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]

REGINA - A new report accidentally emailed to media by the Saskatchewan government calls for the creation of a permanent fund for future development using one-time resource revenues. The report by former University of Saskatchewan president Peter MacKinnon makes 10 recommendations to develop the fund. It says starting next year, the province should put a cap on how much non-renewable resource revenue it uses for all purposes other than deposits to the futures fund. It also says the [Read more]

FREDERICTON - New Brunswick's Progressive Conservative government is promising to forge ahead with shale gas development as it enters the final year of its mandate, shrugging off fierce opposition from critics who are accusing it of ignoring their concerns.Premier David Alward placed an emphasis on resources development in what is expected to be his final throne speech before an election set for September 2014.Alward said while the industry is only in the exploration phase, there will be [Read more]

VANCOUVER - The premiers of British Columbia and Alberta say they're prepared to work through some of the differences that stand in the way of the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, but they've effectively agreed to drop the most contentious issue: B.C.'s demand for a share of the revenue associated with the project. B.C. Premier Christy Clark and Alberta Premier Alison Redford have had an uneasy relationship since Clark outlined five conditions to win her support for the [Read more]