A federal judge in Montana on Monday upheld his ruling last month that canceled an environmental permit for the long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline and threatened other oil and natural gas pipeline projects with delays. Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Morris denied a request by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to narrow his April 15 ruling that canceled the so-called Nationwide Permit 12. The permit allows dredging work on pipelines across water bodies. Morris said that the Army Corps [Read more]
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CAPP statement – federal government announces additional financing to support Canadian businesses
In the oil and natural gas sector, as in other sectors of business, companies are facing a critical situation driven by COVID-19. Additional financing announced today by the federal government is welcome news. Our industry is still waiting for more details about the roll out of the program, but this much needed loan support is critical at this time for major employers to survive and keep Canadians employed. As recovery begins, we need to ensure capacity still exists for our companies to [Read more]
Suncor Energy announces pricing of US$1.0 billion notes offering
CALGARY, Alberta - Suncor announced today that it has priced an offering of US$450 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes due on May 15, 2023 (the “2023 Notes”) and US$550 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes due on May 15, 2025 (the “2025 Notes” and, together with the “2023 Notes”, the “Notes”). The 2023 Notes will have a coupon of 2.800% and the 2025 Notes will have a coupon of 3.100%. The offering is expected to close on May 13, 2020, [Read more]
Oilpatch welcomes federal aid for large firms despite climate change conditions
CALGARY - The oil and gas sector and the Alberta government are applauding a federal financing relief package for large Canadian companies despite conditions that could link the aid to an individual company's climate change goals. In Edmonton, Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews welcomed the announcement, saying that the province's large companies, particularly in oil and gas and aviation, need relief quickly. He says that while the province still needs to see the details of the federal [Read more]
Heavy discount hits new low on production cuts
Canadian heavy crude's discount versus the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) narrowed on Monday to an 11-year low. Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for June delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $3 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc, narrower than Friday's settle of $3.45 under. The intraday price is the lowest recorded by NE2 in data that goes back to 2009. Canada, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, has shut in 644,000 barrels per day, [Read more]
Canada to create bridge financing for big companies, including airlines and energy
Canada on Monday said it would create a bridge financing facility for large employers including in the airline and energy sectors that need help to get through the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus. The bridge lending facility will be for all companies, except those in the financial sector, with an annual revenue of about C$300 million ($215 million) seeking financing of about C$60 million or more that have "significant operations or workforce in Canada." "This support will not [Read more]
Long-suffering Canadian oilpatch faces ‘biggest existential crisis’ yet
Canada's oil patch has endured five years of existential threats that have pruned weaker companies, but now its strongest firms are trying to navigate the coronavirus pandemic, which has set off the worst crisis in the oil industry in 40 years. Economic shutdowns have ground travel to a halt, cutting fuel demand by roughly 30% worldwide. With consumption down, oil producers around the globe cut production sharply. Canada, the fourth-largest oil producer, has shut in 644,000 barrels per [Read more]
Saudi Arabia to cut June oil output by an extra 1 mln bpd
Saudi Arabia has directed national oil company Aramco to cut its crude oil production for June by an extra voluntary amount of 1 million barrels per day, on top of a reduction already committed by the kingdom under the OPEC+ cut deal, a Saudi energy ministry official said on Monday. "This brings the total production cut that will be carried out by the Kingdom, to around 4.8 million barrels per day, from the April production level," the official said. "Therefore, the Kingdom's production [Read more]
Debt-stricken Chesapeake Energy to advance incentive executive pay
Chesapeake Energy Corp said it would prepay a total of $25 million in incentive compensation to 21 top executives to ensure they are motivated, even as it prepares to file for bankruptcy protection to tackle its nearly $9 billion debt pile. The Oklahoma City-based company, co-founded by late wildcatter and outspoken natural gas proponent Aubrey McClendon, has been struggling with an unprecedented rout in oil and gas prices, as the coronavirus-driven economic downturn saps energy demand. [Read more]
Work-from-home success changing Calgary office use assumptions, CEOs say
CALGARY - Work-from-home measures taken to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic are challenging long-held assumptions about how Canada's oil and gas sector should provide and care for its office workers. The ramifications as downtown offices reopen in Calgary could mean fewer face-to-face meetings, less travel, more flexibility for workers in where, when and how they work and, ultimately, lower leasing bills, CEOs say. "There's been a lot of learnings from this working from home, [Read more]