CALGARY - The debt ratings for more than a dozen Canadian companies have been placed under review and may be downgraded by Moody's Investor Services as a result of lower oil and gas prices.Among the biggest names on the list is Calgary-based Precision Drilling (TSX:PD), which owns and operates fleets of rigs used by oil and gas companies in Canada, the United States and other countries.Other companies on the Moody's review list include Paramount Resources Ltd. (TSX:POU) and other oil and gas [Read more]
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Wynne meets Alberta Premier Notley to Discuss Energy East, Climate Change
Wynne and Notley are expected to discuss issues of common interest, such as action on climate change, the Canadian Energy Strategy and the proposed Energy East pipeline. Manitoba has signed an agreement with Ontario and Quebec to link their cap-and-trade systems to battle climate change, while Alberta and British Columbia have introduced a carbon tax. There are few details known about Ontario’s cap-and-trade plan, but it is expected to push up prices for many consumer goods, including [Read more]
Zargon Oil & Gas Ltd. Announces Q4 2015 Production Volumes, Provides a Little Bow ASP Project Update and Announces 2015 Year End Reserves
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Jan. 21, 2016) - Zargon Oil & Gas Ltd. (the "Company" or "Zargon") (TSX:ZAR)(TSX:ZAR.DB) announces fourth quarter 2015 production volumes, provides a Little Bow Alkaline Surfactant Polymer ("ASP") project update and announces 2015 year end reserves. Zargon intends to release its 2015 audited financial results on March 7, 2016, after market close. 2015 Fourth Quarter Production Volumes Fourth quarter 2015 production averaged 3,635 barrels of oil and [Read more]
Manitok Energy Inc. Provides Update on Its Brokered Private Placement of Up to $20 Million
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Jan. 21, 2016) - Manitok Energy Inc. ("Manitok" or the "Corporation") (TSX VENTURE:MEI) is pleased to provide an update in connection with its best-efforts private placement offering with a minimum of $10,000,000 and a maximum of $20,000,000 (the "Offering"). Manitok anticipates that it will close its second tranche of the Offering on or about January 26, 2016. Upon completing the second tranche of the Offering, Manitok's credit facility will be revised to [Read more]
The History of Alberta’s Debt Position in Charts
Alberta is not the fiscally prudent jurisdiction it once was. This new consensuses comes from each of Moody's, Standard & Poor (S&P), and the Dominion Bond Rating Service (DBRS): the highest profile ratings agencies on the planet. Over the past month, downgrades and alarm bells have been sounded as the provincial government plans on running the largest deficit in Alberta's history and running the province into a negative net-debt position. S&P lowered Alberta’s long-term rating [Read more]
Birchcliff Energy Ltd. Announces Record Production in 2015, 2016 Capital Program of $140 Million and 2016 Production Guidance
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Jan. 21, 2016) - Birchcliff Energy Ltd. ("Birchcliff") (TSX:BIR) is pleased to announce that its current production is approximately 42,000 boe per day. Birchcliff estimates that its 2015 annual average production was approximately 39,000 boe per day, which set a new annual average production record for Birchcliff. Estimated 2015 fourth quarter average production was also a record at approximately 40,500 boe per day. In addition, Birchcliff is pleased to announce [Read more]
EU sunny about Canada on climate, energy progress with new Liberal government
OTTAWA - The European Union says the arrival of the Trudeau Liberal government heralds a new era of transatlantic co-operation on energy and climate change.Marie-Anne Coninsx, the EU ambassador to Canada, says the Oct. 19 election of Justin Trudeau has changed the playing field on those two issues.The major change, she says, is that Canada now links climate change and energy policy, which allows for a high-level dialogue on a variety of related issues.Coninsx says a team of EU ministers from [Read more]
Greater Montreal mayors come out against TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline
MONTREAL - The rejection by Montreal-area municipal leaders of TransCanada Corp.'s proposed Energy East pipeline prompted a sharp political rebuke from some parts of Western Canada on Thursday.The Montreal Metropolitan Community, which represents 82 municipalities and 3.9 million residents, said it opposes the project and will defend that position at Quebec environmental impact and National Energy Board hearings.Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, the current president of the organization, said the [Read more]
DBRS sounds alarm bells on Alberta borrowing; says limits to be blown this year
EDMONTON - Beleaguered Alberta took two more gut punches Thursday as a credit-rating agency reported the province is close to its debt ceiling and Quebec mayors slammed a critical pipeline project."Today has been a very tough day indeed for Alberta," said Wildrose Opposition Leader Brian Jean.Toronto-based agency DBRS affirmed Alberta's top-drawer triple-A credit rating, but downgraded the province's fiscal outlook from stable to negative. It said with oil prices so low and the government's [Read more]
N.S. government approves contentious proposal for underground gas storage
HALIFAX - An underground natural gas storage facility proposed for central Nova Scotia has been given the green light by the province over the objections of two First Nations bands, who say they haven't been properly consulted on the project.The project by Alton Natural Gas Storage was put on hold in late 2014 after Mi'kmaq protesters complained that the company had failed to consult with the local native community.Some environmentalists and the bands in nearby Millbrook and Indian Brook also [Read more]