INSIGHT- West scrambles fill the heavy rare earth gap, as China rivalry intensifies
Western efforts to create a domestic magnets supply chain in order to reduce their reliance on China, led by the massive U.S. support for Nevada-based MP Materials, are running into a major problem: a scarcity of heavy rare earth elements. United States and its allies are scrambling to find an alternative supply chain for super-strong rare earth magnetic components…
Sources claim that Colonial Pipeline will cut jobs.
According to two sources with knowledge of the situation and a statement from the company, The Colonial Pipeline Company informed its employees that it plans to reduce some positions this week. In response to questions about job cuts, the company stated: "We informed our employees that a recent evaluation to ensure our organization was best aligned in order to continue…
Andy Home, recycling pioneer, races to close rare earths scrap gaps
This question is more urgent now than ever after China restricted its exports in the first half of this year. The move sent shockwaves throughout Western manufacturing chains. The race to create domestic mine-to magnet supply chains is accelerating, especially in the United States. Here, the Department of Defense has taken a direct stake, MP Materials, the operator of the only rare earths mining facility in the country…
Andy Home, recycling pioneers racing to close rare earths scrap gaps
This question is more urgent now than ever after China restricted its exports in the first half of this year. The move sent shockwaves throughout Western manufacturing chains. The race to create domestic mine-to magnet supply chains is accelerating, especially in the United States. Here, the Department of Defense has taken a direct stake, MP Materials, the operator of the only rare earths mining facility in the country…
Canadian farmers warn Bunge Viterra's takeover of Bunge will reduce competition
Farmers say that Canada's approval for Bunge's $34 billion takeover of Glencore's Viterra by U.S. grain traders Bunge will reduce their ability to sell crops at competitive rates and that the government has not made enough concessions. The approval of Canada with conditions, on Tuesday, was the last step needed to complete the largest global agriculture merger in dollar terms.
Eastern Canadian provinces replace controversial Churchill Falls Hydropower deal
On Thursday, the Canadian province Newfoundland and Labrador signed a Memorandum of Understanding with its neighboring Quebec to create a deal for hydroelectric generation in Labrador. This agreement is expected to generate revenue of approximately C$200 billion (US$140.97 billion). The agreement will replace the contentious 1969 contract for the export of power from Upper Churchill Falls Hydroelectric Facility in Labrador…
Sources say that GE Vernova's investigation found that the offshore wind turbine plant at Quebec was not operating to standards.
Sources familiar with the situation said that GE Vernova’s offshore wind turbine production plant in Quebec has terminated or suspended several employees after a company probe found they had taken shortcuts when it came to quality control. GE Vernova began the investigation at its factory in Gaspe in Quebec, after one of their 107 meter-long turbine blades broke at the Vineyard Wind Project off the coast Massachusetts in July.
Brookfield raises $2.4 Billion for Climate Fund backed by UAE
Brookfield Asset Management announced on Monday that it had raised $2.4 billion to support the Catalytic Transition Fund, which is supported by the United Arab Emirates. The fund aims at scaling up climate finance for emerging markets. CTF was launched last December at the COP28 Climate Talks in Dubai, and was anchored with a commitment of $1 billion from ALTERRA - a $30 billion UAE climate fund.
Petrobras Sells TAG, Gets $8.7 bln
Brazilian state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has concluded the sale of gas pipeline system Transportadora Associada de Gás S.A. (TAG) to a group led by France'sEngie SA and Canada'sCaisse De Depot Et Placement Du Quebec (CDPQ).According to a stock exchange annoucement, Petrobras received a total of 33.5 billion reais ($8.69 billion) from buyers…
Pucks and Pellets: Canada Eyes New Ways to Move Crude
Canada's biggest railroad says it is attracting interest from oil producers in its effort to move crude in solid, puck-like form, as clogged pipelines divert more oil to riskier rail transport.Congested pipelines have stranded much of Canada's crude in Alberta, driving discounts to record-high levels. Canadian heavy crude traded on Friday for less than one-third of the U.S.
Canada Should Bring in Stronger Rail Cars for Crude Before 2025 - official
Canada ought to require stronger tank cars for transporting flammable liquids sooner than the current deadline in 2025, Transportation Safety Board Chair Kathy Fox said on Thursday, noting that crude-by-rail shipments are expected to rise in the country."We understand that it can't happen all at once. But we'd like to see it sooner," Fox said in an interview, without giving a specific alternative date.
TransCanada sees 'Robust' Shipper Interest in Keystone XL
Pipeline operator TransCanada Corp is seeing strong interest from oil shippers in locking up the remaining space on Keystone XL and expects it to be fully subscribed, its chief executive said on Thursday.TransCanada has not yet made a final investment decision on its $8-billion Keystone XL (KXL) expansion, which would boost export capacity from the oil-rich province of Alberta to U.S. refineries.
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…
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…
Pieridae Seeks Natural Gas Acquisitions, CEO Says
Pieridae Energy Ltd, the company behind a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal on Canada's east coast, is looking to buy producing assets in western Canada or in the Marcellus shale play in the United States, its chief executive said on Monday. Alfred Sorensen told Reuters in a phone interview that Calgary-based Pieridae wanted to buy about 200 million cubic feet…
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…
Canada Indicates it Won't Demand Regulator Change Pipeline Panel
Canada on Friday indicated it would not press the country's energy regulator to remove members from a panel looking into Transcanada Corp's proposed Energy East pipeline despite protests over their actions. Energy Minister Jim Carr told reporters the National Energy Board should decide the fate of the three-person panel. Critics want two members to quit after it emerged they had privately discussed the project with former Quebec Premier Jean Charest…
British Columbia's Carbon Tax Unchanged
Canada's British Columbia unveiled a new climate action plan on Friday that kept its carbon tax frozen at C$30 per tonne, a move environmental groups warned would undermine the province's target of cutting 2050 emissions by 80 percent from 2007 levels. Premier Christy Clark said British Columbia is the only province in Canada to currently have a carbon tax, which has been unchanged since 2012…
Canada's British Columbia keeps Carbon Tax Frozen
Canada's British Columbia unveiled a new climate action plan on Friday that kept its carbon tax frozen at C$30 per tonne, a move environmental groups warned would undermine the province's target of cutting 2050 emissions by 80 percent from 2007 levels. Premier Christy Clark said British Columbia is the only province in Canada to currently have a carbon tax, which has been unchanged since 2012…
Canada to Phase Out Older Crude-by-Rail Tank Cars Early
Canada will take older tank cars out of crude-by-rail service months earlier than originally planned, the government said on Monday, its latest move to toughen rail safety in the wake of a deadly 2013 crash. Some of the older tankers, called DOT-111 cars, had been scheduled to go out of service on May 1, 2017, with a jacketed version of the older cars set to phase out March 1, 2017. Both types of cars will now be taken out of service by Nov.