Action on six B.C. gas-related bombings 01/17/2010
Royal Canadian Mounted Police search property, interrogate and release; say new evidence will be submitted to prosecutors
An arrest, 10 hours of interrogation, about 150 officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police scouring a 750-acre property in northwestern Alberta, talk of a possible extortion charge - everything p...

Alberta energy minister demoted 01/17/2010
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach has caved in to industry pressure and his government's freefall in the latest opinion polls by dumping Energy Minister Mel Knight in a major cabinet house-cleaning Jan. 13....

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...

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...

Canada's upstream on upswing; '09 drilling licenses down 47% 01/17/2010
With Canadian government land sales slumping to a 17-year low and average natural gas prices at their lowest point in the past decade, it was no surprise that cash-squeezed producers slashed their dri...

Canada clears Chinese oil sands purchase 01/10/2010
Applies stiff conditions to large stake by state-run PetroChina; makes clear Canada eager to allow 2-way trade, resource investment
The Canadian government is opening the door to investment in its energy and mining sector by Asia's resource-hungry, state-run companies, but has left no doubt that the welcome mat does not constitute...

Canadian companies weeding out the weak 01/10/2010
New decade launched with flurry of MandA action as Suncor offloads unwanted Petro-Canada assets, PetroBakken adds tech-driver plays
Canadian-based companies have added early sizzle to the 2010 mergers and acquisitions market, led by Suncor Energy's swift action to weed out what Chief Executive Officer Rick George rates as weaker,...

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...

Canadian natural gas exports walloped 01/03/2010
Canadian natural gas exports to the United States have gone into a nosedive, hitting their lowest point in the 24 years that volumes have been tracked by the National Energy Board. The cross-border sh...

Industry revival on Canada's horizon 01/03/2010
Firming of commodity prices points to resumption of oil sands growth; natural gas expected to remain weak; consolidation predicted
One of the strongest oil patch forecasts for 2010 has come from a leading Canadian law firm, which is counting on an industry revival as commodity prices strengthen, opening up the investment taps in...

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...

Alberta heeds wake-up call 12/27/2009
Province's premier agrees royalty changes are needed to counter the potential loss of C$4 billion from shale gas 'game changer'
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach has promised more changes to his government's unpopular royalty framework, which has been tinkered with over the past two years amid a rapid erosion of upstream investment....

Enbridge warns of possible pipeline over-capacity 12/27/2009
Between TransCanada and Enbridge - Canada's two biggest energy pipeline companies - there's seldom a meeting of the minds. From the time they got caught up squabbling over rights to ship Alaska North...

Mining News: Diamond mines look north for new workers 12/20/2009
Operators of Diavik and Snap Lake seek to fill employee ranks with more locals by offering training, eliminating travel perks
Two diamond mines in Northwest Territories are vowing to recruit new workers locally rather than continue a longstanding practice of seeking candidates in southern Canada. Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., o...

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...

Alberta opens nuke door 12/20/2009
The Alberta government is defying an uneasy public by inviting proposals to build nuclear power plants in the province. Energy Minister Mel Knight, on Dec. 14, issued the results of a telephone poll i...

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...

Mackenzie Gas Project report on its way 12/20/2009
Backers of the Mackenzie Gas Project have a date - Dec. 31. That's when the Joint Review Panel is expected to meet its promised deadline and deliver its findings on environmental and socioeconomic iss...

Canada makes 'absolute' shift 12/13/2009
The Canadian government has entered the Copenhagen climate change summit hinting that it may be ready to make a fundamental course correction in its environmental policy by imposing absolute emission...

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...

Harper, Stelmach feel the green heat 12/06/2009
Prime minister decides against boycotting Copenhagen summit; Alberta premier ready to accept climate-change goals in step with US
There is talk of a re-branding of the two Canadian political leaders - Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach - seen as the least supportive of cap-and-trade systems as part of...

Alberta's chance to 'get it right' 12/06/2009
Government to release interim findings of competitiveness review; industry leaders say results key to business, government future
Aware, after more than two years of meddling with its oil and natural gas royalties, that it has lost the confidence of industry and investors, the Alberta government has one last chance to "get it ri...

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...

One more thing for oil sands 11/29/2009
Study says geopolitical events will determine sands development rate, markets served, upgrading, what environmental costs imposed
As if the Alberta oil sands don't have enough on their plate, figuring out economic and environmental challenges, a new study has tossed geopolitical ingredients into the mix. A joint report by the Lo...