BOE Report

Greenpeace says it has left Russian waters under threat of gunfire

  A Greenpeace icebreaker in the Russian Arctic without permission to protest offshore energy exploration says it is leaving after being threatened with gunfire.Crew on board the Arctic Sunrise say the ship is steaming out of the Kara Sea after being boarded and searched by the Russian coast guard.Crew member Christy Ferguson says four unarmed coast guard officers boarded the ship early this morning after the Arctic Sunrise deployed several small boats to protest the activities of a [Read more]

Oil price above $106 on middle east worries

(AP) - The price of oil fluctuated above $106 a barrel on middle east worries. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for October delivery was down 7 cents to $106.35 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the session, it swung between $106.06 and $107.37. The ongoing conflicts in the Middle East - especially in Syria and Egypt - continued to prevent prices from falling further, although analysts said gains would also be limited. There are signs [Read more]

Russian officials board Greenpeace vessel

MOSCOW (AP) — The environmental group Greenpeace says that Russian authorities have boarded their ship which is in the Arctic to protest against oil drilling. The group is protesting offshore oil exploration conducted by state oil company Rosneft and ExxonMobil in the Russian section of the Arctic Ocean off western Siberia. Photo: Greenpeace ship enters the Northern Sea Route off Russia's coastline to #SaveTheArctic http://t.co/X8PAXreImm pic.twitter.com/hkKwEfgeaU— Arctic [Read more]

Greenpeace to defy Russians, enter Arctic seas without permit

  A Greenpeace icebreaker is defying Russian law and sailing without a permit into that country's northern waters to protest Arctic offshore energy development."We're going to carry on into the Northern Sea Route," said crew member Christy Ferguson aboard the Arctic Sunrise."I am a little nervous, but I think that what we're doing is really important."The Arctic Sunrise was sailing towards the Northern Sea Route off Russia's Arctic coast Friday with the intent of entering the Kara Sea, [Read more]

Alberta government releases long awaited study into safety of pipelines

  CALGARY - A long-awaited review into pipeline safety in Alberta has found that oversight in the province is strong and compares favourably overall with other jurisdictions, but includes 17 recommendations to further improve it.The review, conducted by Group 10 Engineering, looked at pipeline integrity, the safety of pipelines crossing water and spill response.Among the recommendations, Group 10 said regulators should better define what constitutes a "water body" and improve consistency [Read more]

Penn West cuts staff by 25% this year

  CALGARY - Penn West Petroleum Ltd. (TSX:PWT) said Thursday that it has cut its workforce by a quarter since the beginning of the year in order to improve competitiveness. The Calgary-based oil company's head count now stands at 1,600, down from 2,150 at the start of 2013. Since the fall of 2012, Penn West has reduced its staff by 30 per cent. The company expects to take a $25-million charge in the third quarter in connection with the layoffs. "This week, Penn West has taken [Read more]

Keystone southern leg over 90% complete

TransCanada said Tuesday the southern leg of its 700,000 barrel per day pipeline is now over 90 percent complete. The company expects the line to be in service by the end of 2013. Spokesman Shawn Howard said testing and commissioning activities were underway on the line which runs from Cushing, Oklahoma, to Nederland, Texas, and is the southern leg of the project. Howard said in an email “Our testing and commissioning work will take place over the next few months and we continue to focus [Read more]

Senate energy committee set to release findings of oil and gas report

  OTTAWA - A new Senate report is calling for an arm's length review of rail safety in Canada following a disaster that devastated a small Quebec town this summer."We've been working on these issues for the last nine months and the shocking Lac-Megantic rail disaster has only intensified the need to address hydrocarbon transportation safety," Conservative Sen. Richard Neufeld, chair of the Senate energy committee, said in a statement."In the years ahead, hydrocarbon production will [Read more]

West Virginia study: fracking not endangering air quality

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A state study says no new rules are needed to protect West Virginia’s air quality from natural gas drilling. State lawmakers were presented with the study’s results during an interim committee meeting Tuesday. The report was created by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Oil and Gas. It looked at the impact of fracking, a process in which water and sand is injected underground to access deposits of shale oil and gas. Among other [Read more]

TransCanada says Enbridge’s GTA pipeline is bad for Ontario consumers

  CALGARY - TransCanada Corp. is urging Ontario's energy regulator to reject a proposal by rival Enbridge Inc. for bringing more natural gas into the Greater Toronto Area, arguing the project would not benefit consumers.In a filing to the Ontario Energy Board last Friday, TransCanada questions Enbridge's view that the GTA Pipeline will lead to savings by sourcing gas from a hub in southern Ontario versus one in Alberta.It also says the line, as currently proposed, would be too big and [Read more]