BOE Report

TransCanada doesn’t expect Keystone XL decision before end of this year

CALGARY - TransCanada Corp. has filed a prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as part of an ongoing program to raise capital in the markets. The prospectus did not give updated information on when it expects the U.S. State Department to make a decision on the controversial project. An earlier story erroneously stated that the company did not expect a decision this year. [Read more]

Shell on track to drill off Nova Scotia, but exploration still two years away

HALIFAX - Shell Canada has completed 3D seismic imaging off Nova Scotia's southwestern shore, but the energy giant says it will be at least two years before exploratory oil drilling begins as part of its $970-million deepwater venture. Randy Hiscock, manager of business development and new ventures, says the earliest drilling could take place in the Shelburne Basin is in late 2015, and that depends on the results of the seismic research, rig scheduling and getting the proper equipment in [Read more]

American oil sands opponents turn their attention to B.C. pipeline proposals

VANCOUVER - Oil sands opponents who have been fighting the Keystone XL pipeline project in the United States are turning their sights on two pipeline proposals in British Columbia.The conservation group Forest Ethics launched the website tarsandssos.org in Washington state today, featuring real-time tracking of all tankers in and out of Kinder Morgan's Westridge terminal in Burnaby — the terminus of its Trans Mountain pipeline from Alberta.Forest Ethics U.S. spokesman Matt Krogh (crowg) says the [Read more]

New Brunswick energy minister says shale gas opponents are ignoring facts

HALIFAX - Some opponents of shale gas exploration and other energy developments are driven by ideology and ignoring the facts, New Brunswick's minister of energy said Tuesday.Craig Leonard said during the Maritimes Energy Association conference in Halifax that the shale gas industry could revive the economic fortunes of his province, yet some people aren't willing to hear a reasoned argument about its merits."There is a sector of the population, they do everything in their power to try to stop [Read more]

Enbridge plans new $1B diluent pipeline in northern Alberta

CALGARY - Enbridge Inc. is planning to build a new pipeline to bring diluent — used to thin-out oilsands bitumen so it can flow through pipelines — to industry players in northern Alberta.The company envisions a 200,000-barrel-per-day conduit with a price tag of $1 billion, said Vern Yu, senior vice-president of business and market development. Depending on how keen the industry is on the pipeline, it could be expanded to 300,000 barrels per day.Traditionally, oilsands producers have used [Read more]

Oil falls to near $102 on U.S. shutdown

The price of oil fell Tuesday after parts of the U.S. government were ordered to shut down because of a budget impasse in Washington.Benchmark oil for November delivery was down 19 cents to US$102.14 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 54 cents to close at $102.33 on Monday after trading as low as $101.05.Just as the U.S. economy is struggling to expand, infighting among U.S. lawmakers is threatening to slow [Read more]

Canadian heavy crude benchmark hits five year high in August

TORONTO - Scotiabank says a benchmark Canadian heavy crude hit its highest level in five years last month. The bank says in its monthly report of commodity prices that Western Canadian Select crude hit US$90.90 per barrel in August, the highest since mid-2008. Click here to see historical Alberta oil prices... Scotiabank economist Patricia Mohr says in a report issued Monday that Canadian oilsands crude is now closer to its true value than in the first quarter of 2013. At the time, [Read more]

Statoil says huge discovery of oil off Canadian coast larger than expected with 2nd new find

HELSINKI - Norwegian energy company Statoil ASA says it has made another "significant" discovery of crude oil off the Canadian coast in the Flemish Pass.The company said Friday that it was the second find in two days in the Bay du Nord prospect, 500 kilometres northeast of Newfoundland, but did not estimate its size.On Thursday, Statoil announced that its Canadian unit and partner, Husky Energy Inc. (TSX:HSE), had made its first Bay du Nord exploration estimated at between 300 and 600 million [Read more]

North Dakota regulator: Oil production to double by 2017 to 1.6 million barrels per day

DICKINSON, N.D. — North Dakota’s top oil regulator says the state’s daily oil production will double to 1.6 million barrels by 2017. The Dickinson Press reports that Department of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms made the prediction Thursday in Dickinson at the annual meeting of the North Dakota Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties. Helms says natural gas flaring as the No. 1 challenge for state regulators. Helms says he’s working with the North Dakota Industrial Commission [Read more]

Enbridge plans pipeline for Hangingstone

CALGARY - Enbridge Inc. says it has an agreement to build a 50-kilometre pipeline to serve the Hangingstone oilsands project, jointly owned by Japan Canada Oil Sands Ltd. and China's CNOOC Ltd. Pending regulatory approvals, the 12-inch lateral pipeline would connect Hangingstone to Enbridge's regional system at Cheecham, Alta.The agreement also provides for an optional eight-inch line to transport diluent to the project, Enbridge said in announcing the deal Thursday.Financial terms were not [Read more]