OTTAWA - The Bank of Canada says while plummeting oil prices have darkened the confidence of firms linked to the energy sector, Canadian businesses overall see brighter days ahead.The central bank's latest business outlook survey, released Monday, found companies in energy-rich Western Canada planned to reduce their investments in equipment and hiring following the oil-price collapse.On the other hand, Eastern and Central Canadian companies said they were planning to invest more, particularly in [Read more]
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Canadian Natural Resources Limited Announces the Use of Capital Flexibility in Its 2015 Budget
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Jan. 12, 2015) - Canadian Natural Resources Limited ("Canadian Natural" or the "Company") (TSX:CNQ)(NYSE:CNQ) announces that it will exercise previously discussed capital flexibility in its 2015 budget, as a result of changes in commodity prices since its original 2015 budget was released in November 2014. The original 2015 budget targeted $8.6 billion in capital expenditures resulting in a targeted 11% production growth from the midpoint of 2014 production [Read more]
Husky Energy Updates Lima Refinery Incident
CALGARY, AB--(Marketwired - January 12, 2015) - Following a recent incident at the Lima, Ohio refinery, Husky Energy (TSX: HSE) advises the following: The refinery experienced a fire at the isocracker unit. The site is secure and impacts were limited to the unit area. All personnel are accounted for and there were no injuries. As a precaution, other facilities and units at the refinery were shut down and production is expected to be suspended for about one week. Plans are [Read more]
TSX set for more volatility as traders assess damage from oil price collapse
TORONTO - The Toronto stock market is likely in for another rocky week as traders try to assess where oil prices will end up and how the collapse in prices to 5 1/2 year lows is impacting other corporate sectors. It's a light week for economic data but investors will start to turn their focus to corporate earnings as the fourth-quarter reporting season gets moving in the United States. The Toronto market had a dreadful start to the 2015 trading year, with the TSX losing 369 points or 2.5 [Read more]
Venezuela, Saudi leaders meet and talk oil prices in Riyadh
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro met Sunday with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Salman, a day after talks with Iran's supreme leader focused on the slump in global oil prices. The official Saudi Press Agency reported that the leaders discussed areas of cooperation between the two OPEC-member countries and ways to promote bilateral ties. The brief statement did not elaborate, though it said Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi and Venezuelan Oil Minister Asdrubal Chavez [Read more]
Will low oil prices force Ottawa to open contingency reserve to balance books?
OTTAWA - Experts weighing the threat of low oil prices to the federal government's bottom line are asking themselves a follow-up question: what's to become of Ottawa's contingency reserve?Many budget watchers believe the cheaper crude will challenge the Conservative government to keep its long-held promise to pull Canada out of the red in 2015-16.And the longer oil stays low, the more likely the federal government will have to dip into the country's $3-billion rainy day fund, which was set aside [Read more]
Watch US Congressman lay out the perfect case for Keystone XL
Republican congressman Ted Poe stood on the US house floor Friday and laid out a very convincing case for Keystone XL. The Congressman said Keystone as the safest method of crude oil transportation which will deliver as much oil from Canada as the US imports from Saudi Arabia. His impassioned speech also mentioned the extremely lengthy process Keystone has been through: “The permitting for the Keystone pipeline has taken longer than it took for the United States to win World War II...Isn’t [Read more]
Shell Canada to cut less than 10 per cent of Alberta Albian oilsands workforce
EDMONTON - Shell Canada Ltd. says it is reducing its workforce at its Albian Sands oilsands operations near Fort McMurray, Alta.A company spokesman says the cuts will affect less than 10 per cent of its 3,000-plus workforce at the Muskeg River and Jackpine oilsands mines.Cameron Yost says the actual number of reductions hasn't been determined and most of the people who will be affected will be salaried employees.He says the cuts are to ensure that Shell's oilsands business remains competitive [Read more]
Palliser Provides Status Update
Calgary, Alberta / ACCESSWIRE / January 9, 2015 / Palliser Oil & Gas Corporation ("Palliser" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: PXL) announces that the forbearance agreement between Palliser and its lender has been further extended to January 16, 2015. Palliser is focused on continuing its operations as effectively and efficiently as possible in the current economic climate and in the context of its financial circumstances as previously disclosed. There can be no assurance that the Company [Read more]
Nebraska high court tosses suit over Keystone pipeline route
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska's highest court threw out a challenge Friday to a proposed route for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, even though a majority of judges agreed the landowners who sued should have won their case. The decision removes a major roadblock for the $7 billion cross-continental project that Republicans have vowed to make a key part of their 2015 agenda in Congress. Four judges on the seven-member Nebraska Supreme Court said the landowners should have won the case. Their [Read more]