Right now, it’s still just a dream, but a dream that’s becoming closer to reality.
That dream is a second sugar-beet processing plant for southern Alberta, a facility which could breathe life into an industry which has seen its fair share of challenges in the last decade.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/okogfs9
EDMONTON – A report says Alberta would create jobs and take in $600 million in annual revenues if more oil and natural gas were processed in the province instead of shipping it to other jurisdictions.
The report by a University of Calgary economist was commissioned by a group of municipalities and energy companies in the Edmonton region known as Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/ct5on4e
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
In front of a government panel on Tuesday, a labour group argued in favour of increasing refining operations in Alberta, instead of sending unprocessed bitumen to foreign refineries.
Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan told the province’s Standing Committee on Alberta’s Economic Future that upgrading bitumen locally should be a top priority for resource development and job growth.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/cr9m72c
CALGARY — Worried about high differentials for heavy oil?
The solution is simple: Don’t sell heavy oil, says Ian MacGregor, chairman of North West Upgrading Inc.
“With all the transportation and market constraints that we see, it’s hard to see this situation reversing itself,” he said at a conference in Calgary on Tuesday.
“Why bother to refine? People used to make synthetic crude oil to send it off to somebody else for refining. You get about half the margin that you do with refining when you do that.”
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/bdmgbfj
CALGARY — Private investment funds are putting up $330 million to create a new Calgary-based midstream company to take advantage of a surge in unconventional gas development in Western Canada.
Kanata Energy Group Ltd. announced Thursday that Calgary-based ARC Financial Corp., Energy Spectrum Capital of Dallas and the private investment department of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan had contributed.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/bkwvj4m
Strathcona County is boasting a boom following the announcement of a go-ahead for the Northwest Upgrader north of Sherwood Park.
The Sturgeon County development falls outside Strathcona’s jurisdiction, but as an Industrial Heartland initiative, the $5.7-billion bitumen refinery is proving profitable for the entire surrounding region.
Read more: http://tinyurl.com/b322rpn