BOE Report

Manitoba wants brakes on plan to ship oil north

WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government says a rail company's plans to start transporting oil across hundreds of kilometres of remote rail line built on permafrost is too risky to the environment and the safety of those who live in the north. NDP Transportation Minister Steve Ashton said in light of the deadly train derailment in Lac Megantic, Que., earlier this year, Manitoba can't support the shipment of crude oil through its fragile northern environment to the port in Churchill."Lac Megantic was [Read more]

‘Tremendous’ uncertainty for OPEC, consultant tells Global Business Forum

BANFF, Alta. - The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is facing a period of "tremendous" uncertainty, which could have a major impact on the global economy, according to a veteran oil industry consultant.In his 35 years watching oil markets — for Saudi Aramco, ExxonMobil, and now as an independent consultant — Yousuf Habib said he's never seen the "confluence of factors" that's adding to the uncertainty he sees over the horizon for the cartel of 12 major global oil [Read more]

BC premier meets with northern leaders about LNG revenue sharing deal

VANCOUVER - Municipal politicians in British Columbia's North are facing the exact opposite problem that beset them only a few years ago, as the forestry industry declined.Instead of worrying about sluggish economic growth and a fleeing tax base, they are now concerned about overcrowded hospitals, not enough schools and old, over-stretched infrastructure as a new gold rush of liquefied natural gas development promises a population explosion.Premier Christy Clark gathered several northern [Read more]

Oliver says Canada needs to take advantage of world markets for LNG

CALGARY - Federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver says Canada risks missing the boat if it doesn't get its act together soon and take advantage of long-term opportunities in liquefied natural gas exports."All of Canada's natural gas exports are currently to the United States, a country that will require less Canadian gas in the future," said Oliver, in a speech to the Canada LNG Export Forum Thursday."Therefore we must reach new markets in countries that urgently need energy to generate [Read more]

Alberta govt orders Crew Energy to stop operating an oil well near endangered Hawks

SUFFIELD, Alta. - The Alberta government has swooped down on an oil company that 'violated' regulations by operating a well too close to endangered Hawks. The province says it has ordered Calgary-based Crew Energy Inc. to stop operating an oil well near Suffield in southern Alberta. The government says the well is too close to a nest of ferruginous hawks, which are protected under the federal Species At Risk Act. The province says it has also cancelled the company’s mineral surface [Read more]

Ex-Halliburton manager charged with destroying evidence in 2010 oil spill

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A former Halliburton employee has been charged with destroying evidence following BP's 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Anthony Badalamenti, who had been the cementing technology director for Halliburton Energy Services Inc., was charged in federal court Thursday with instructing two other employees to delete data during a post-spill review of the cement job on BP's blown-out well. The 61-year-old Badalamenti of Katy, Texas, is charged in a bill of information, [Read more]

7,500 migrating birds die in St John LNG facility flare

SAINT JOHN, N.B. - A manager at the Canaport liquefied natural gas facility in Saint John says there's little it can do in the next few weeks to prevent more migrating birds from flying into a flare that's burning at the plant. Fraser Forsythe said Thursday the latest estimate is that about 7,500 migrating birds died while the company was burning off excess gas at the facility on Friday and Saturday. The plant is in the middle of making changes to equipment at the facility to reduce the [Read more]

Oil spikes as Fed maintains stimulus program, US oil supplies drop

NEW YORK - The price of oil spiked Wednesday as the Federal Reserve unexpectedly maintained its stimulus for the American economy and the U.S. Energy Department reported a bigger than expected drop in supplies of crude oil and gasoline.Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery gained $2.65, or 2.5 per cent, to close at US$108.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was oil's biggest gain in three weeks and erased the losses from Monday and Tuesday.The Fed was [Read more]

Alaskans to get $900 in oil wealth checks this year

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- While the economy continues to recover, the worst of the recession was very much felt by Alaskans on Wednesday who learned their annual check from the state's oil-wealth fund would be a small one. Nearly every Alaska resident will receive a check for $900, acting Revenue Commissioner Angela Rodell announced at a ceremony in downtown Anchorage. The amount of each person's dividend is based on a five-year rolling average of worldwide investment markets that were [Read more]

Keystone worth the costs of ongoing lobbying efforts: Oliver

CALGARY - Federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver says the potential benefits of the Keystone XL pipeline far outweigh the costs of all the lobbying being done in favour of the mega-project.Conservative politicians have made several trips to Washington, D.C., over the past five years in an effort to calm fears, shore up support and offer rebuttal to critics of the project."We have in play here a very large project that will make a difference economically to Canada and will generate [Read more]