EDMONTON – Shell Canada has received regulatory approval to significantly increase bitumen production at an expanded plant near Peace River — an area where residents have raised a stink for three years about odours emanating from existing operations.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/c8hhpe2
CALGARY – Alberta’s energy regulator says higher oil prices and new technology have led to the largest increase in decades of both conventional oil production and reserves.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/c7fja8o
Wave goodbye to the bitumen upgrader.
Hold a funeral for the giant “pre-refineries” that, until 10 years ago, were still expected to dot Alberta’s Industrial Heartland around Fort Saskatchewan, each employing thousands of construction workers for years on end, each pumping $7 billion or more into the Alberta economy.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/bsfklwg
Is Canada’s tar sands expansion in trouble? Probably not, but the issue is complicated, so bear with me.
Back on November 9, 2012 I wrote a post called A Slowdown At The Tar Sands, noting that the economics of new projects had become “challenging” according to James Burkhard, head of oil-market research for oil consultancy IHS Cera. Bloomberg recently reported on a new development at the tar sands which confirms that diagnosis.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/c7po6cy
Everyone who keeps saying Alberta needs to upgrade more of the bitumen produced in the province were handed a big dose of reality Wednesday when Suncor and Total S.A. announced they were shelving the Voyageur upgrading project.
The decision included Suncor buying back Total’s 49-per-cent interest for $515 million, a figure that took some by surprise.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/bvhox6u
EDMONTON – Alberta’s bitumen prices are expected to remain volatile for the rest of the decade, but the vast majority of oilsands projects set to start by 2015 will be economically attractive despite the weak prices, according to global energy research and consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/bp2mx9z
Catchy? You might have to give the phrase “Bitumen bubble” that much.
Illuminating? Hardly. First, it turns the well-accepted idea of an inflationary bubble on its head. Prices fell precipitously when real estate and dot-com bubbles burst. A bursting bitumen bubble presumes the reverse — bitumen prices will rise relative to conventional crude oil.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/brkyq5t
EDMONTON — Alberta government ministers say they are not concerned a financing plan has yet to be approved for the $5.7-billion first phase of the North West upgrader project that is slated to begin refining bitumen for Alberta taxpayers in three years.
Finance Minister Doug Horner and Energy Minister Ken Hughes said Wednesday they are confident the project will go ahead as scheduled.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/crc32zt
EDMONTON – When it comes to upgrading Alberta’s vast supply of bitumen, Ivanhoe Energy is out to prove small is beautiful — and profitable.
The Calgary-based oil company has new technology ready for its proposed steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) project near Fort McMurray that would partially upgrade bitumen right near the well site — just enough so it will flow into regular pipelines and could be shipped directly to a refinery.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/cucumk9
The looming pipeline bottleneck that’s been widely forecast as oilsands production soared in Alberta in recent years is no longer imminent – it’s here.
The vast underground network of pipes that move approximately 3.2 million barrels of crude oil a day in Canada is operating at capacity even as high-profile pipelines that would resolve the issue slowly progress through regulatory reviews in Canada and the United States.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/artzhdl