Canada proposes a sharp reduction in emissions from the oil and gas industry by 2030
On Monday, the Canadian government released draft regulations which would cap greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and natural gas sector. Producers will be required to reduce emissions by 35% from 2019 levels and 2030. In a press release, the Environment Ministry said that the regulations would create a cap and trade system to reward companies with better performance. It will also provide an incentive for polluting firms to improve their production processes. Ottawa stated that oil and gas production would still grow by 16% in 2030-2032 compared to 2019 levels, but without a cap. The Canadian GDP will only decrease by 0.1%.
After a tight win, the New Democratic Party (NDP) of British Columbia will form a government with ties to the left.
The New Democratic Party of Premier David Eby, who is currently in office, will form the next government for British Columbia. This comes after a final count of votes on Monday. It was more than a full week since the vote of October 19. The NDP won 47 seats, just enough for a majority in Canada's westmost province. John Rustad’s Conservative Party of British Columbia took 44 and the BC Green Party two. Eby, Premier of British Columbia, said that he met with Janet Austin on Monday, British Columbia's Lieutenant Governor, who asked him for the next government.
Voters in British Columbia's provincial election are focused on affordability and healthcare.
British Columbia, Canada's most western province, is preparing to elect its provincial government on October 19. Polls indicate that the incumbent New Democratic Party holds a narrow lead over the main rival Conservative Party. The provincial elections will be closely watched for clues as to how Canadians might vote at the federal election that is due to occur within the next 12 months, where Justin Trudeau’s Liberals are expected to suffer a heavy defeat to the federal Conservatives. British Columbia is a large mountainous province rich in natural resources, including forestry and gas. The top issues for voters are housing, healthcare and rising living costs.
Cenovus Energy Sets Out to Slash Emissions
Canada's Cenovus Energy on Thursday unveiled plans to reduce per-barrel greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by the end of 2030, as the country's oil industry faces growing pressure from environmental activists.The Alberta-based integrated oil and gas company said it will spend an additional C$1.5 billion on businesses run by the country's indigenous communities.Opposition from environmental and indigenous groups have stalled new pipeline projects in Canada and the United States that are needed to move Canadian crude to refineries. Investors in the region have also become more vocal about environmental…
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 it has also said it is seeking other investors and has not taken a final investment decision.The ruling drew an angry response from Trump…
Canada Environment Minister: 'No Apologies' for Oil Sector Support
Canada's top climate change official on Thursday said she would make no apologies for the nation's support for its oil producers, saying environmental and economic policies must consider the needs of all Canadians.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has sought to cast Canada as a global leader in combating climate change, particularly since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew Washington's support for an international deal to curb global warming.But Trudeau's government is also seeking to expand the country's oil industry. Canada agreed in May to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline for $3.46 billion (C$4.5 billion) to save a controversial expansion of the line…
Canada Dreams of Oil Exports to Asia, but California Beckons
The nationalization of a crude oil export pipeline in western Canada has buoyed long-standing hopes for crude exports to markets beyond the United States - but the most likely destination for much of that oil is California. Faced with declining production from Latin America and rising prices for higher-grade crudes from the Middle East, the Golden State is importing more oil from Canada - much of it via the Trans Mountain pipeline, which Kinder Morgan Canada last month sold to Ottawa for C$4.5 billion ($3.5 billion). The Canadian government has pledged to "immediately" start work on the C$7.4 billion Edmonton-to-Vancouver expansion…
Canada Ready to Cover Kinder Morgan Loss
Canada is prepared to cover some losses Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd might suffer if a proposed oil pipeline expansion is delayed and thinks other investors are ready to step in if need be, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said on Wednesday. The company has given Ottawa a deadline of May 31 to provide assurances it can proceed with a plan to more than double the capacity of its Trans Mountain line from Alberta to British Columbia. The government of the Pacific coast province opposes the project on environmental grounds. "We are willing to indemnify the Trans Mountain expansion against unnecessary delays that are politically motivated…
Canada Moves Crude One Truckload at a Time
At an Alberta oil loading terminal, a convoy of big rigs are gearing up to haul Canadian crude oil hundreds of miles through bone dry fields across the U.S. border into Montana, where the oil will be transferred to pipelines and rail cars headed south and west. Trucks loaded with crude are an increasingly common sight at the border. Production has risen in the world's fifth largest producer but full pipelines and a rail car shortage have made it difficult for drillers to ship oil out of Canada. Some oil producers are feeling the pressure from customers.
Trudeau's Political Troubles Boil as Pipeline Surprise Weighs
Canada's government got just 24 hours notice that it would be thrust into a political and economic crisis by an ultimatum from a pipeline operator, government sources said, leaving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau scrambling for options in a dispute that could damage his re-election chances. The Kinder Morgan Canada pipeline issue has pitted Ottawa against the Pacific province of British Columbia and could turn into a constitutional crisis, derail Trudeau's energy strategy and dent business confidence. Trudeau broke off a foreign trip to hold an emergency…
Canada Cabinet to Discuss Troubled Kinder Morgan Pipeline
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet on Tuesday with his cabinet ministers to discuss Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd's threat to walk away from a troubled pipeline expansion as various levels of government signal interest in spending public funds to ensure the project proceeds. The company, losing patience with moves by politicians and activists to block plans to almost triple the capacity of its Trans Mountain pipeline, is vowing to halt all work on May 31 unless the challenges can be resolved. The 90-minute cabinet meeting is due to start at 3 p.m. (1900 GMT). The pipeline carries crude from Alberta's oil sands to the Pacific province of British Columbia.
Kinder Morgan Halts Most Work on Disputed Canada Pipeline
Kinder Morgan Canada on Sunday suspended most work on a C$7.4 billion ($5.8 billion) oil pipeline expansion that has become the focus of protests, a move underscoring uncertainty over major energy projects in Canada. Company Chairman Steve Kean said he would scrap plans to nearly triple the capacity of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which takes crude from Alberta's oil sands to a facility in the Pacific province of British Columbia, unless the various legal challenges could be resolved by May 31. The announcement was a blow to the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which approved the project and says it is in the national interest.
Canada Pipeline Feud Hits B.C. Wine Purchases
Canada's oil-rich province of Alberta struck back at neighboring British Columbia on Tuesday, halting purchases of that province's wines in retaliation for its potentially holding up expansion of a crude pipeline. British Columbia proposed rules last week to temporarily block increased oil shipments through the province, adding another hurdle to Kinder Morgan Canada's planned C$7.4 billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Alberta's New Democrat Premier Rachel Notley said the Alberta Gaming & Liquor Control Board, which is the distributor for all liquor retailers in the province, will immediately stop importing British Columbia wine. "This is one good step to waking B.C.
Canada Court Throws Out Permits for Seismic Testing in North
Canada's top court handed aboriginals a partial victory on Wednesday, ruling there was not adequate consultation on plans to conduct seismic testing for oil and gas in the north of the country, but dismissing a separate attempt to quash permits for changes to an Enbridge Inc pipeline. In the two separate but related decisions, the Supreme Court of Canada found that while the Canadian government holds ultimate responsibility for ensuring that consultations with First Nations are adequate, it can rely on the national energy regulator's process to fulfill that in oil- and gas-related matters.
Kinder Morgan Canada Shares Drop
Shares in Kinder Morgan Canadian debuted at C$16.06 on Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange after raising C$1.75 billion ($1.3 billion) in an initial public offering (IP0) at C$17.00 each last week. Kinder Morgan spun off its Canadian unit to part-finance the expansion of Trans Mountain pipeline, but political opposition to the project is set to mount after an election this month in the province of British Columbia, through which the pipeline runs, resulted in an informal alliance of two anti-Trans Mountain parties rising to power. Kinder Morgan's C$17 per-share target was a revision from its original projected range of C$19 to C$22.
Majors Exiting Oil Sands Acting in Own Interest -Trudeau
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday dismissed a recent string of major oil companies selling their holdings in the heavy oil sands of Western Canada and moving investments to shale fields. Royal Dutch Shell and Marathon Oil this week disclosed sales of operations that largely removed both firms from the carbon-heavy oil reserves. Shell is selling its interests to Canadian Natural Resources. Last month, Exxon Mobil wrote down all of its oil reserves from its Kearl project in northern Alberta, saying extracting the oil was no longer economic at current prices. "Businesses will make the decisions they make," Trudeau said.
White House: Keystone XL Can Be Made from Non-US Steel
The Keystone XL oil pipeline does not need to be made from U.S. steel, despite an executive order by President Donald Trump days after he took office requiring domestic steel in new pipelines, the White House said on Friday. "It's specific to new pipelines or those that are being repaired," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters on Air Force One, when asked about a report by Politico that Keystone would not need to use U.S. steel, despite Trump's executive order issued on Jan. 24. "Since this one is already currently under construction, the steel is already literally sitting there, it's hard to go back.
Trump, Trudeau to Discuss Trade on Monday
President Donald Trump will host Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, the White House said on Thursday, a meeting in which trade and a major crude oil pipeline are likely to be on the agenda. The meeting will be the first for the two men since Trump won last November's election. "President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau look forward to a constructive conversation on strengthening the relationship between our two nations," the White House said in a statement. Canada sends 75 percent of its exports to the United States and is keen to avoid becoming the target of protectionist measures.
Obama's Arctic Ban and Aftermath
US President Barack Obama has permanently banned offshore oil and gas drilling in the "vast majority" of US-owned northern waters. Vowing that his successor won’t be able to reverse his actions, President Obama on Tuesday used executive authority to permanently ban new offshore drilling in federally owned waters off the Atlantic coast and in the Arctic Ocean. The majority of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas and the entirety of the Canadian Arctic are now off limits for future offshore oil and gas leasing. According to ADN, President Obama's Dec. Much of the policy and planning the U.S. and Alaska have been working toward in the Arctic was unwoven with this action.
Obama Bans New Drilling off Alaska, Part of Atlantic Shore
U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday banned new oil and gas drilling in federal waters in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, in a push to leave his stamp on the environment before Republican Donald Trump takes office next month. Obama used a 1950s-era law called the Outer Continental Shelf Act that allows presidents to limit areas from mineral leasing and drilling. Environmental groups said that meant Trump's incoming administration would have to go court if it sought to reverse the move. The ban affects 115 million acres (46.5 million hectares) of…
