On the one hand, on... 12/20/2009
Husky, Nexen on opposite sides of cap-ex fence in Canada as analysts count on largest companies sticking close to '09 spending
As Canada's leading upstream companies start to unveil their 2010 capital spending programs, some appear more inclined to bide their time than others. Analysts doubt the budgets of major players will...

Asia-bound, 'sooner rather than later' 11/29/2009
Enbridge, Kinder on verge of revealing strategies to open new markets for Alberta oil sands production, urged on by interest groups
Between now and mid-2010, the prospects of shipping bitumen from the Alberta oil sands to Asian refineries are heading toward make-or-break decisions. Enbridge anticipates submitting an application to...

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...

Eying ConocoPhillips' Syncrude stake 11/08/2009
The hottest guessing game in Canada's oil patch these days is who will emerge as frontrunner if ConocoPhillips delivers on a strong hint that it is ready to unload a 9.03 percent stake in Syncrude Can...

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...

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...

Alberta's leader in a deep hole 10/25/2009
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach is in a struggle for his political life. Consider this: • His Progressive Conservative party got relegated to third place in a recent election to fill a vacancy in the pro...

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...

Report: Carbon capture won't come cheap 08/16/2009
The Alberta Carbon Capture and Storage Development Council has issued a bottom-line report on the costs of advancing CCS to a technically and financially viable level on a large scale. In a final repo...

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...

Imperial, TransCanada leading the charge 05/10/2009
Companies take bold view of oil sands, while others rescope plans, rethink strategies; not fazed by Obama's environmental policies
Imperial Oil and TransCanada, key players in the Mackenzie Gas Project, are also emerging as key proponents of future oil sands development. Imperial Chief Executive Officer Bruce March has dropped th...

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...

Pushing an Asian option 04/12/2009
Canadian industry, Alberta government seek alternative outlet for oil sands crude, prodded by concerns over U.S. climate change legislation
A push from the United States and a nudge from China have stirred fresh interest among those who believe it's vital to open up Asian markets for Canadian oil sands production. But the road to the Far...

Hold off on the burial 04/05/2009
Canadian oil sands get unexpected lift from Suncor/Petro-Canada merger; ConocoPhillips to finish projects; more MandAs possible
To misquote Mark Antony, in his funeral oration for Julius Caesar: "I come to bury the oil sands, not to praise them." And, to borrow from Mark Twain: "Reports of the oil sands' death are greatly exa...

Syncrude charged in duck deaths 02/15/2009
Canada, Alberta to prosecute 9 months after 500 ducks die in tailings pond; industry regulator sets new standards for toxic ponds
It's an image that won't go away and has now become the international poster-child for all the ills of Alberta's oil sands. Pictures and TV footage of 500 migrating ducks meeting their fate in a taili...

Imperial looking regal 02/08/2009
Cash-rich, virtually debt-free, Canada's leading integrated company bucks trend, pushing ahead in sands; faces approval verdict
A quick look at 2009 capital spending plans by Canada's largest oil and gas producers shows Petro-Canada is down 36 percent from 2008, EnCana and Talisman Energy are both off 18 percent and Nexen has...

Telling it like it is 02/01/2009
Oil sands pioneer Suncor takes axe to spending program, freezes C$20.6B project
The Canadian petroleum industry may have passed the point where it will bother to camouflage how tough times are, with oil sands pioneer Suncor Energy making the most drastic disclosure yet. The world...

Oil patch violence on rise in Canada 01/25/2009
As a crumbling economy spreads unease through the Canadian oil patch a more disturbing series of events is gripping the industry. Unable to solve four cases of sabotage directed at its natural gas ope...

Caught in numbers crunch 01/25/2009
Playing in the oil sands is a 'big boy's game' as production costs exceed the oil price for smaller companies at US$40 per barrel
The economics of operating in the oil sands these days can be described in one word: They stink. Producers of heavy oil, which accounts for 38 percent or 1.05 million barrels per day of Canada's total...

Alberta under siege 01/18/2009
Province hit by royalty increase backlash; struggles to preserve surpluses; minister insists a 'lot of producers' will benefit
The Alberta government has just emerged from a year of helplessly watching as its financial outlook and public image have been smeared in ways no one could have imagined ... and the worst may be yet to...

Time for a makeover 01/18/2009
Canadian oil sands sector admits it has some catch-up to do in tackling public concerns; leaders to focus on positive message
The Canadian petroleum industry has no tougher image battle on its hands than putting some sparkle on the oil sands, commonly referred to as the tar sands by its critics - conveniently ignoring the fa...

Alberta unloads a bundle 11/30/2008
The Alberta government has taken the axe to its 2008-09 budget, chopping C$6.5 billion off a recently forecast surplus of C$8.5 billion, with Finance Minister Iris Evans warning there is "still some p...

Struggling to get it right: Alberta backtracks on royalties 11/30/2008
It's been a year of almost unmatched embarrassment for the Alberta government. At a time of incredible, seemingly limitless riches, the province under newly installed Premier Ed Stelmach decided in 20...

Imperial riding out storm 11/09/2008
While peer companies head for shelter in Alberta oil sands plans, Imperial shows no signs of quitting on Kearl project
To each its own, as companies set their own courses through choppy waters in Alberta, but it's probably a source of some industrywide comfort when Imperial Oil decides to keep a firm hand on the tille...

Oil Patch Insider 09/21/2008
Greenpeace, investors target Alberta oil sands developers
Greenpeace is back on one of its favorite hobby-horses – whipping the Alberta oil sands, with the backing of some British investment firms. The environmental group's latest report, apparently endorsed...