Recently I talked about the incredible depth of science, engineering and business expertise resident in the Canadian oil and gas industry — and how it must be better harnessed to provide facts and perspective about critical issues of the day to governments, regulators, and concerned members of the public. But a few months ago, I castigated various scientists for providing “expert” opinion, very inexpertly, on policy and regulatory matters.
June 3, 2019, 5:48 AM MDT
In Part 1 of our series, Richard Admson began to frame the challenge facing industrial producers around the world and began to set the table for Alberta having the potential to be a leading home for future investments in an emissions-constrained world. Today, in Part 2, he looks at some of the components of “Clean-tech” that supports this future, their status and where they may be going over the next years and decades.
May 30, 2019, 9:12 AM MDT
A total of $5.2 billion in capital was raised by the Canadian oil and natural gas industry in 2018, down 77 per cent from the $22.4 billion raised in 2017.
May 29, 2019, 6 AM MDT
The Liberal Party is trailing in the polls, and based on history our natural ruling party will do whatever it takes to shore up support prior to the federal election on or before October 21, including throwing Western Canada’s oil industry under the bus yet again.
May 21, 2019, 7:43 AM MDT
The Kenney government has come to power with a new approach to energy. It can be summed up in four words: fight back, dial back.
May 7, 2019, 12 AM MDT
To cancel the recently signed contracts with Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) or not, that’s the question newly-installed Premier Jason Kenney must now answer.
May 1, 2019, 6:54 AM MDT
The topic of climate change and the impact of human alteration of the atmosphere is one that is sure to raise passions or instill depression in any gathering. It makes politics and religion seem like safe dinner party topics unless you have carefully vetted your guests.
April 30, 2019, 8:39 AM MDT
I’m thrilled Alberta will again have a pro-business government in power as of April 30. But Premier-designate Jason Kenney and the United Conservative Party (UCP) will have their work cut out for them, especially to fulfil their campaign promise of getting a “fair price” for Alberta’s natural gas.
April 25, 2019, 7:23 AM MDT
The NDP has been bounced from power in Alberta. Now the hard part. To get new crude pipeline capacity constructed to tidewater.
April 17, 2019, 7:19 AM MDT
The release on January 31, 2019, of the long-awaited court decision (the “Appeal Decision”) by the Supreme Court of Canada to the appeal by the Alberta Energy Regulator (the “AER”) of the May 2016 ruling by the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta that provincial regulations are in conflict with the federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (the “Redwater Decision”) was publicly lauded by many observers as the correct “social” decision.
April 16, 2019, 10:01 AM MDT
Ottawa watchers remain mesmerized by the debacle surrounding a deferred prosecution agreement for SNC-Lavalin. The ejection of Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott from the Liberal caucus is one of the latest developments.
April 15, 2019, 6 AM MDT
When flying into the Midland airport in West Texas, there was no doubt that I had arrived in oil country. It was a pleasant March afternoon and I could see drilling rigs on either side of the airport runway. Pump jacks were nodding in every direction as far as my eyes could see.
April 10, 2019, 8:28 AM MDT
Although not generally appreciated by government or the public, the network of scientific, engineering and business knowledge supporting the Canadian oil and gas industry is truly impressive. I’m tempted to say that it’s unparalleled in this country, and perhaps any other.
April 9, 2019, 6 AM MDT
I’m thrilled to see the federal and Alberta governments talking about a possible large Aboriginal stake in the Trans Mountain crude pipeline, assuming completion of the expansion project.
April 3, 2019, 9:17 AM MDT
The total enterprise value of merger and acquisition (“M&A”) transactions in the Canadian oil and natural gas industry in 2018 dropped 73 per cent year-over-year, plummeting to $11.9 billion.
March 27, 2019, 6 AM MDT
The International Energy Agency (IEA), and other major oil forecasting organizations such as OPEC and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), have consistently and seriously underestimated U.S. oil production since the Shale Oil Revolution took off in earnest early this decade.
March 26, 2019, 7:59 AM MDT
The International Energy Agency (IEA) released its latest medium-term outlook for the world oil market on March 11, and it’s no more likely to be prescient than those in the past for a simple reason: the IEA is a political organization.
March 25, 2019, 7:25 AM MDT
March 11, 2019, 6 AM MDT
In pondering the future of the oil and gas industry, I wonder whether it will include junior (small) companies, which have been the crucibles of many new ideas, concepts and plays over the years.
March 5, 2019, 6 AM MST
Call me skeptical.
February 27, 2019, 6 AM MST
The total amount of capital raised in the Canadian oil and natural gas industry in 2018 decreased 78 per cent from the previous year. In 2018, there was a total of $5.0 billion in capital raised, compared to $22.4 billion in 2017.
February 27, 2019, 6 AM MST
Imperial Oil has every reason to complain about the Alberta government curtailing crude oil production in the province, as do Suncor and Husky. Due to substantial investment in their integrated models over the decades, including crude-by-rail facilities in the case of Imperial, these companies were making a lot of money from the implosion of western Canadian crude prices in the fourth quarter of 2018.
February 21, 2019, 6 AM MST
In Samuel Beckett’s iconic play Waiting for Godot, main characters Didi and Gogo wait endlessly for the arrival of Godot, passing their time discussing everything from the mundane to the existential. The play fittingly only has two acts, and needless to say, Godot never arrives. The audience is left wondering about the meaning and purpose of it all.
February 11, 2019, 8:53 AM MST
A few months ago, I talked about the future of the oil and gas industry — pointing out that it faces a huge task over the coming years in growing production to match ever-increasing demand worldwide.
February 5, 2019, 8:02 AM MST
In the summer of 2017 I wrote the Venezuela crisis was nearing its endgame (see Impact Of New U.S. Economic Sanctions On Venezuela). It has been a long time coming, but based on recent events it appears the endgame is finally here for real, and it likely won’t be pretty.
January 28, 2019, 7:29 AM MST
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