Talisman puts eggs in shale basket 01/17/2010
Talisman Energy is keeping mum about its Alaska interests as it gears up for the possible sale this year of 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of gas-weighted properties which could fetch up to...

The Explorers 2009: FEX – Talisman Energy 11/15/2009
FEX is the Alaska subsidiary of Canadian independent Talisman and is responsible for some of the most remote wildcats recently drilled in Alaska. Talisman arrived on the North Slope in 2003 and began...

The Explorers 2009: Northern Alaska and Arctic offshore 11/15/2009
In 1968 the discovery of the giant Prudhoe Bay field, the first field to be discovered on Alaska's North Slope and among the 20 largest oil fields ever discovered worldwide, triggered a northern Alask...

B.C. hits land sale homerun in October 11/01/2009
British Columbia has put a decisive end to Western Canada's dismal land sales year, raking in C$370 million from its October auction, with bidders showing strong interest in the well-established Montn...

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...

Quebec on verge of breakthrough; Utica shale up to 9,000 feet thick 09/13/2009
Get ready to add Quebec to the list of Canada's hydrocarbon producing provinces and the list of shale gas regions. A study by Texas-based reservoir engineering firm Netherland, Sewell and Associates has...

Natural gas shale trail has minor bumps 08/09/2009
TransCanada discloses one-year delay in Horn River startup; producers press ahead as costs fall and expertise boosts well yields
A growing industry consensus that weakened natural gas prices will stretch well into 2010 and some moves by producers to shut-in production in the face of record North American storage levels are putt...

Dirt again rising at oil sands site 07/19/2009
Connacher Oil and Gas has resumed construction at a second steam-driven oil sands project in the Great Divide region of northeastern Alberta, seven months after suspending work because of slumping oil...

Gas drags Alberta down 07/12/2009
One-time petroleum powerhouse reeling from slump in commodity prices
It's not as bad as forecasters expected. In fact, it's worse. Forget the Alberta government's boastings about 15 straight years of budget surpluses and its almost unheard-of debt-free status. That's s...

British Columbia fires up gas enthusiasm 06/28/2009
Single sale almost doubles Alberta's first-half performance; prompts B.C. optimism that Horn River development could occur in 2010
British Columbia has jolted Western Canada out of its 2009 land sales slumber, unloading 21 licenses in its scorching-hot Horn River shale gas region for C$179 million, setting the stage for full-scal...

Rig moves to Nenana 06/28/2009
Partners Doyon, Usibelli, ASRC, Rampart prepare to drill Interior Alaska wildcat
On June 23 the Arctic Wolf No. 2 rig left Fairbanks, Alaska, in what the local newspaper described as "a slow caravan of tractor-trailers" on its way south to the Nenana basin to drill a natural gas e...

Talisman spreads shale gas gospel 05/31/2009
Its pockets bulging with the proceeds from asset sales of C$2.5 billion in the past year, sitting on C$3 billion in liquidity that it expects to grow "significantly" this quarter and unencumbered by o...

All is not quiet on the oil sands front 04/26/2009
Total's hostile bid for UTS seizes attention; unclear whether it is 'final and best' offer; host of other proponents gear up
The slowdown in Canadian oil sands activity shouldn't be mistaken for nothing taking place. While some companies take a breather to reconsider future moves, there's also a persistent buzz as the secto...

Anadarko and FEX get NPR-A partners 04/05/2009
Anadarko Petroleum and FEX have both brought on old friends on federal acreage the companies separately picked up in a September 2008 lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, according to...

Cheaper to buy than drill 03/29/2009
One blockbuster deal, carrying a market value estimated at C$46 billion, turned the 2009 outlook for mergers and acquisitions in the Canadian oil patch on its head. Until March 23, the operative word...

Oil sands jolted awake 03/29/2009
Suncor, Petro-Canada merger all about oil sands; stalled projects could restart
For all the talk about a fresh-minted, globally diversified, supermajor based in Canada, the real thrust behind the merger of Suncor Energy and Petro-Canada kept breaking the surface in conference cal...

Talisman to spend $8M in Alaska in '09 03/15/2009
Spending focused on finding prospects in NPR-A, announcement follows major seismic shoot in 2008, no plans to drill this year
Despite a decision not to drill until at least 2011, Talisman Energy Inc. plans to spend $8 million in Alaska this year "on identifying prospects and leads," part of a $660 million exploration program...

Alberta gets mild applause for changes 03/15/2009
Some small operators say changes will help; analysts say government package not enough; big independents still cutting budgets
The Alberta government got a nice warm shower of praise where it was most expected and a lukewarm dousing where it was also expected after rolling out its latest attempt to revive exploration and deve...

UltraStar preparing to drill Dewline 03/08/2009
Despite weak credit market and lower oil prices, tiny UltraStar is set for drilling on the North Slope after four years of trying
The prevailing wisdom right now says only the biggest ships can ride the biggest waves, but tiny independent UltraStar Exploration LLC is preparing to drill an exploration well this winter on the Nort...

Foreign legion in retreat 03/08/2009
Canadian-based companies experience more downs than ups in overseas plays; can't negotiate financing to develop strong prospects
Whether they have been looking for a way to hedge their bets, or using the Maple Leaf as a flag of convenience, Canadian-based companies operating outside of North America have found their foreign adv...

Nova's star about to fade 03/08/2009
Struggling core of Alberta's petrochemical sector accepts takeover bid by Abu Dhabi company; deal still needs approvals
Once the bedrock of Alberta's treasured dreams of a world-scale petrochemicals industry, once forecast to see its share values top C$100, once a company that seemed to have a role in every corner of C...

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...

FEX won't drill until at least 2011 02/01/2009
Company says it needs time to process 3-D seismic shot last year; says Alaska must compete for investment worldwide in tight times
Talisman Energy won't drill in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska this winter or next, a company executive told the Alaska Support Industry Alliance on Jan. 23. Last fall, the Calgary-based indepen...

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...

Oil Patch Insider 01/18/2009
Doomsday clock edges closer to midnight for Mackenzie line; FEX to release Alaska budget at Meet Alaska conference
The thought on a growing number of Canadian minds is now out in the open. The Mackenzie Gas Project is the pipeline "nobody wants anymore," said a headline in the Financial Post. The story speculated...