calculations would unfairly discriminate against Canada's oilsands.He says the report, which was commissioned by the Canadian government, shows there is no scientific basis to support differentiation between conventional and [Read more]

Clark says B.C.’s LNG plants will do the world a clean air favour

VICTORIA - Premier Christy Clark is calling British Columbia's proposed liquefied natural-gas plants worldwide pollution-fighting machines. Clark said Tuesday B.C. will be doing the world a favour if it can sell natural gas in China and Japan because natural gas is cleaner than China's coal and safer than Japan's nuclear power. She came close to rejecting outright B.C.'s 2007 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets law that calls on the province to cut its GHG emissions by one-third by [Read more]

Quebec biz group CEO hopeful on eastern pipelines, but public must be on side

CALGARY - The head of a Quebec business group says he's hopeful the public will support proposals to ship Alberta crude east, but that industry and government need to do a better job in assuring that such projects are safe. Michel LeBlanc, CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, cited the recent debate over shale gas extraction in the province, saying energy firms and government officials failed in attempt to address public concerns over the technology. LeBlanc says he hopes it [Read more]

Wall considering permanent heritage fund for future

REGINA - Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says he thinks it's a good idea for the province to try to save money for the future while also paying off the debt. Wall made the comments after the release of a report calling for the creation of a permanent fund for future development using non-renewable resource revenues, such as those from oil and gas. The report by former University of Saskatchewan president Peter MacKinnon makes 10 recommendations, including putting a high priority on creating [Read more]

European shale gas experts say more environmental studies needed

WARSAW, Poland - European shale gas experts say more environmental studies are needed to address public concern about the security of extraction of the fossil fuel. Rene Peters, chairman of the EU Shale Gas Expert Group, told a conference in Warsaw on Tuesday that data gathered from extensive exploration in the United States does not apply to Europe, where geological and environmental conditions are different. The conference, on the sidelines of U.N. climate talks, concerned shale gas's [Read more]

China, India increasingly drive global energy demand as US moves to self sufficiency

China and India are increasingly driving world energy demand as the United States' production boom puts it on track to become independent of the global market, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday. China is close to becoming the world's largest oil importer, while India will turn into the leading importer of coal in the next decade to lead the Asian surge, the Paris-based IEA said in its 2013 World Energy Outlook. "The dominance of Asia will be more and more visible," IEA executive [Read more]

Clark: BC to build the cleanest LNG industry in the world

VICTORIA - Premier Christy Clark's Liberal government says it wants to build the cleanest liquefied natural gas industry in the world, but it's saying little about how it plans to make the industry clean. The Liberals say LNG can pave the way to a debt-free future, but others warn about the high environmental price where every tonne of LNG that's produced comes with a tonne of harmful greenhouse gas emissions sent into the atmosphere. Environment Minister Mary Polak says the Liberals have [Read more]

More oil and gas drillers turn to water recycling

MIDLAND, Texas - When the rain stopped falling in Texas, the prairie grass yellowed, the soil cracked and oil drillers were confronted with a crisis. After years of easy access to cheap, plentiful water, the land they prized for its vast petroleum wealth was starting to dry up.At first, the drought that took hold a few years ago seemed to threaten the economic boom that arose from hydraulic fracturing, a drilling method that uses huge amounts of high-pressure, chemical-laced water to free oil [Read more]

IT’S NOT OVER TIL IT’S OVER: Alberta energy minister on Keystone pipeline push

CALGARY - Alberta's energy minister says it's important the province keeps pushing for U.S. approval of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline until a decision is finally made. "There's every reason to not give up on this file and (to) continue to pursue every possible reasonable way in which to make our case," he told reporters at an Economic Club of Canada summit on Friday. "Until it's over, it's not over. You have to be in the game. You have to keep making the case." TransCanada [Read more]