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]
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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]
XI Technologies: Three Common issues in ARO Management
Each week, XI Technologies scans its unique combination of enhanced industry data to provide trends and insights that have value for professionals doing business in the WCSB. If you’d like to receive our Wednesday Word to the Wise in your inbox, subscribe here. As the importance of liability management has grown, the need for data on Asset Retirement Obligations (ARO) has spread throughout oil and gas operations. What once was mostly the focus of abandonment and reclamation teams now touches [Read more]
Oil stable as rising virus cases, higher U.S. crude stockpiles stall recovery
Oil prices were broadly stable for a fourth session on Wednesday, with rising U.S. crude stockpiles and an increase in U.S. coronavirus infections arresting a recent recovery sparked by easing lockdowns. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 23 cents at $40.69 a barrel. Brent crude futures rose 17 cents to $43.14 a barrel. Both benchmarks are set for a fourth session of daily percentage changes of less 1% in either direction. The U.S. coronavirus outbreak crossed [Read more]
New oil and gas jobs from BOE Report Jobs
Here are the latest oil and gas job postings courtesy BOE Report Jobs. To search and filter all the latest jobs, visit the BOE Report job board. All job listings are free to post for companies. Sign up to create an account to post jobs; it’s simple and easy to use. Posting Date Job Title Company Location Jul. 6 Strategy Implementation - Procurement / Contracts Brunel Saskatoon Jul. 6 Integrated Planner Brunel Calgary Jul. 6 Data and Document Delivery [Read more]
Heavy discount narrows on reduced output
Canadian heavy crude's discount narrowed versus West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on Tuesday, as demand slowly recovered with significant production curtailed. Canadian oil producers were maintaining a cautious approach, holding spending at reduced levels even as rising prices brightened the outlook. Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for August delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $7.30 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc, narrower than Monday's settle of $7.70 [Read more]
N.L. judge says extension of offshore drilling licence unreasonable
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - The Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court has ruled the province's regulatory oil and gas board acted unreasonably by extending an exploration drilling licence beyond the defined term limit. Justice Rosalie McGrath wrote in a July 3 decision the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board did not have authority to grant a company another licence covering the same area in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2017. The licence extended Corridor Resources Inc.'s [Read more]