Blind to his own hypocritical acts, the aging rock star has become a sanctimonious, cranky old man By Doug Firby CALGARY, AB/ Troy Media/ - For four-and-a-half decades, Neil Young has been on outspoken social commentator, using his craft of rock and roll to critique the failings of U.S. domestic and foreign policy. After four students were gunned down in a confrontation with Ohio police at Kent State University in the late 1960s, he penned the angry song, Ohio, galvanizing the social [Read more]
Oil markets sending mixed signals
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia/ Troy Media/ - With a number of variables in play, oil markets are in for considerable fluctuation throughout 2014. While global shale output is on up, the International Energy Agency (IEA) recently raised its forecasts for global oil consumption amidst the strongest U.S. demand growth in a decade. It is now forecasting global oil demand growth of 1.2m b/d – its highest level over the last few years – this year. The Paris- based IEA believes that the rise in non-OPEC [Read more]
A lower Canadian Dollar, but not business as usual
The closer the U.S. gets to energy independence, the worse things will get By Ben Brunnen: CALGARY, AB/ Troy Media/ - Much is being said of the Canadian dollar trading at around a two year low of late and what it means for the Alberta economy. Traditionally, Alberta manufacturers and exporters would benefit because their products will be comparatively cheaper and Canadian oil producers who trade in U.S. dollars but pay Canadian salaries and expenses would also see a benefit. However, [Read more]
Column: Opposition to pipelines comes down to fundraising
Environmentalists aren't interested in the facts By Barry Cooper CALGARY, AB/ Troy Media/ - One of the biggest political stories of 2014 will continue a major story of 2013: getting Alberta oil to world markets. Enbridge’s reversal of Line 9 through Ontario and Quebec (300,000 bpd) and the expansion of Kinder Morgan’s Trans-Mountain pipeline (300,000 bpd) are important. The most interesting (and weirdest) discussions concern the big ones, TransCanada’s Keystone XL (830,000 bpd) and [Read more]
Column: New Brunswick derailment highlights rail vs pipeline tradeoffs
By Kenneth P. Green CALGARY, AB/ Troy Media/ - Yet another train derailment involving petroleum products has re-invigorated the debate over how we transport oil in Canada. In this case, 17 cars on a train near Plaster Rock, New Brunswick, derailed; nine of which carried dangerous goods including crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas. According to recent reports, the cause of the derailment seems to involve a brake failure of some kind. As we have seen in other derailments, the derailed [Read more]
Column: Obama punting a golden opportunity to create jobs
CALGARY, AB, Jan 9, 2014/ Troy Media/ – “Punt” is an interesting choice of words to describe U.S. President Barack Obama’s dithering on the contentious Keystone XL Pipeline, a piece of infrastructure that would make it easier to ship Canadian bitumen to the southern U.S. But Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision to use that slang term this week is more than apt. The Urban Dictionary defines punt as “to skip class” or “avoid doing work”. And that’s pretty much what Obama has done. The [Read more]