Japan buys 2nd stake in Alberta oil sands 12/16/2007
The Japanese have taken their second stake in the Alberta oil sands, while the French may be backing off. For an investment estimated at about C$200 million, Inpex Holdings, Japan's largest oil explor...

Tunneling to oil sands 07/01/2007
Startup plans to go underground to extract bitumen; claims technology drops drilling costs by 60%
OSUM Oil Sands wants to burrow its way to recoverable resources estimated at 252 million barrels and is ready to join others in opening up an unexploited carbonate trend, where OSUM holds another pote...

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...

Canada tallying wins and losses 01/21/2007
Shallow gas, coalbed methane take chunk out of well licenses; oil posts highest completions in almost a decade, most finds in 21 years
Largely reflecting uncertainty over the fate of the Mackenzie Gas Project, drilling in Northern Canada is on the skids, with regulators issuing a meager five well permits in 2006, continuing a success...

Total takeover trial 09/10/2006
Total's Deer Creek Energy deal headed for court; New York activist investor says C$1.67 billion acquisition not 'fair value
Whether or not France's Total got a steal of a deal when it scooped up oil sands minor Deer Creek Energy last year is headed for court in Alberta. New York-based activist investor Paulson and Co. is all...

Situation normal - upheaval rules 08/13/2006
Total shuffles Joslyn completion; Imperial looks for cost-cutting; Suncor tight-lipped about costs; Enbridge Chinese deal slowed
Even for the topsy-turvy world of the Alberta oil sands the last couple of weeks have been enough to make heads spin as companies wrestled with the timing of mega-projects, clammed up on the costs of...

Oil sands extend global reach 07/30/2006
South Korea buys in for US$270 million, production by 2010; Eni said to be interested, with deal rumored by end of September
The Alberta oil sands have secured one more international flag and a second may soon be unfurled. With the United States, France, China and Japan having already made a footprint in the sticky muskeg,...

Total's oil sands plans face slowdown 05/21/2006
France's Total may have struck some potholes on its way to a goal of producing 500,000 barrels per day from the Alberta oil sands. Enerplus Resources Fund, its 15 percent partner in the Joslyn projec...

Canada is no place for bargain hunters 04/09/2006
Review says income trusts and oil sands have elevated Canadian asset values; aggressive state-owned firms are an emerging factor
Those who fancy an upstream slice of Canada's hydrocarbon action need access to the money tree. At a time when corporate and assets deals around the world are racing to unimagined heights, propelled...

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...

These sands are hot to handle 02/19/2006
Unidentified buyer digs deep to acquire oil sands leases in February sale, stuffing more cash into Alberta government's jeans
Just when it seems the Alberta oil sands should be cooling off, things heat up. The latest surprise occurred Feb. 8 when an anonymous buyer forked over a staggering C$464 million for 10 parcels of la...

Petro-Canada joins upgrader-building parade 02/05/2006
Synenco Energy and North West Upgrading will also process north Albertan raw bitumen; Total adding to Deer Creek Operation
Petro-Canada has shrugged off worries about Western Canada's construction labor crunch and added its name to the list of those building upgraders to process raw bitumen from northern Alberta. The comp...

No nukes are good nukes for oil sands 10/02/2005
Alberta premier views nuclear power plants for oil sands developers as 'least acceptable' option; Total stifles speculation
It's the oil sands option that won't go away, with reports circulating that Total is ready to use nuclear power rather than natural gas at an oil sands project in Alberta, which it controls by 84 perc...

Teck Cominco, Total dig deep into oil sands 09/11/2005
The price of entry to the Alberta oil sands has scaled new heights, with Canadian mining company Teck Cominco upping the ante to gain a stake in one project and France's Total forced to raise its offe...

Ripe for the picking in Canada? 09/11/2005
Mergers and acquisitions set records in first half of year; Sayer Securities put the enterprise value at C$9.9 billion
Whatever the measure, merger and acquisition activity in Canada's oil patch this year has reflected the impact of high energy prices, generating intense interest in what might lie ahead. Investment b...

Takeover tidal wave on the way 08/14/2005
Global strategist bets U.S. securities regulator will ease oil sands reserve rules, freeing U.S. companies to buy existing Alberta sands operators
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will relax its rules on what constitutes proved oil reserves, freeing major oil companies to embark on a buying binge in the Alberta oil sands, predicts a l...

Canada has financings record in sights 08/07/2005
Canadian industry financing surpassed a 10-year high in the first half of 2005, totaling C$7.5 billion, edging out last year's figure by C$300 million, raising the prospects of beating last year's 12-...

Monster bid for Terasen 08/07/2005
Kinder Morgan offers C$6.9 billion for Vancouver-based resource company, bringing financial clout to oil sands sector, combined 43,000 miles of pipe
Kinder Morgan has become the latest globally ranked energy giant to seek a foothold in the Alberta oil sands with its C$6.9 billion takeover bid for Terasen, the Vancouver-based oil and gas utility. T...

Time to choose a dance partner 06/26/2005
Deer Creek Energy thinks it is sitting pretty as the "last man standing" among small independent oil sands players when it comes to land a major partner for its possible C$3.5 billion project. Glen Sc...

Techies lead the way 06/12/2005
Research speeds ahead in hunt to replace gas for Alberta oil sands development
It's a veritable alphabet soup that may contain the ingredients of economic health in the Alberta oil sands. What, for instance, do you make of SAGD, MSAR, VAPEX, SAP and THAI? Try steam-assisted grav...

Deer Creek moves on several fronts 06/05/2005
Oil sands start-up Deer Creek Energy is pushing ahead with a new phase of its plans to produce 200,000 barrels per day by 2020. Through newly-formed subsidiary, Deer Creek Pipelines, jointly-owned wit...

China adds oil sands to fold 04/24/2005
Twin deals lay groundwork for access to supplies, technology; U.S. expected to keep wary eye on Canada's oil sands, one of its key energy sources
Talk has given way to action as China has staked out positions in Alberta's oil sands and European companies are awakening to the vast bitumen deposits. Ending months of speculation, PetroChina and C...