Oil prices rose on Friday, working to counter steep losses from the previous session, and were headed for weekly declines on worries that renewed lockdowns following a surge in coronavirus cases in the United States and elsewhere would suppress fuel demand. U.S. oil rose 33 cents, or 0.8%, at $39.92 a barrel after a drop of 3% in the previous session. Brent crude was up by 25 cents, or 0.6%, at $42.58 a barrel after falling more than 2% on Thursday. Brent looks set for a weekly [Read more]
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Tamarack Valley Energy announces strategic asset acquisition in West Central, Alberta & updated 2020 pro forma guidance
CALGARY, AB - Tamarack Valley Energy ("Tamarack" or the "Company") (TSX: TVE) is pleased to announce it has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire assets located in West Central, Alberta (the "Assets"). The Assets include approximately 2,500 boe/d (52% oil and natural gas liquids, "NGLs") of low-decline production supported by a high-quality, multi-zone light oil and liquids rich gas drilling inventory and approximately 105,000 net acres of land, acquired for total cash consideration of [Read more]
Heavy discount widens as producers ease production cuts
Canadian heavy crude's discount widened versus West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on Thursday as producers gradually restore some shut-in production. Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for August delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $8.50 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc, wider than Wednesday's settle of $7.90 under. Reduced production levels largely remain in place after spring curtailments, keeping differentials relatively tight, a Western Canadian industry [Read more]
Oil falls as coronavirus fears offset gasoline recovery signs
Oil prices drifted lower on Thursday as concerns about renewed COVID-19 lockdowns in the United States outweighed signs of a recovery in U.S. gasoline demand. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.30, or 3.19%, to $39.56 a barrel, after rising 0.7% on Wednesday. Brent crude futures slipped $1.11, or 2.61%, to $42.16, after gaining 0.5% on Wednesday. "The market's struggling to get strong conviction to the upside at the current point in time," said Lachlan Shaw, head [Read more]
GLJ’s July Pricing – Energy oversupply in a pandemic roiled world
As we continue to observe and experience the effects of the current pandemic, the energy industry, like the rest of the world, has begun what appears to be a slow recovery. In contrast to the governments that continue to spend to keep their economies afloat, energy producers are continually forced to cut spending to survive these downturns. With these cutbacks come production declines and shut-ins which are anticipated to slowly alleviate the global oversupply of both oil and natural gas; [Read more]
Column: Municipal governments are making economy worse, not better
Alberta’s economy won’t start to fire on all cylinders unless municipal councillors are willing to start playing ball and cut taxes. A key pillar of the province’s economic recovery plan is the reduction of the business tax to eight per cent. Premier Jason Kenney has also made it clear that raising taxes right now would be like shooting a hole in a rowboat then deciding to cross the Pacific. “I cannot imagine a dumber thing to do in the midst of a time of economic fragility, an oil price [Read more]
Irving Oil cutting 250 jobs, six per cent of workforce, due to the economy
SAINT JOHN, N.B. - Irving Oil is cutting its workforce by 250 people or about six per cent in light of the current economic conditions. The New Brunswick-based company says the reductions will affect operations in Canada, the United States, Ireland and Britain. No timeline for the cuts was immediately available. Irving Oil president Ian Whitcomb says in a statement that the challenges faced in its business and industry "are unlike any we have ever experienced." He says the company [Read more]
Heavy discount edges wider with supply in focus
Canadian heavy crude's discount widened versus West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on Wednesday while production levels remained in focus. Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for August delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $7.80 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc, wider than Tuesday's settle of $7.50 under. Oil sands producers will respond to physical refinery demand, and not just price, when determining how quickly to restore idled production which may keep the [Read more]
Canadian oil companies take go-slow approach to recovery as prices improve
Canadian oil producers are maintaining a cautious approach, holding spending at reduced levels even as rising prices brighten the outlook. North American oil prices have rebounded to more than $40 per barrel from a dip into negative prices in April, tempting some producers to increase spending or output. U.S. shale producers were expected to restore roughly half a million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of June, amounting to a quarter of what they shut since the coronavirus pandemic cut [Read more]
Column: The end of infrastructure
Though it pains me like a gunshot wound to say, I may have been a bit hard on politicians lately. In reality, it’s probably fairer of me to say that they don’t all make babies cry, and that rabies is in reality quite rare among them. Going a step further, many are indeed quite likely drawn to politics by a sincere desire to make the world better. It's not their fault if they didn't know that the arena they'd be playing in is ankle deep in rats and shysters (this may be my last column if I've [Read more]