OTTAWA - CN Rail, at the urging of Chinese-owned Nexen Inc., is considering shipping Alberta bitumen to Prince Rupert, B.C., by rail in quantities matching the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline, documents show.Internal memos obtained by Greenpeace under the Access to Information Act show the rail carrier raised the proposal last March with Natural Resources Canada."Nexen Inc. is reportedly working with CN to examine the transportation of crude oil on CN's railway to Prince Rupert, B.C., to [Read more]
News
Debate over fracking heats up on Newfoundland west coast
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Alberta resident Jessica Ernst is warning Newfoundland about the risks of hydraulic fracturing, saying she blames the contentious fracking process for making her well water flammable."It does ignite like a blow torch," she said from her rural home near Rosebud, Alta. "It's too dangerous to even use to flush toilets. One spark could cause the gas to ignite and cause a serious explosion."Ernst will visit Stephenville, N.L., on Sunday to convey what she says is a cautionary tale [Read more]
Power dip forces Edmonton refineries to flare gas, smoke prompts air quality advisory
EDMONTON - Health officials in northern Alberta have issued an air quality advisory after a power failure forced refineries in the Edmonton area to flare off extra gas, creating clouds of thick black smoke.Alberta Health Services says the advisory is precautionary, and applies to people with pre-existing respiratory conditions such as asthma, or heart conditions.Good, clean #Edmonton refinery air blowing straight into Sherwood Park. #yeg #shpk #oilsands #oilandgas [Read more]
Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. Reports Threat of Class Action Lawsuit as A Successor to New Open Range
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Sept. 20, 2013) - Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. ("Peyto") (TSX:PEY) reports that it has received correspondence from a law firm representing two shareholders of Poseidon Concepts Corp. ("Poseidon") advising that such counsel has been instructed to finalize and file an application to seek leave of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench (the "Court") to pursue a class action lawsuit against Peyto, as a successor to new Open Range Energy Corp. ("New Open [Read more]
North West Redwater Partnership Celebrates Breaking Ground on Phase 1 of Sturgeon Refinery
CALGARY, Sept. 20, 2013 /CNW/ - North West Redwater Partnership (NWR), a partnership between North West Upgrading Inc. (NWU) and Canadian Natural Upgrading Limited (CNUL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (Canadian Natural), today celebrated the recent ground-breaking of the Sturgeon Refinery, located in the Alberta Industrial Heartland. The event took place at the future site of the refinery, and included speeches from the Honourable Alison Redford, Premier [Read more]
Canadian Quantum Announces Completion of Lower Mannville Oil
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Sept. 20, 2013) - Canadian Quantum Energy Corporation ("Canadian Quantum" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:CQM) announces the following update on the Company's ALEX 102/16-11-56-27W4 well ("102/16-11 Well"). The 102/16-11 Well was initially drilled directionally to a depth of 1,287 meters in December, 2012 and has been standing after perforating the Detrital zone in February, 2013 with less than commercial results. Canadian Quantum and its partners [Read more]
Suncor Energy celebrates 10 years of operations at Firebag
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Sept. 20, 2013) - Suncor Energy today marks a decade of operations at its Firebag in situ facility. Firebag, along with the company's MacKay River development, was one of the first to use the "steam-assisted gravity drainage" (SAGD) method of oil sands recovery. In addition to being one of the first, Firebag remains one of the most productive SAGD facilities in the industry. SAGD involves drilling horizontal well pairs. The top well injects steam [Read more]
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]