Oil and gas revenues can be used by tyrannies, autocracies and dictatorships to oppress their populations
Why would consumers treat tyranny oil differently than blood diamonds or clothing made by child labour? One of the more bizarre reactions to bare facts came recently after a colleague and I analyzed oil-and-gas-producing countries and their degree of freedom – the Tyranny Index, as we labelled it. Some argued such tracking is irrelevant because…
The need to generate cash, along with political pressure, compelled the Saudis to make some bitter decisions
Saudi Arabia has capitulated. A few moves here and there, in Washington and elsewhere, made the trick work. Saudi Arabia made a surprise announcement last week that it would cut its crude oil output by a further one million barrels per day (bpd) from planned June levels, “voluntarily.” This takes the total Saudi production cuts…
By Aaron Wudrick and Franco Terrazzano Canadian Taxpayers Federation Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has chosen to make life more expensive for Canadians by increasing the federal carbon tax by 50 per cent amidst the COVID-19 economic and health crisis. Meanwhile, governments around the world are moving in the opposite direction because hiking taxes during a…
Despite claims by some that ‘oil is dead’ and that the sector is heavily subsidized, the evidence suggests otherwise
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre In the ongoing debate over whether Canada’s oil and natural gas industry will or should survive, one argument often advanced is the notion that oil and gas activity in Canada survives only due to massive subsidies from taxpayers. The debate has been fuelled recently by comments from…
With the world beginning to get back on its wheels, a ‘new normal’ is set to emerge. But what will new normal look like – particularly, will crude oil demand ever return to pre-pandemic levels? Our streets are not as empty as they were just a short while ago. Freeway traffic is rising. Prices at…
Canada’s energy sector is facing unprecedented challenges as oil demand collapses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The toll is already visible, with layoffs coming at the worst possible time for families, as companies cut spending and put growth plans on hold in order to survive. In this challenging time, anti-oil activists pour gasoline…
The world oil market seems to be climbing out of the depths. Yet questions linger. And another crude oil price rout could be just around the corner. The price of oil futures contracts could go to zero again, even faster than the May contracts fell, says CNBC’s Jim Cramer. The oil glut is dominating the…
Neither the lockdown not government diktat will end our dependence on fossil fuels for quite some time
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre In 1897 while in London in the midst of a worldwide speaking tour, American author Mark Twain became the subject of rumours back home that he was dead. To discover the truth, a reporter from the New York Journal wrote to Twain to ask if he…
As the cost of pumping crude exceeds the selling price in most cases, production in many oil-producing countries is already taking a hit
The math is fuzzy. When the agreement to cut crude oil output by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) was announced, U.S President Donald Trump, who played a dominant role in getting the agreement, went further. “Having been involved in the negotiations, to put it mildly, the number that OPEC-plus is looking to cut is…
For four years, the U.S. has firmly rejected joining the producers’ club to curb output. It can’t remain aloof any longer
Energy diplomats are on overdrive, seeking to bring an end to the senseless global crude oil war. Russia and Saudi Arabia have flooded the market, driving down oil prices. A G20 virtual meeting of energy leaders is being urged, with International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol reportedly propelling the idea. Former U.S. Energy Information…
The COVID-19 crisis can’t be used as an excuse to kill one of Canada’s largest, best-paying industries, which benefits us all
Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre While the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic and an economic downturn, anti-energy activists have spotted an opportunity: to kill off Canada’s oil and gas industry – the one that provides hundreds of thousands of jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars in tax revenues to governments.…
With demand and supply shock acting simultaneously, crude markets are imploding. And this is just the tip of the iceberg
The global oil war is on and no one seems to be blinking. Saudi Arabia is set to increase its crude oil exports in May by about 600,000 barrels per day (bpd), bringing its total petroleum exports to 10.6 million bpd, an official at the Saudi Arabian Energy Ministry told the Saudi Press Agency. Russia…
Thousands of patients are on wait lists. Meanwhile, the human and economic costs of mental illness keep rising
For the past decade, Bell Canada has used the month of January to support awareness of mental health issues. Its extensive media campaigns have encouraged Canadians to talk openly about mental health and break the uncomfortable stigma that still tends to hover over such conversations. There’s plenty of data to document the prevalence of Canada’s…
Smart Energy Communities are not only more resilient, they also create new opportunities for local economic development, lower energy costs and a cleaner environment
By Aida Nciri and Eddie Oldfield QUEST Canadian municipalities and energy utilities are on the front lines of the impacts of climate change. A recent report by the Insurance Bureau of Canada highlights the financial costs of climate change, with insured damage for severe weather events reaching $1.3 billion in 2019. Of the top 10…
Organized, well-funded groups condemning farming practices on social media are winning the consumer trust battle
The public uses social media every day to express concerns about farming practices. And it’s getting worse. Farmers are criticized for a variety of reasons – for example their environmental stewardship and their ethical behaviour in how they treat livestock. In survey after survey, Canadians generally say they trust farmers, regardless of headlines, social media…
Why would consumers treat tyranny oil differently than blood diamonds or clothing made by child labour? One of the more bizarre reactions to bare facts came recently after a colleague and I analyzed oil-and-gas-producing countries and their degree of freedom – the Tyranny Index, as we labelled it. Some argued such tracking is irrelevant because…
