BOE Report

American oil companies call for end to export ban

NEW YORK - American oil companies have not been allowed to export crude for 40 years, but the industry wants to change that, even though the U.S. still consumes far more oil than it produces. A surprising surge in domestic production of light, sweet crude — a particular type of oil that foreign refiners covet — has triggered growing calls to lift the restrictions, which were put in place after the Arab oil embargo of 1973. But the idea is touching a nerve that remains raw four decades [Read more]

Kitimat residents to vote on Northern Gateway

KITIMAT, B.C. - District of Kitimat Council voted Monday night to hold a plebiscite to exactly determine the thoughts of the North Coast community regarding Enbridge Northern Gateway project. District council and staff will decide the actual question for voters and the date for the non-binding, referendum-style vote in the coming weeks. The council decision follows the Dec. 19 release of the Northern Gateway Joint Review Panel decision that approved the pipeline and tanker project carrying [Read more]

Oil rises as extreme cold temps grip U.S.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The price of oil rose Tuesday, with unusually cold weather in the U.S. expected to fuel demand. Benchmark U.S. oil for February delivery was up 27 cents to US$93.70 a barrel at mid-afternoon Kuala Lumpur time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 53 cents to settle at $93.43 a barrel on Monday. Brent crude, used to set prices for international varieties of crude, rose 66 cents to $107.39 in London. Crude prices were [Read more]

Lubicon First Nation appeals drilling injunction

CALGARY - A First Nation is appealing a court injunction against a blockade of an energy company's drilling site in northern Alberta.The Lubicon Lake Nation says the injunction granted to PennWest Petroleum Ltd. (TSX:PWT) last month gives the company unfettered access to an oil hydraulic fracturing site in the heart of its traditional territory.In its appeal, the Lubicon Lake Nation says it will raise constitutional issues about aboriginal rights that it says the court failed to consider when [Read more]

Harper: Obama ‘punted’ Keystone XL decision, confident pipeline will be built

VANCOUVER - Prime Minister Stephen Harper says U.S. President Barack Obama has "punted" a decision on the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, but he's still confident the long-delayed $5.4 billion project will eventually be built. Harper made his remarks during a question-and-answer session with Vancouver Board of Trade CEO Iain Black. When Black launched into one question by saying Obama had rejected the pipeline, Harper interjected. "No, he's punted," the prime minister said of [Read more]

Joint B.C.-Alberta report looks at whether oil-by-rail a viable option

VANCOUVER - A task force report has been handed in to the British Columbia and Alberta governments that examines the idea of transporting oilsands' crude via rail if proposed pipelines don't get the green light, government documents show. It's an idea the environmental group ForestEthics calls "underhanded." It's a "backdoor way for industry to bring tankers to the coast without the same sort of public oversight or public process that we’ve had around the Enbridge pipeline or would have [Read more]

Crude extends plunge, ends below US$94

The price of oil extended a week-long plunge Friday, falling 1.6 per cent to below US$94 a barrel as a rebounding U.S. economy drove the dollar higher and signs continue to emerge that there is an ample supply of crude worldwide. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery fell $1.48 to close at US$93.96 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international crude processed by many U.S. refineries, fell 89 cents to close at US$106.89 a barrel in London. U.S. crude [Read more]

Alberta city wants sage grouse order quashed

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. - A southern Alberta city and an oil and gas company are asking the courts to quash a federal emergency order that protects the sage grouse.The City of Medicine Hat and LGX Oil & Gas Inc. filed an application Friday in Federal Court seeking a judicial review of the order.The application asks the court to quash, alter or suspend the order for six months so the federal environment minister can consult with them.The affected lands include most of the city-owned oil [Read more]

After train fires, US feds warn Bakken oil may be more flammable than other forms of oil

BILLINGS, Mont. - Following a string of explosive accidents, federal officials said Thursday that crude oil being shipped by rail from the Northern Plains across the U.S. and Canada may be more flammable than traditional forms of oil.A safety alert issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation warns the public, emergency responders and shippers about the potential high volatility of crude from the Bakken oil shale patch. The massive oil reserve is fueling the surging industry in eastern [Read more]

Alberta facing aboriginal legal onslaught over oilsands in 2014

EDMONTON - Simmering disputes over the oilsands between Alberta aboriginals and the provincial and federal governments will break into the open in 2014 as virtually every one of the many recent changes in oversight of the controversial industry comes under legal and political attack. "All litigation, all the time, is what I see on the horizon," said Larry Innes, lawyer for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. Over the last 18 months, Ottawa and Edmonton have rewritten the book on resource [Read more]