CALGARY - Oil production in Alberta is at all-time record levels, but companies remain reluctant to increase capital spending budgets. Statistics Canada says oil and gas capital spending over the first three quarters of 2021 was 32 per cent below pre-pandemic levels. The industry also spent less than a third of what it did during the same period of 2014, when capital investment hit a record high. This is in spite of the fact that oil prices this fall spiked to levels not seen in seven [Read more]

CALGARY - Alberta's oil and gas regulator has rolled out new rules aimed at addressing the growing problem of inactive and abandoned wells in the province. The new rules will require the energy industry to spend $422 million next year and slightly more in 2023 on cleanup and remediation. Oil and gas producers seeking licences for new wells will also be assessed to make sure they are financially healthy enough to meet cleanup and closure responsibilities. The new rules mark the first [Read more]

EDMONTON - Alberta's finance minister says the recent bullish run on energy prices is part of a stronger economic story on the province's bottom line that will be revealed in the upcoming second-quarter budget update. Travis Toews says investment is gaining strength across a range of sectors. He is not revealing details until the update is delivered Tuesday. Economist Trevor Tombe says rising oil and natural gas prices could deliver a $2-billion boost to the budget. The province is [Read more]

A coalition of at least eight environmental groups is threatening to sue Alberta Premier Jason Kenney for defamation if he doesn't retract and apologize for statements saying a public inquiry found they spread misinformation about the province's oil and gas industry. The groups, in a letter obtained by The Canadian Press, have given the premier a week before they say they would file a statement of claim against him. "If Premier Kenney doesn't follow the good advice of his lawyers, he will [Read more]