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.
Canada wants the energy sector to reduce emissions up to 35% from 2019 levels
The Canadian government released on Monday a draft regulation that would limit emissions of greenhouse gasses from the oil and natural gas sector to 35% below 2019 levels. This is a little less than originally anticipated. 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.
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.
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.
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.
Canada Mulls Single Body to Assess Pipelines
Canada needs a single federal authority to assess the potential impact of major projects such oil pipelines and mines, a move that could help quell environmental protests, an official panel said on Wednesday. Responsibility for examining the potential impact of projects on federally-regulated land in Canada is shared between three separate entities, a much-criticised system that the Liberal government says the public does not trust. Protracted protests last…
Koch Wants to Pull Out of Oil Sands Project in Canada
U.S.-based Koch Industries Inc's oil sands subsidiary in Canada wants to pull out of a project in the Muskwa region in the province of Alberta, citing economic and regulatory uncertainties, the local energy regulator said on Monday. This month Canada's year-old Liberal government, which ran on a pro-environment platform, reached a deal with provinces including Alberta to introduce a landmark national carbon price. Critics have said that would make the country less attractive to investment. (Reporting by Ethan Lou in Calgary, Alberta)
Energy East Pipeline woes Worry Canada's Atlantic Coast
For years, heavy equipment operator Ashley Underhill has tried to defy the notion that one could only make a good living in Canada's poorer east coast by spending most of the time away from the family in the nation's western oil patch. One reason Underhill had battled on, working on small private contracts, including snow clearing and wood cutting, was Energy East, a planned 4,600-km (2860-mile) pipeline between Alberta's oil sands and the east coast and the promise of an economic boost it could bring.
Canada's New Fuel Rules to cut Emissions by 30 megatonnes by 2030
Canada will require reduced carbon footprints for all fuels so that the country can achieve a 30-megatonne cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, the country's environment department said on Friday. Canada's Liberal government ran on a platform to do more for the environment. The country's new fuel measures would help it meet the emissions reduction targets of the Paris agreement on climate change, which Canada's Parliament ratified last month. (Reporting by Ethan Lou; Editing by Bill Rigby)
Canada to Rule on Two Pipelines; Kinder Morgan Still Up In Air
Canada will this week decide the fate of two Enbridge Inc pipelines but is keeping quiet about its verdict on Kinder Morgan Inc's plans to more than double the capacity of its Trans Mountain line, a move environmentalists strongly oppose. The Liberal government is widely expected to veto Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline from Alberta's oil sands to the province of British Columbia on the Pacific Coast. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has long opposed the project, citing the proposed routing through a rain forest.
Canada to Implement Northern B.C. Oil Tanker Ban
Canada's Liberal government will this year deliver on its pledge for a moratorium on oil tanker traffic along the northern coast of British Columbia, CBC News reported on Friday. Transport Minister Marc Garneau confirmed the plan in an interview with CBC Radio's "The House," the broadcaster said on its website. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last year instructed Garneau to formalize the ban on oil tanker traffic, effectively slamming the door on a pipeline project that was already facing massive development hurdles.
Canadian Carbon Price Worries Farmers, Fertilizer Makers
Canada's carbon price may weaken the farm sector in one of the world's biggest grain-shipping countries, raising farmers' costs and discouraging investment in fertilizer production, industry groups say. Ottawa this month promised a price on carbon emissions by 2018 to protect the environment, and will let provinces choose between a tax or cap and trade system. Carbon pollution will cost C$10 a tonne in 2018, rising annually until reaching C$50 in 2022. At C$50…
Alberta Premier: Canada PM "Aligned" on Pipeline Policy
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet are broadly "aligned" with Alberta and the need to develop pipelines to get the region's oil to market, the leader of the province said on Sunday. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said she had emerged from a meeting with Trudeau and his cabinet with the feeling they were on the same page about pipelines and environmental concerns. The left-leaning New Democrat leader is lobbying Trudeau's Liberal government…
Quebec Aims to Reduce Oil Consumption 40% by 2030
Quebec's Liberal government said on Thursday it wants to reduce the quantity of petroleum products consumed in the Canadian province by 40 percent by 2030 as part of its long-term energy strategy. Renewable energy currently supplies about 47 percent of Quebec's needs, an amount the province intends to boost to 61 percent by 2030, as part of a series of targets to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, Energy Minister Pierre Arcand told journalists in Montreal. (Reporting By Allison Lampert; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
Canada Energy Regulator is Monitoring Pipelines Poorly
Canada's energy regulator is doing a poor job of monitoring pipeline firms, an official watchdog said on Tuesday in a report that could bolster support for government plans to reform how major oil and gas projects are approved. Environment Commissioner Julie Gelfand said the National Energy Board (NEB) did not properly check whether companies were sticking to the approval conditions for projects and did not consistently check that problems had been cleared up.
TSX Jumps With Oil, Closes 2.6 % Higher
Canada's main stock index scored its biggest rally in more than four years on Friday, led by oil and gas stocks as crude prices surged and investors welcomed hints of more stimulus from global central banks. Sharp gains on Thursday and Friday left the index 2.6 percent higher for the week, supported by a recovery in crude oil prices and optimism that central banks in Europe and Japan will increase policy stimulus. "The market was becoming extremely oversold in the short run," said Irwin Michael, portfolio manager at ABC Funds. U.S.
Ontario to Sell 60% of Hydro One in IPO
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said on Thursday her Liberal government would sell up to 60 percent of the province's electrical utility Hydro One, but would limit minority shareholders to 10 percent stakes. Canada's most populous province will continue to regulate electricity rates, Wynne said, and the proceeds from the sale will be used to fund transit and infrastructure. Wynne said David Denison, former head of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, would replace Sandra Pupatello as Hydro One's chair.
High-cost Australia May Miss LNG Expansion
Stung by soaring costs, the gas industry paints a gloomy outlook for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in Australia, putting at risk $180 billion of developments from 2018 onwards. While Australia enjoys political stability and is close to Asian customers, big cost overruns at a series of giant offshore projects have dismayed companies like Chevron, ExxonMobil Corp and France's Total SA. "This wage growth is what is currently crippling Australian industry and is simply not sustainable…
Australian LNG investment is at risk, but not as much as feared
The Australian oil and gas industry is telling everybody that a second wave of investment in liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants is at risk unless labour and regulatory costs are cut. The companies are unlikely to get all that they want. In fact they may not get very much at all out of the labour unions and the federal and state governments. But it may not matter that much, because even with its high costs Australia remains one of the best places to invest the billions of dollars needed to develop a large-scale LNG project.
