Flurry of junior oil sands financings 12/02/2007
Alberta's planned royalty increases haven't put crimp on oil sands developments by juniors, three do deals worth combined C$1.2B
If the Alberta government's planned royalty increases are supposed to put a crimp on oil sands developments, somebody has forgotten to get word to the juniors. In the space of three days, two companie...

Little guy in 'big boys' game' 08/19/2007
Connacher Oil and Gas has achieved the first stage of its goal to be a minnow swimming with whales. It commissioned a 10,000 barrel-per-day processing plant at its Great Divide project on Aug. 10 and...

Connacher applies for second project 07/01/2007
Connacher Oil and Gas, through its wholly owned Great Divide Oil Corp., has filed applications with Alberta regulators for approval of its Algar project, its second venture into the Alberta oil sands....

Alberta government wins one, loses one 05/13/2007
Hope of new taxes from value-added processing, refining of oil sands bitumen takes hit when Husky buys Ohio plant; Total saves day
The Alberta government's hopes of prospering from the value-added processing and refining of oil sands bitumen took another, not unexpected dent, when Husky Energy opted to buy the Ohio refinery of Va...

Buyers aplenty for oil sands assets 12/17/2006
Talisman Energy has completed a large part of its planned exit from the oil sands, but an extensive list of leases is still up for grabs. As expected, Canadian Oil Sands Trust landed Talisman's 1.25 p...

Marathon signals oil sands ambition 07/09/2006
Company looks to swap refining for production, while EnCana has offered production for refining, expects September deal
Marathon Oil has been the headline grabber in the latest stretch of oil sands activity by reaffirming that it wants a role in developing the northern Alberta deposit. Chief Financial Officer Janet Cla...

Connacher untroubled by regulatory snags 06/04/2006
Oil sands junior Connacher Oil and Gas expects to remain on its fast-track course to coming on stream and reaching targeted output of 10,000 barrels per day in 2007, regardless of regulatory hitches. ...

Talisman hears the call of oil sands 03/12/2006
Chief Executive Officer Jim Buckee expects decision this year on way to monetize oil sands 25,000 acres of sands leases
Call it the latter-day conversion of Jim Buckee. The chief executive officer of Talisman Energy, who is not known for caving in to pressure of any kind, is apparently on the verge of giving up a decad...

Oil sands minnow feeds on takeovers 12/25/2005
Oil sands start-up Connacher Oil and Gas is wasting no time covering its bases as it moves ahead with plans for a 10,000 barrel per day project in northeastern Alberta. In back-to-back deals, it launc...

Oil sands spur Alberta land sales to C$1B 09/04/2005
Top dollar paid for exploration rights in recent sale in area officials view as best suited to steam-assisted gravity drainage
A mixed bag of one oil sands veteran and unknowns paid top dollars for leases in the latest sale of Alberta government exploration rights. From oil sands pioneer Suncor Energy to companies bidding th...

OPTI peddles upgrader technology 05/02/2004
Confident regional upgraders could give small oil sands operators an advantage by reducing market risks; junior company sees three possible upgrader sites in Alberta
OPTI Canada's ambitions extend far beyond its planned joint venture oil sands project with Nexen. The prospectus issued for its initial public offering, which raised C$301 million earlier this month t...

Canadian small caps sparkle in 2003 01/18/2004
It was a big year for the little guys in Canada's oil patch. A survey of 61 junior oil and natural gas companies showed an average share price increase of 63.5 percent in 2003, with one in four climbi...