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The Oil Patch Insider EnCana fills Talisman’s empty seat
Goodbye Talisman Energy, hello EnCana.
For years human rights activists and non-governmental organizations hounded Talisman and its Chief Executive Officer Jim Buckee over the Calgary-based company’s stake in Sudan’s Greater Nile oil project.
They accused Talisman of being complicit in a long, bloody civil war by participating in a 250,000 barrel per day venture that was helping finance the conflict.
That ended a year ago when Talisman completed a C$1.13 billion sale of its 25 percent holding to India’s ONGC Videsh.
But the placard-wavers didn’t even need to leave Calgary to find another target. They showed up in force at EnCana’s annual meeting April 29 to accuse the Canadian independent of fostering human rights abuses and damaging the Amazon’s ecosystem through its oil operation in Ecuador.
Representatives from several organizations accused EnCana of working with the Ecuadorian military to silence opposition and failing to adequately compensate communities for the disruption caused by the oil project.
Others said EnCana should adopt more stringent environmental standards than those existing in Ecuador, which the protesters said failed to provide proper compensation for landowners and ignored the concerns of indigenous groups.
One said EnCana should “do the honorable thing and withdraw” from a venture that netted 76,000 barrels per day in the first quarter.
Chief Executive Officer Gwyn Morgan, annoyed by what he described as “drive-by innuendo” directed at the company, said EnCana has spent $250 million cleaning up environmental messes and improving operations since moving into Ecuador in 1999.
“There is no civil war going on in Ecuador ... there’s no weapons being brought in by oil money,” he said. Because Ecuador “doesn’t have enough money to basically carry on from day to day,” oil development is vital to a struggling economy, Morgan said. Petro-Canada clams up on big share sale Don’t expect any loose lips around Petro-Canada as the Canadian government decides when and how to unload its final 19 percent shareholding in the company.
Bombarded with questions from shareholders, analysts and the news media about whether Petro-Canada would buy all or some of the 49.4 million shares, Chief Executive Officer Ron Brenneman kept the lid on tight.
The problem, a spokeswoman told reporters, is that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could shut down the sale if it decided Petro-Canada was intentionally “grooming the market.”
She said Petro-Canada believes it is on a commission watch list pending the sale which could take place by the end of June.
Brenneman said the potential C$2.8 billion divestiture will not affect company operations. “This is a business that is very long-term oriented,” he said. “Most of our shareholders take a long-term view and I don’t expect that they are particularly anxious.” West Texas oilfield sinkhole at 900 feet in diameter According to a recent Associated Press story it opened up in the West Texas oil fields, is 900 feet in diameter — and growing.
“It” is the second sinkhole to develop in Winkler County. Believed to have been triggered by salt removal or some other subsidence, the collapse has destroyed crude oil flow lines in the Hendrick oil and gas field, from which 250 million barrels of oil have been produced since its discovery in 1926.
The sinkhole is about a mile south of a smaller, older one. Formed in 2002, the depression called Sinkhole Two has grown over a subsurface void from about 125 feet in diameter to 900 feet.
About 70 geologists, petroleum company officials and government representatives met April 28 to discuss the situation. Northern Gas Project opens Inuvik office Northern Gas Project Secretariat Executive Director Brian Chambers said April 22 that his office has opened an office in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, to assist the public in understanding the review process of the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project.
“Part of the mandate of the Secretariat is to help the public understand the environmental assessment and regulatory review process of the proposed project,” Chambers said.
The Secretariat opened an office at the Scotia Centre in Yellowknife in December. For more information call toll-free 866 372-8600 or visit www.ngps.nt.ca/ Flatulent cows to fuel Canada oil sands A Reuters’ news article out of Toronto reported a Calgary brokerage was touting “new ways to fuel northern Alberta’s massive oil sands developments” in an April 1 research report promising power from flatulent cows.
The article said the hoax report, done up to look like a genuine research document, said a company called Bovine Hydrocarbon Collection, based in Picture Butte, Alberta, would collect the methane from gassy cows in special TurboSucks tanks made of old scuba gear, vacuum cleaners and surplus airplane parts.
“FirstEnergy has examined the technology as closely as possible, and believes it has significant potential,” the report said.
The report, entitled “Moo-ving the oil sands forward,” is available on http://www.firstenergy.com/tempDoc/Facts-I-MoovinOilSands-2004-04-01.pdf. State of Alaska says Ruedrich violated ethics laws According to an Associated Press report out of Anchorage, the Alaska attorney general’s office said May 5 it has reason to believe Alaska Republican Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich violated the state Ethics Act.
In a letter to Ruedrich’s attorney, the Alaska Department of Law said it had probable cause to believe Ruedrich performed Republican Party work on the job as an appointed state oil and gas commissioner.
Ruedrich resigned in November from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. In April, he issued a 12-page letter to attorney general’s office rebutting nearly every allegation.
“We reviewed his answer to the complaint very carefully and continued with the investigation and found there was probable cause to believe he knowingly violated the Ethics Act,” said Barbara Ritchie, a chief assistant attorney general.
Ruedrich said he “hadn’t had a chance to look at” the 10-page letter written May 3: “I just received it this afternoon and will respond to it next week.”
The letter cites four apparent violations by Ruedrich, who took over as party chairman, an unpaid position, in June 2000. Allegations include using state facilities, equipment and resources for partisan political activity, as well as engaging in outside volunteer work for the Republican Party “in a manner that was inconsistent” with his state job.
The letter says the state will not dismiss the charges and has asked Sanders and Ruedrich to decide by May 17 whether they would like to discuss a resolution. Each violation carries a maximum $5,000 penalty.
—Compiled by Kay Cashman, Petroleum News publisher & managing editor
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