Alberta, Canada's oil province, will clean up 5% of its inactive wells by 2023
A regulatory report on Thursday said that the number of inactive gas and oil wells in Alberta, Canada’s largest fossil fuel producing province, dropped 5% from 2022 to 2023, indicating progress in reclamation and decommissioning work. Alberta has 79,000 inactive wells compared to 83,000 in 2012. Inactive wells are no longer producing oil or gas, and must be permanently plugged. The land surrounding them should also be restored. Canada is the fourth largest oil producer in the world and the sixth largest gas producer. Its western provinces have hundreds of thousands active and non-active wells. Some of these wells are orphans.
Husky Energy Beats Profit Estimates
Husky Energy Inc reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, as higher Canadian crude prices following Alberta government's mandatory output cuts more than offset the company's lower production and weak refining margins.The Calgary-based company said average realized prices rose 7.3% to $53.35 per barrel of oil equivalent after the mandatory curtailment on oil production during the quarter to ease export pipeline congestion.Husky's average quarterly production fell 9.2% to 268,400 barrels of oil equivalents…
Husky Energy Beats Profit Estimate
Canada's Husky Energy Inc beat analysts' estimates for quarterly profit on Friday, as it benefited from improved Canadian crude prices following Alberta's output cuts and investment in a number of refineries and pipelines boosted its margins per barrel.The oil and gas producer, which runs drilling and refining businesses in Canada, the United States and Asia, said average realized prices rose to C$47.20 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe) in the first quarter, from C$40.87 per boe a year earlier.In December last year, Alberta…
Canada-US Pipelines Restart After Weather Disruptions
Two major pipelines carrying oil from Canada to the United States resumed operations on Wednesday after brief disruptions due to power outages from severe weather in Saskatchewan, Canada, a day earlier.A number of lines on Enbridge Inc's Mainline system, which carries about 1.2 million barrels per day of crude and other liquids, and TransCanada Corp's 590,000 bpd Keystone crude pipeline were hit by power outages on Tuesday in the western Canadian province.TransCanada's Keystone pipeline was operational on Wednesday after it experienced a brief outage due to power disruptions…
Cenovus Expects to Spend $1.1 Bln in 2019
The chief executive of Cenovus Energy Inc said on Monday that he expects the company to invest some C$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion) in 2019, in line with 2018 capital spending, after the Alberta government's mandated oil output cuts boosted Canadian crude prices."My company will have a capital program that looks pretty similar to the program we had last year," Alex Pourbaix said in an interview. "We'll spend the better part of C$1.5 billion, give or take, and that would not have been the case if the government hadn't take action."Pourbaix also said he now expects the Canadian heavy crude discount to be closer to $20 below the U.S.
US Judge Halts Keystone XL Oil Pipeline
A U.S. judge in Montana has halted construction of the Keystone XL pipeline designed to carry heavy crude oil from Canada to the United States, drawing a sharp rebuke on Friday from President Donald Trump.The ruling of a U.S. Court in Montana late on Thursday dealt a major setback to TransCanada Corp, whose stock dropped 2 percent in Toronto. Shares of companies that would ship oil on the pipeline also fell.TransCanada said in a statement it remains committed to building the $8 billion, 1,180 mile (1,900 km) pipeline, but…
New Pipelines No Silver Bullet for Battered Canada Oil Industry
Canada's oil sands producers are getting a long-awaited boost in export capacity, but the two pipeline projects approved this week will not be a silver bullet for the industry's woes unless crude prices pick up or companies improve their operating efficiency. The Canadian government approved Kinder Morgan's plan to triple volumes on its Trans Mountain pipeline to 890,000 barrels per day, and cleared Enbridge Inc's Line 3 replacement project, which will roughly double capacity to 760,000 bpd. Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline was rejected.
Bottlenecks Expected as More Canadian Oil Meets Tight Pipe Space
Deeply-discounted prices for heavy crude from the heart of Alberta's oil sands look set to sink further, thanks to hundreds of thousands of barrels of new supply that will have difficulty finding space in crowded pipelines, traders say. It would be another hit for Canada's ailing oil sands producers, who have slashed millions in capital expenditures and been forced to lay off thousands of workers over the two-year downturn in oil prices. Until recently, pipeline space in Alberta has not been an issue as May wildfires took about half of the oil sands' production capacity offline.
Bottlenecks Expected as More Canadian Oil Meets Tight Pipe Space
Deeply discounted prices for heavy crude from the heart of Alberta's oil sands look set to sink further, thanks to hundreds of thousands of barrels of new supply that will have difficulty finding space in crowded pipelines, traders say. It would be another hit for Canada's ailing oil sands producers, who have slashed millions in capital expenditures and been forced to lay off thousands of workers over the two-year downturn in oil prices. Until recently, pipeline space in Alberta has not been an issue as May wildfires took about half of the oil sands' production capacity offline.
Latest Evacuations Threaten Oil Sands Restart
The sudden surge north of the massive wildfire burning in Canada's oil sands region has dealt a new setback to producers, triggering a second round of evacuations and threatening work camps north of Fort McMurray. With the the city of Fort McMurray off limits and fewer places to house workers needed to restart operations, production may be shut down for longer than companies and market analysts had anticipated. A shift in winds and hot temperatures sent the blaze roaring toward Suncor Energy and Syncrude Canada's mining and upgrading projects late Monday, forcing them to shut down for the second time in two weeks.
Canada Wildfire Explodes in Size, Approaches Oil Sands Project
A raging Canadian wildfire grew explosively on Saturday as hot, dry winds pushed the blaze across the energy heartland of Alberta and threatened to burn close to an oil sands project. The fire that has already prompted the evacuation of all 88,000 people who lived in the city of Fort McMurray was set to double in size on Saturday, the seventh day of what is expected to be the costliest natural disaster in Canada's history. Provincial officials praised evacuees for their patience and, in a sign of how long the crisis could drag on…
Alberta to Fly Oil via Airships, It Says on April Fools
Canada's oil-producing province of Alberta, stymied by the U.S. decision to block the Keystone XL pipeline and by other market access problems, said on Friday it will use zeppelins to bring its products to markets around the world. Alberta's left-leaning New Democrat government used April Fools' Day to solve the problem of getting bitumen, oil and natural gas from the land-locked province without going through the long consultations and reviews that have frustrated its oil industry. "Airship technology has advanced by leaps and bounds since the Hindenburg," she added, referencing the 1937 airship disaster that killed 36 people.
Nexen Apologizes for Worker's death at Canada Oil Sands Site
Nexen Energy executives apologized on Saturday for an explosion at the company's Long Lake oil sands facility in Alberta that killed one employee, left another critically injured and shut down the site for an indefinite period. Fang Zhi, who heads the unit of China's CNOOC Ltd, said the incident marked one of the darkest days in Nexen's history. "Our thoughts are with the families," he told reporters in Calgary. The company said the injured worker had been taken to the burn unit of a hospital in the provincial capital of Edmonton. The explosion happened on Friday afternoon at the site south of Fort McMurray, Alberta.
Encana Defers Next Duvernay Gas Plant, Awaits Alberta Govt Reviews
Canadian oil and gas producer Encana Corp said on Thursday it will defer the start of its next gas plant in the Duvernay play until it sees the results of the Alberta government's ongoing reviews. The Alberta government is currently conducting reviews into how much producers pay in resource royalties and into climate change policies. (Reporting by Nia Williams)
Alberta Panel to Review Climate-change Policy
The Canadian province of Alberta, the biggest source of U.S. oil imports, announced the members of its climate change policy review panel on Friday, part of its pledge to implement new rules on greenhouse gas reductions. Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said the panel would offer recommendations to the government by early November, ahead of a key United Nations climate change conference in Paris in December, but did not say when new GHG targets are likely to come into effect. The five members of the panel are University of Alberta energy economist Andrew Leach…
Wildfire Intensifies Near Alberta Oil-sands Sites
An out-of-control wildfire, burning near two major oil sands projects in the key crude-producing region of northern Alberta, grew in size on Friday, although firefighters were hopeful cold weather moving into the region would help tackle the blaze. Around 233,000 barrels per day of production, roughly 10 percent of Alberta's total output crude output, was shut in as a result of wildfires across the province, which is the largest source of United States crude imports. The biggest fire was roughly 15 kilometres from Cenovus Energy Inc's 135 bpd Foster Creek project…
MEG Latest to Shut Oil Sands Project on Alberta Fire Threat
MEG Energy Inc said on Tuesday it was suspending operations at its 80,000 barrel per day Christina Lake oil sands project and evacuated non-essential staff as wildfires rage through northeastern Alberta. MEG said in a statement that there was as yet no safety risk from the forest fires, but it has halted work on a planned maintenance shutdown at its project site, the latest of several oil producers in the region to move staff away from the potential danger. "As a precautionary measure, we have temporarily suspended operations, including our planned maintenance turnaround," the company said in a statement.
Crude Price Back Above Break-even for Canada Oil Sands Producers
Bolstered by a weak Canadian currency and robust demand from U.S. refiners, Canadian heavy oil prices have rebounded off first-quarter lows and surpassed the break-even point for most producers, easing pressure on a sector that has slashed budgets and staff. The price of Western Canada Select, the country's benchmark crude grade, is trading for around C$55 ($45) per barrel, up nearly C$20 per barrel from its mid-March lows thanks to improved market access and U.S. refinery demand ramping up after seasonal maintenance. The price rise is balm for an oil sands sector that not long ago was preoccupied with cutting spending and lowering costs.
