BOE Report

Bonterra faces possible tax bill of $25M

CALGARY - Bonterra Energy Corp. (TSX:BNE) is facing a possible tax reassessment that could result in the oil and gas producer owing as much as $25 million.Bonterra said Wednesday that it has been notified by the Canada Revenue Agency of the possible reassessment of taxation years since Nov. 18, 2008, when the company converted from an income trust to a corporation."If such reassessments are issued and maintained on appeal, Bonterra will owe total cash taxes of approximately $25 million for the [Read more]

MARKETING MACHINES! Feds spend $40M pitching natural resources

OTTAWA - The Conservative government is spending $40 million this year to advertise Canada's natural resource sector — principally oil and gas — at home and abroad.Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver revealed the figure Wednesday as his department seeks another $12.9 million to augment an international campaign designed to portray Canada as a stable and environmentally responsible source of energy.That will bring NRCan's 2013-14 ad budget to about $40 million — $24 million for advertising [Read more]

U.S. ambassador, TransCanada president say ‘no thanks’ to Keystone XL opponents

WASHINGTON - Key Canadian representatives have turned down invitations to address a Washington summit organized by an environmental group leading the fight against the Keystone pipeline. U.S. ambassador Gary Doer and Russ Girling, president of TransCanada Corp., were issued written invites a few days before the planned event, called "Can Keystone Pass the President's Climate Test?" The Dec. 2 gathering at Georgetown University will include research on whether the proposed pipeline would [Read more]

Expert panel to probe oil sands technologies

OTTAWA - The federal government has asked a panel of experts to help catalogue and chart a way forward for technologies that can help reduce the environmental footprint of oil sands development.Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver says he's asked the Council of Canadian Academies to turn its gaze on new and emerging technologies for extracting bitumen from the tar-like sands of Alberta.A 13-member panel will study what's currently working and has been asked to identify economic and regulatory [Read more]

Some progress in oilsands tech sharing, but still much to do: COSIA

CALGARY - Forget herding cats. The head of the Canadian Oil Sands Innovation Alliance says getting 13 oilsands firms to share technology with each other is more like herding lions and tigers. But Dan Wicklum says COSIA has made some progress since it was formally launched 21 months ago — though there's still a ways to go. Since COSIA's inception, Wicklum says 560 technologies that collectively cost $900 million to develop have been shared amongst Canada's biggest oilsands players and that [Read more]

Flood costs to offset Alberta budget gains, province reports higher oil royalties

EDMONTON - Finance Minister Doug Horner says Alberta's economy is doing much better than expected this year, but he says those gains will be offset by the costs of flood reconstruction. Horner made the comments as he revealed figures at the halfway point for the current budget year. The province had expected to run a deficit in day-to-day operational spending this fiscal year, but Horner says due to higher oil royalties, they're now running a $1 billion surplus. But Horner says even [Read more]

Enbridge CEO Monaco touts benefits of Line 9 pipeline reversal project

MONTREAL - Enbridge's chief executive touted the benefits of his company's pipeline reversal project Monday on the eve of public hearings on the issue by a Quebec legislative committee. Al Monaco said that he was confident that project will win approval by the National Energy Board and support from the provincial committee. "I would never say it's a done deal. We have to go through the process (but) we're confident that we'll get approval," he told reporters after speaking to the Canadian [Read more]

Iran nuke deal could push oil prices lower

NEW YORK - World oil prices could be headed lower after the preliminary nuclear deal between Western nations and Iran, even though the deal does not loosen sanctions on Iran's oil exports.In the short term, the deal may make it easier for Iran to sell the oil it is already allowed to sell under the sanctions, which would increase supplies on the world market. And the newfound co-operation between Iran and the West eases tensions that pushed oil prices higher in recent years.But the deal, [Read more]

Oil’s economic clout drives pipeline approval

OTTAWA - A new poll suggests a broad cross-section of Canadians see the oil and gas sector as vitally important to the national economy, an attitude that in turn appears to be driving up support for pipeline construction.Almost nine out of 10 respondents to the Harris-Decima poll, 87 per cent, said they believe oil and gas development is economically important, while a clear majority — 53 per cent — ranked the sector as the most important in Canada.The telephone poll of just over 1,000 [Read more]

LNG fuel plants planned in Edmonton, Vancouver

CALGARY - Two companies are teaming up to build liquefied natural gas plants in Edmonton and Vancouver to serve the transportation industry.In announcing their joint venture Tuesday, Ferus Natural Gas Fuels and ENN Canada Corporation said the plants will provide a cheaper and cleaner-burning fuel to the trucking business.The fuel can also be used in the marine, rail, mining and oil and gas exploration industries."The benefits of fuelling with natural gas are significant," said ENN Canada CEO [Read more]