Tales of woe on North America's refinery row 01/17/2010
The trail of wreckage on North America's Refinery Row gained another victim Jan. 7 with Royal Dutch Shell's decision to turn its Montreal facility into a fuel terminal after failing to find a buyer fo...

ExxonMobil buys XTO Energy for $31 billion 12/20/2009
XTO has two platforms in Cook Inlet, which will make Exxon a producer in Alaska; main focus of purchase XTO's natural gas assets
ExxonMobil will buy XTO Energy Inc. in an all-stock deal worth $31 billion as the oil giant moved aggressively Dec. 14 to capitalize on the growing supply of natural gas at home. The deal could signal...

Canada: Cleaning off a 'dirty' image 12/20/2009
Canadian, Alberta political, industry leaders defend record in oil sands, say they are ready to participate in any Copenhagen deal
Government and industry leaders are fighting back against a tidal wave of criticism and abuse flowing from the Copenhagen climate change summit that has Canada cast as a "corrupt petro-state" because...

Exxon seeks new life 12/20/2009
Bets heavily on unconventional gas as fuel of choice by 2030 in takeover of XTO
The tipoff was there for anyone caring to pay attention when ExxonMobil declared on Dec. 8 that natural gas would be the fuel of choice in the United States by 2030, shunting aside coal and oil. Less...

Alberta touts carbon capture prospects 12/13/2009
The Alberta government may not be putting all of its climate-change strategies in one basket, but it's coming close as it pursues recognition as a world leader in advancing carbon capture and storage...

Testing big leagues with new technology 12/13/2009
Juniors bring talent to table, advancing 'next big thing' in Alberta oil sands by embarking on pilot projects in carbonate rocks
Investment banker Tristone Capital (now Macquarie Capital) observed last year that the Alberta oil sands region covers an area the size of Florida. Thus, it suggested, a chunk equivalent to Disneywor...

'Possible ... probably not likely' 12/06/2009
EnCana chairman, execs play down takeover risks as Canadian independent goes its separate ways; argue share value best protection
A few voices of dissent were effectively stifled and an overwhelming 99 percent-plus of shareholders set the oil and natural gas parts of EnCana on separate directions, with executives playing down an...

Oil Patch Insider: A Boone worth Pickin'? Shell denies asking for decision delay; Enstar still upbeat on bullet line 11/22/2009
Canadian investors are being given a chance to find out just how shrewd T. Boone Pickens is in reading future trends in the energy industry. The one-time corporate raider and promoter of an energy pla...

Iraqi Cabinet OKs Exxon-Shell deal 11/15/2009
Iraq's government approved a major oil deal with a consortium grouping U.S. and European oil giants Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC to develop a prized oil field in the country's south, th...

Wrestling with the risks in Alberta 11/15/2009
Smaller oil sands players pinned by startup woes, inability to finance holdings; Suncor not ruling out building on industry-leading position
Some either want out or want a reduced presence; some are struggling to keep their heads above water; some are now paying the price for the rush to complete projects during a frenzied boom that ended...

Oil sands tries to move past ducks 11/01/2009
It's an issue the Alberta oil sands sector just can't duck, but the industry is doing whatever it can to put distance between itself and 1,606 dead ducks at the Syncrude Canada operations last year. T...

Rising from Canada's upstream EandP ashes 11/01/2009
2009 drilling heads for 17-year low; regulators see some turnaround in permit applications; CAPP expects modest upturn in spending
Amid the wreckage there are a few pieces of hope in Canada's upstream, mostly pointing to a partial recovery in 2010. With drilling currently headed for its lowest point in 17 years, regulators have s...

Caught in political web 11/01/2009
Canadian cabinet committee reported to have turned down fiscal package
Backers of the Mackenzie Gas Project now seem to be getting dragged deeper into a Canadian government quagmire. Political insiders have told Petroleum News there could be growing differences over the...

No quick carbon fixes 10/25/2009
Oil sands leader argues 'absolute' limits on oil sands' GHG would burden sector; Imperial boss says answers could take 100 years
Two leading players in the Alberta oil sands - the flashpoint of Canada's climate-change wrangling - have answered criticism that the sector is not doing enough to explain itself. In the process, the...

Canada backs carbon capture 10/25/2009
Governments commit C$1.65B to 2 projects, claim they lead world in developing technology; others say industry should do cleanup
Canadian and Alberta taxpayers are starting to feel a rather large hand in their pockets as the two governments roll out plans for carbon capture and storage projects - their key technological initiat...

Uncertainty over Copenhagen talks 10/25/2009
Prentice suggests financial crisis trumping environmental concerns; Obama administration looking at bilateral pacts with India, China a to break developed-developing country deadlock
Hopes for a global climate-change agreement are wilting in the buildup to December's United Nations-sponsored talks in Copenhagen, with the Canadian government suggesting that the financial crisis is...

Hope for Alberta gas? 10/18/2009
Some see gas price recovery; others believe shale gas inventories 'unsustainable'
Finding any shreds of hope in the Canadian natural gas sector - especially in Alberta - requires a large dose of belief and optimism. But hope does exist. Shares of gas-weighted energy companies sta...

Decade older; what have we got? 09/20/2009
Mackenzie Gas Project faces being overtaken by Alaska line, shale gas; Ziff Energy analyst - pipeline dead without government money
In more than a decade since visionaries unveiled the second serious attempt in 30 years to develop Canada's Arctic natural gas resources - call it Mackenzie Mark II - time has been wasted; costs have...

Nova Scotia gas field poised for expansion 09/13/2009
The dwindling reserves at Nova Scotia's offshore Sable natural gas project may be close to getting a lift from inclusion of the Chebucto field, which has proved plus probable reserves of about 160 bil...

Carbon capture: Silver bullet or blank? 08/23/2009
Alberta government report estimates up to C$3 billion in public money might be needed each year to develop CSS technology
The debate is just warming up in Canada over the use of carbon capture and storage, widely touted as a climate-change strategy and the answer to Canada's reputation as a source of "dirty oil" from the...

Oil Patch Insider 08/16/2009
Alberta's pubs with no beer
A quenching drink after an often long, cold (or sweltering), grimy day in the Alberta oil sands is gradually coming with more no-alcohol restrictions. Especially at the 77 lodges and work camps over t...

Upgrading starts at home 08/02/2009
Alberta government invites proposals for bitumen-in-kind program to slow outflow of bitumen to U.S; strategy welcomed by some
Almost two years after unveiling the "framework" of its infamous new royalty regime, the Alberta government has delivered on one of its secondary proposals, which involves taking raw bitumen in kind r...

Slowdown's silver lining 07/26/2009
Outlook bullish for diversified oil sands' players, Moody's report concludes
What might have been the worst of times is turning into more of a blessing as the economic downturn steers the Alberta oil sands towards reduced front-end costs and benefits those with a diverse asset...

'And' rather than 'or' 07/05/2009
Lawrence urges balance between fossil and renewable fuels in energy transition
The world needs to achieve a balance between the use of traditional fossil fuels and new renewable energy sources, as the global community transitions into its energy future, David Lawrence, vice pres...

Maple Leafs: Environmental plea rejected 06/21/2009
Alberta's Energy Resources Conservation Board and the Canadian government have turned down demands from an environmental coalition to reopen their approval of a C$13.7 billion expansion of a Royal Dut...