A controversial pipeline project in southern Alberta has received approval from the Energy Resources Conservation Board.
Shell Canada has received approval to build two pipelines and a natural gas battery near Beaver Mines, Alta., with several conditions imposed by the board relating to emergency response, corrosion monitoring and air quality.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/ll89tz
“Psst. Big Oil. We’re winning …”
Psst, NIMBY environmentalists: yes, sort of, but no, not really.
The above quote was tweeted by Vancouver green activist Tzeporah Berman this week after B.C. NDP Leader Adrian Dix said he will oppose expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, and follows a series of recent “wins” for foes of new oil pipelines in North America.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/cosdx2x
CALGARY – Despite a dramatic improvement in the price Alberta producers are getting for their crude oil, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver is still pushing hard for market-opening pipeline expansions, such as the controversial Keystone XL project.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/c4ly7bn
OTTAWA — Canada lost out on about $25 billion in oil revenues last year due to pipeline and production bottlenecks and is expected to lose $15 billion a year going forward until it deals with its infrastructure deficit, a new CIBC report says.
CIBC economists Avery Shenfeld and Peter Buchanan said the record price discount received by Western producers of heavy oil — mostly bitumen — is no longer the issue it once was, but Canada will continue to lose big time until it permanently solves its pipeline deficit.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/clovj2a
The production of oil from Western Canada is expanding to the point that existing pipeline capacity is overwhelmed. Canadian pipeline company Enbridge aims to get its Northern Gateway project built for exports from Canada’s west coast. TransCanada, meanwhile, anticipates crude oil deliveries will expand from Canada to southern U.S. refineries by way of the Keystone XL pipeline. Expanding oil production from North America, however, may be too much for pipelines to handle and suppliers will need to look to more-expensive rail to get their oil to markets.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/czuhvdu
When Alberta’s oil sands started being commercially developed almost 50 years ago, the biggest challenge for companies was finding cost-effective production technologies. Producers such as Sun Oil Company (now Suncor Energy) and Syncrude focused on securing capital rather than launching public relations campaigns.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/bwsog7y
Pipelines are to a landlocked oil economy what supply lines are to invading armies: critical to success but vulnerable to attack.
Canada’s prairie oil producers – led by Alberta but including Saskatchewan and now Manitoba – have been wildly favoured in geology but less so in geography. While the provinces are enjoying a boom in production from oil sands and new light oil prospects, they are located far from the massive refining hub on the U.S. Gulf Coast, and far from ocean ports that would allow them to reach energy-hungry customers overseas.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/ak4qa6f
From sea to sea, the promise and perils facing Alberta’s energy resources – and a provincial government anxious to help bring them to market – are on full display.
Along the Atlantic, the largest oil refinery in Canada sits with unused capacity while the New Brunswick government hopes Alberta oil can fill the gaps.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/ae22amn
Enbridge Inc. plans to spend $400-million to expand the capacity of its pipeline system between Hardisty, Alta., and the U.S. border.
The project involves increasing pumping horsepower and no new line pipe construction is involved, the Calgary-based company said Friday.
It expects to increase capacity by 230,000 barrels a day when the upgrade comes on line in 2015, subject to regulatory approvals.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/ba3vkgo
CALGARY — Two major banks are warning that increased pipeline capacity is badly needed to bring Canadian oil to market.
In a report released Monday, TD Economics calls pipeline expansion a “national priority.”
“Canada’s oil industry is facing a serious challenge to its long-term growth,” says the report.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/cg2ygf5