Oil sands extraction declined largely because of shutdowns and maintenance of some production facilities. Crude oil extraction also falls
The natural resources sector in Canada continues to be challenged. A new report released Friday by Statistics Canada said real gross domestic product (GDP) of the natural resources sector fell 2.2 per cent in the third quarter, following a 2.8 per cent rise in the second quarter. The federal agency said the decline was largely…
Also plans $1.5 billion of additional spending with Indigenous businesses and reclaim 1,500 decommissioned well sites
Cenovus Energy announced Thursday it is aiming to reduce its emissions intensity by 30 per cent by 2030. It also plans to achieve a minimum of $1.5 billion of additional spending with Indigenous businesses, reclaim 1,500 decommissioned well sites and complete $40 million of caribou habitat restoration work. “Our environmental practices, low-emissions oil sands operations…
Too many reporters have bought into poorly-conceived advocacy positions and fail to provide readers with balanced information
The Canadian Energy Centre – also called the “war room” – is online, publishing featured stories, reports, briefs, analysis, perspective and even an Energy IQ quiz. It’s all aimed at distributing information about energy (primarily oil and gas) in Canada. The topics are diverse, ranging from pipelines and oil products to climate, renewables, people stories,…
Alberta produced 18.3 million cubic metres of crude oil and equivalent products in October, down 4.9 per cent
Energy production in Canada declined in several sectors in October 2019, compared with the same month in 2018, according to Statistics Canada. The federal agency said production of crude oil and equivalent products (-1.7 per cent), natural gas (-1.3 per cent), and coal (-9.3 per cent), as well as electricity generation (-3.3 per cent) declined…
For business, an ideology-driven agenda – whether from the right or the left – doesn’t create favourable conditions for investment
Common sense is not so common, observed the 18th century French writer Voltaire. Sadly, he could be talking about politics in Alberta today. Albertans have been whipsawed by two back-to-back political parties that govern more by ideology than common sense. The NDP governed from the ideological perspective that the state should tax more and use…
It's time to break apart this dysfunctional nation so the various parts can repair their generations-long problems
By Colin Alexander Research associate Frontier Centre for Public Policy Canada’s recent federal election result exposes intractable challenges dating from Confederation in 1867. Wexit could allow Alberta to escape from a burden somewhat resembling the maladministration that afflicted Argentina, once one of the world’s richest countries. For the past half century, Canada has not been…
Quebec’s experience should offer a roadmap – and a cautionary tale – for Albertans intent on quickly divorcing from Canada
Whether they endorse or oppose the notion of an independent Alberta, Albertans would do well to proceed with caution. While Quebec went through two referendums in 15 years, it took decades for that province's sovereignty movement to develop. After the near-victory in 1995, the Bloc Québécois leader spoke about the need for “winning conditions” before…
Blocking Prairie oil is not about the environment. And neither is it about safety. It's all about politics and control
In mocking response to those wishing to separate, some quip that Alberta would remain landlocked the day after it becomes independent. With a more respectful tone, Alberta’s premier used similar words in his recent “fair deal for Alberta” speech. Those endorsing and those opposing Alberta’s separation from Canada would benefit from a clear statement of…
It was actually the federal Liberals and Alberta’s previous NDP government that did the heavy lifting needed to get the project started
It was more than a little disingenuous for Alberta’s still newish UCP government to stand up and claim last week that its “perseverance” led to the start of construction of the long-delayed Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion. “Perseverance has got us to this point,” clucked Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage. “When others were criticizing our energy…
The worst thing Alberta can do is let the Wexit debate linger. A never-ending debate will only trigger a permanent loss of economic power and status
When the topic of political separation comes up, there’s one thing most of us can agree on: it’s bad for business. Recent grumblings in Alberta about breaking free of Ottawa’s shackles – which are, less face it, profoundly annoying and bad for business in their own way – brought back memories of that other separatist…
Certainly there are factors beyond domestic control, but some simple regulatory changes and a general will to help industry will go a long way
Andrew Leach, an energy and environmental economist at the University of Alberta, recently observed that a number of things challenge the oil and gas industry in Canada, particularly the oil sands sector. And some of those challenges aren’t the fault of Canadian politicians or environmental activists. He noted that the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers…
As cathartic as it may be, it’s unclear that anything Kenney has prescribed will do much to improve the business climate in this province
Managing our own affairs is good for business. That, at least, is what Alberta’s premier would like us to believe, following a policy speech delivered to a conservative crowd in Red Deer on Saturday. But is it? It depends on how you turn the coin. Premier Jason Kenney said he was up all night writing…
There’s already a strong engineering, finance and transportation capability in the province. We need to build on that in the new economy
A new study related to abandoned coal mining in the United Kingdom and the movement of displaced workers offers insight for Albertans. Not many of us read the online peer reviewed academic journal Nature Human Behaviour. That’s why occasionally perusing the back pages of The Economist makes sense. The Oct. 26, 2019, Economist reviews an…
StatsCan said crude oil delivered by pipelines to Canadian refineries was up 9.1% to 8.6 million cubic metres
Energy production in Canada declined in several sectors in August compared with the same month in 2018, according to Statistics Canada. The federal agency reported on Monday that production of crude oil and equivalent products (-2.4 per cent), natural gas (-4.8 per cent) and coal (-5.2 per cent), as well as electricity generation (-3.6 per…
It is, at 236 metres high, one of the tallest office towers in Calgary. It’s architecturally stunning – in part because of the design by world-famous architectural firm Foster + Partners, but also because of its massive scale. When it was completed in 2012, it was among the top 10 architectural projects in the world…
The natural resources sector in Canada continues to be challenged. A new report released Friday by Statistics Canada said real gross domestic product (GDP) of the natural resources sector fell 2.2 per cent in the third quarter, following a 2.8 per cent rise in the second quarter. The federal agency said the decline was largely…
