Canada’s fleet of active drilling rigs grew from 203 to 244 since last week according to data from Baker Hughes. Total drilling count was 244 at January 17. 152 rigs were drilling for oil; 92 for natural gas. The drilling activity in Alberta rose from 133 to 177 since last week. Saskatchewan’s drilling grew from 50 to 52 rigs. View a full breakdown of Western Canada’s rig activity. [Read more]
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Extreme cold in Western Canada disrupts oil production, refining
Canadian oil producers and refiners have cut processing rates this week as extreme cold weather grips Western Canada, traders familiar with the matter said on Friday. Cold weather has spread across western Canada this week. In Edmonton, the capital of Canada's main oil-producing province, Alberta, temperatures dropped to minus 36 degrees Celsius (minus 33 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, according to Environment Canada. Syncrude, one of the largest producers of crude oil from Canada's oil sands, [Read more]
U.S. drillers add oil rigs for first week in four
U.S. energy firms this week added oil rigs for the first time in four weeks even as the pace of growth in record crude output is expected to slow. Companies added 14 oil rigs in the week to Jan. 17, bringing the total count to 673, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said in its closely followed report on Friday. In the same week a year ago, there were 852 active rigs. In 2019, the oil rig count, an early indicator of future output, dropped for the first year since 2016, as independent [Read more]
PetroLMI report highlights opportunities to support Indigenous employment post-pandemic in Canada’s energy industry
The PetroLMI Division of Energy Safety Canada (PetroLMI) released a report, Going Beyond: Supporting Indigenous Employment in Canada’s Energy Industry Through a Pandemic and Economic Challenges. It examines the impact COVID-19 has had on Indigenous employment; representation of Indigenous Peoples in Canada’s oil and gas industry; and the opportunities to attract Indigenous workers, address skill gaps and support entrepreneurship. The report was funded by the Government of Canada’s Sectoral [Read more]
Oil steady as sluggish China growth offsets trade deal optimism
Oil prices were steady on Friday as reports of sluggish economic growth in China, the world's biggest crude importer, raised concerns about future fuel demand and countered optimism from the signing of the Sino-U.S. trade deal earlier in the week. In the fourth quarter of 2019, the world's second-largest economy increased by an expected 6% from a year earlier, while the full-year expansion was 6.1%, the slowest in 29 years, government data showed on Friday. "A well-expected fourth-quarter [Read more]
Column: Another Day, Another Foreign Think Tank Attacking Our Energy Sector
The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has released a report attacking the financial benefits of Teck’s Frontier Mine Project. They claim that the accounting that went into the calculations of these benefits was “misguided and reckless”. Even if oil doesn’t reach the $95 a barrel-like the IEA predicts, the economics at the more modest price in Teck’s shareholder presentation will still be profitable at the current cost of development. This is another shot across the [Read more]
Obsidian Energy Provides Operational and Hedging Update
CALGARY ("Obsidian Energy", the "Company", "we", "us" or "our") is pleased to provide an update on our Cardium development program which continues to demonstrate encouraging results as we initiate our 2020 drilling campaign. Additionally, the Company provides the details of recently added hedges to our 2020 program. Cardium Development Program Update All 13 wells from the second half of 2019 were successfully brought online prior to the end of December. Results from the program continue [Read more]
Canada top court rejects bid by British Columbia to regulate oil pipeline
The Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday quickly dismissed an attempt by the western province of British Columbia to regulate what can be transported in a major crude oil pipeline crossing its territory. British Columbia wanted the right to require permits for companies shipping oil and other hazardous substances through the Trans Mountain pipeline, which transports oil from neighboring Alberta. Unusually, the top court delivered its decision immediately after hearing arguments. The [Read more]
Indigenous group vows peaceful pipeline opposition as Canadian police clamp down
An indigenous group that opposes construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia will refuse workers access to their land, but in peaceful fashion, according to one of its chiefs. The statement comes after Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) established a checkpoint on Monday for access to a remote, forested area along Coastal GasLink's route, aiming to avoid a repeat of protests a year ago that resulted in arrests. Police last week launched a criminal investigation after [Read more]
Heavy discount touches new 13-month high on big inventories, cold weather
Canadian heavy crude's discount versus U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude widened to a fresh 13-month high on Thursday, amid a cold snap in Alberta and large oil inventories in the province. In cold weather, shippers dilute bitumen volumes with additional ultralight oil, taking up more pipeline capacity. Inventories in Alberta have not yet drained to normal levels after building up late last year due to a temporary outage on the Keystone pipeline and a Canadian National [Read more]