Mackenzie project gets hearing dates 01/17/2010
The Mackenzie Gas Project has been given its roadmap for the final regulatory phases. Canada's National Energy Board said it will start hearing concluding arguments April 12 in Yellowknife and wrap up...

Ho-ho-hold the holidays 01/10/2010
Proponents of Mackenzie gas have tight deadline to respond to 679-page report
It landed Dec. 30 with a thud on desks in the high-rise petroleum towers of downtown Calgary, spoiling whatever hopes employees working on the Mackenzie Gas Project might have had to put their feet up...

Mackenzie has liftoff; panel gives support to project 01/03/2010
The Mackenzie Gas Project has surfaced from its prolonged regulatory bog to receive strong backing from a Joint Review Panel which gave approval, along with caveats, based on its examination of the im...

Mac partners battle on 11/08/2009
Positive remarks counter October gloom based on fiscal rejection speculation
The smallest interest partner in the Mackenzie Gas Project has suddenly become its biggest booster at a time when hopes are waning. ExxonMobil, whose wholly owned Canadian unit has a 5.2 percent stake...

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...

Mackenzie Gas Project mood on upswing on all sides 10/25/2009
The key Canadian government and Imperial Oil leaders in the Mackenzie Gas Project are not even close to giving up on the scheme. Environment Minister Jim Prentice said Oct. 14 the chances of a natural...

Activists seize oil sands spotlight 10/18/2009
That rumbling sound in northern Alberta comes from the oil sands, where even a lull in the once-frenetic rate of growth does not mean a total time out. Far from it. Greenpeace activists invaded Sunco...

Alberta oil sands projects meet deadline 10/11/2009
All operators have submitted tailings pond plans to the Energy Resources Conservation Board; fine particles must be reduced
All six Alberta oil sands tailings pond operators have submitted their plans to the Energy Resources Conservation Board, meeting a Sept. 30 deadline. In an Oct. 1 press release ERCB said the deadline...

Final arguments on Mackenzie gas pipeline set for April 10/11/2009
Canada's National Energy Board said Oct. 7 that it expects to hear final arguments on the proposed C$16 billion Mackenzie pipeline in April, concluding a process that began in 2006, following the 2004...

Canada coy on guarantees 07/05/2009
Northwest Territories stepping up request for Mackenzie project loan assistance
The Canadian government is keeping tight-lipped about whether it will ever provide loan guarantees for the Mackenzie Gas Project. Jim Prentice, the cabinet minister overseeing the project, told report...

Key players in MGP 06/21/2009
It's straightforward enough figuring out who owns what in the three anchor gas fields underpinning the Mackenzie Gas Project. From there, the lines can get a bit tangled. The Mackenzie Producers Group...

Who's on first? 06/21/2009
Exxon-TransCan Alaska gas line push sends tremor through Mackenzie ranks
So ExxonMobil hitches up with TransCanada to build an Alaska natural gas pipeline. Does that spell the end of the current road for Canada's Mackenzie Gas Project: yes or no? Make that a definite maybe...

Alberta carbon plan loses half of bidders 04/12/2009
Carbon capture and storage targeted for 70 percent of province's greenhouse gas reductions; 4 major oil sands players withdraw
Ten are in and 10 are out of the bidding for a chunk of C$2 billion in Alberta government money to advance technology in carbon capture and storage. But even from those who have agreed to submit furth...

Upgrading begins at home 03/29/2009
Legislation introduced to take oil sands bitumen in kind rather than cash, providing a catalyst for new 'value-added' upgrader projects
For the Alberta government, it is no longer a case of wistfully counting the jobs and revenues being lost as oil sands production enters the United States for upgrading and refining. Premier Ed Stelma...

Mackenzie two years away, says possible equity partner in line 03/08/2009
If it ever proceeds, the start of construction on the Mackenzie Gas Project is at least two years away, says one of the possible equity partners in a Mackenzie Valley pipeline. "Gas won't be flowing a...

British Columbia offshore dusted off 01/25/2009
Out of the spotlight for almost three years, the oil and natural gas future of British Columbia's offshore got a fresh airing this month when a geologist and exploration consultant suggested public pr...

British Columbia enters CBM age 01/25/2009
Joint venture by two juniors leads host of majors into commercial coalbed production, despite widespread condemnation of resource
There's never been any shortage of industry heavyweights poking and prodding around British Columbia's coalbed methane prospects and no shortage of big numbers to inflate hopes of a rich future. Equal...

Mackenzie gets boost 01/25/2009
Canadian government makes formal fiscal offer; MGM makes gas find
The Mackenzie Gas Project is alive and kicking again, brought to life by word that the Canadian government has made a formal offer of financial support and is eager to work with the Obama administrati...

Alberta oil sands facing a new enemy 01/11/2009
Financial crisis forces a corporate retreat from oil sands; billions of dollars of planned investment now on the shelf; Alberta government urged to rethink royalties; long-term impact on planned projects uncertain, but immediate impact is severe
Those who trumpeted the virtually unlimited commercial potential of Canada's oil sands may have finally met their match after years of fending off skeptics and critics. Since production of tar-like bi...

Winning the numbers game 01/11/2009
Another year before new SEC rule allowing 12-month average price takes effect
Within a year Canadian energy producers - notably those in the oil sands - should emerge victorious from their prolonged battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission over U.S. reserves rules. Ef...

C$45 billion on the shelf 12/14/2008
Norwegian oil giant deals another blow to Alberta upgrading dreams; withdraws plans for Alberta facility, looks at options in US
There's another wooden cross on the road to the Alberta oil sands, marking billions of dollars more of lost investment. It also marks a further setback to the Alberta's government's goal of keeping up...

British Columbia: Rich get richer 11/23/2008
B.C. eager to turn land sales into production; prospect of common tolling system with Alberta pipelines could unlock big plays
For British Columbia, it's a case of success spawning success, with the province pocketing another C$114 million from its November sale of leases and drilling licenses, pushing the 2008 total to about...

'Prudent' cuts to Arctic drilling by junior explorer MGM Energy 11/09/2008
MGM Energy, the junior explorer in Canada's Arctic, has taken the paring knife to its upcoming winter plans, dropping one of four wells from its program. The three remaining wells will be drilled in E...

Shell moves on carbon storage 10/26/2008
Shell Canada will proceed with a C$20 million carbon dioxide storage research project that could result in 1 million metric tons of CO2 from its Edmonton upgrader being injected into a well 7,500 feet...

Startup gets caught in cost squeeze 10/05/2008
Privately held Value Creation's move in September to halt work on its Heartland project in Edmonton points to upgrader troubles
For a quick lesson in the hazards of breaking into Alberta's oil sands business you don't have to go beyond the story of privately-held startup Value Creation and its subsidiary BA Energy. From its or...