Western Canada’s fleet of drilling rigs went up by 18 to 103 according to data collected by Baker Hughes for the week of June 7th. From last Friday, Alberta rig counts went from 56 to 63. Saskatchewan's rig count increased from 17 to 25. Oil drilling went from 44 to 59; natural gas rigs went from 41 to 44. View a full breakdown of western Canada’s rig activity. [Read more]
Headlines
U.S. oil rig count falls to lowest since Feb 2018
U.S. energy firms this week cut the oil rig count to the lowest since February 2018 as drillers follow through on plans to reduce spending with crude prices collapsing to a four-month low. Drillers cut 11 oil rigs in the week to June 7 in the biggest weekly decline since April, bringing the total count down to 789, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. That compares with 862 rigs operating during the same week a year [Read more]
Senate passes major project assessment bill with heavy amendments
The Canadian Senate has approved legislation aimed at changing the way major projects such as oil pipelines are assessed, with more than 180 amendments that were welcomed by the government of Canada's main crude-producing province Alberta.After the vote late on Thursday Bill C-69 will now go back to the House of Commons where Justin Trudeau's Liberal government must decide which amendments it will accept.The federal government introduced the bill to fulfil a 2015 election pledge to [Read more]
Baker Hughes Announces May 2019 Rig Counts
The Baker Hughes International Rig Count now includes active drilling rigs in Ukraine HOUSTON & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Baker Hughes, a GE company (NYSE:BHGE) announced today that the Baker Hughes international rig count for May 2019 was 1,126, up 64 from the 1,062 counted in April 2019, and up 159 from the 967 counted in May 2018. The international offshore rig count for May 2019 was 240, down 11 from the 251 counted in April 2019, and up 42 from the 198 counted in May 2018. The [Read more]
Senators reject chance to immediately kill tanker ban but bill not safe yet
OTTAWA - The Senate passed up a chance Thursday to kill the Trudeau government's bill to ban oil tanker traffic in the environmentally sensitive waters off northern British Columbia. Senators voted 53-38 to reject a committee report that recommended that Bill C-48 be scrapped; one senator abstained. But that's not a guarantee the bill will survive. A number of Independent senators are opposed to C-48 but nevertheless voted against the Conservative-written report of the Senate's [Read more]
Controversial bill on energy project assessment passes Senate heavily amended
OTTAWA - Legislation overhauling Canada's assessment of major energy projects is back in the hands of Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, albeit looking a lot different than when she introduced it. The Senate passed the Impact Assessment Act late Thursday with more than 180 amendments. The changes take power away from the environment minister to intervene in or slow the assessment process, reduces the ability for legal challenges of project approvals and adds more emphasis on [Read more]
Enbridge seeks court ruling on Great Lakes oil pipeline deal
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Enbridge Inc. is asking a Michigan court to rule on the legality of an agreement it reached with former Gov. Rick Snyder to build an oil pipeline tunnel beneath the channel linking lakes Huron and Michigan. The Canadian company said Thursday that it is asking the Michigan Court of Claims to determine the constitutional validity of the deal. The Court of Claims deals with civil actions filed against the state and its agencies. Snyder, a Republican, [Read more]
Trans Mountain stake should go to Indigenous owners on route, B.C. chief says
CALGARY - The chairman of a B.C. indigenous group seeking to buy a stake in the Trans Mountain pipeline says Ottawa should favour communities along the route when deciding who can make an ownership bid. Chief Michael LeBourdais of Whispering Pines Clinton Indian Band near Kamloops, B.C., says for that reason he supports the efforts of the Iron Coalition over rival Project Reconciliation. Iron Coalition announced Wednesday it is inviting First Nations and Metis groups from across Alberta to [Read more]
Husky restarts production at another drill centre following November oil spill
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Husky Energy has restarted production at its southern drill centre in the White Rose oil field following a major oil spill off the coast of Newfoundland last fall that halted all operations. A Wednesday statement from the company said production began after leak testing in accordance with the plan approved by the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board. Another drill centre at the site restarted production in January. Husky has been working to resume [Read more]
Western Canadian crude inventories decrease in May
Western Canadian crude oil inventories fell in May, energy information provider Genscape said on Wednesday, helped by an increase in crude-by-rail loadings. Total stocks were 33.6 million barrels, retreating from the record high of 37.1 million barrels set in April. The decline follows Alberta government production curtailments that were imposed on Jan. 1 to help drain a glut of crude in storage and boost Canadian crude prices. Oil companies are limited to producing 3.71 million barrels [Read more]