The Canadian Press 
CALGARY — TC Energy Corp. is open to selling off more than its previously announced target of $3 billion in assets this year, the company said Friday, and is currently engaging with multiple interested buyers for what will likely be two to four separa…
CALGARY — TC Energy Corp. says its Coastal GasLink pipeline project is 98 per cent complete.
Coastal GasLink is a 670-kilometre pipeline spanning northern British Columbia that will carry natural gas across the province to the LNG Canada processing an…
CALGARY — Precision Drilling Corp. has signed an agreement to acquire CWC Energy Services Corp. in a deal valued at about $141 million including shares, cash and assumed debt.
Precision CEO Kevin Neveu says the deal expands the company’s service busin…
HOUSTON — Occidental Petroleum Corp. has signed a deal to buy Canadian company Carbon Engineering Ltd. for US$1.1 billion.
The company has been working with Carbon Engineering on its direct air capture technology, which is used to capture carbon dioxi…
WASHINGTON — The two sides in an enduring dispute over the cross-border Line 5 pipeline in Wisconsin are girding for battle again, this time in the U.S. Court of Appeals.
The Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa filed a notice of appeal Frida…
CALGARY — Precision Drilling Corp. reported a second-quarter profit of $26.9 million, reversing a $24.6 million loss from a year earlier as the company says it has reduced its total debt by $100 million since the beginning of the year.
The Calgary-bas…
CALGARY — TC Energy Corp. is selling a 40 per cent stake in its Columbia Gas Transmission and Columbia Gulf Transmission systems to New York City-based Global Infrastructure Partners for $5.2 billion.
The move, announced Monday, is the culmination of …
WASHINGTON — Protesters chanted “dirty deal” and belted out a John Denver favourite Tuesday as they disrupted moderate Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin to let him know what they think of the newly fast-tracked Mountain Valley pipeline.
Manchin, long a key sw…
WASHINGTON — In the land of partisan blinders, the one named Manchin is still king, it seems.
Political Washington’s second most powerful Joe, not far these days behind the one in the White House, took a victory lap Friday to celebrate that rarest of…
WASHINGTON — The relationship between Canada and Mexico has long been the weak link in North America’s trilateral triangle, and foreign policy experts say reinforcing it will be key if the continent is to realize its true economic potential.
Canadian…
CALGARY — The same technology used to search for signs of ancient life on Mars could be key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the Canadian oilsands.
At least that’s what members of the Pathways Alliance — an industry consortium of this country…
CALGARY — TC Energy Inc. says upcoming cold weather has the potential to slow the recovery of the oil spilled from its Keystone pipeline leak in Kansas.
The company says it has recovered an estimated 7,233 barrels of oil from a creek as of 5 p.m. CT o…
CALGARY — Enbridge Inc. has bought Tri Global Energy (TGE), a U.S. renewable power project developer, for US$270 million in cash and assumed debt.
The company will also pay up to an additional US$50 million contingent on successful execution of TGE’s…
WASHINGTON — Republicans are resurrecting the long-dead Keystone XL pipeline expansion in an effort to blame President Joe Biden for soaring gasoline prices.
The controversial cross-border project, cancelled by Biden on his first day in office, is pl…
WASHINGTON — North America’s polarizing pipeline battles have seen many venues — from the Prime Minister’s Office and the U.S. State Department to the windswept plains of Nebraska and Minnesota to judge’s chambers on both sides of the Canada-U.S. bord…
WASHINGTON — The latest pipeline dispute between Canada and the United States is back on the agenda in Ottawa.
Enbridge vice-president Vern Yu is scheduled to appear today before a special House of Commons committee exploring Canada-U.S. ties.
Enbri…
Calgary producer Spartan Delta Corp. says it has agreed to buy private rival Inception Exploration Ltd. and two packages of oil and gas assets in northwestern Alberta for a total of $148 million in cash and shares.The company, founded last spring thro…
CALGARY — TC Energy Corp. has announced a plan for its Keystone XL project to achieve net zero emissions when it is placed into service, even as the future of the pipeline expansion appeared in doubt.Transition documents suggest Joe Biden will kill th…
CALGARY — The Calgary company building the Keystone XL pipeline is inviting oil shippers to bid for capacity expected to be made available when it opens in about two years despite a vow by the incoming U.S. president to halt the project.
TC Energy spo…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — If Donald Trump has anything in common with Canada, it might be this: a shared craving for the attention of the American people that at times can border on the pathological.
Both could go through withdrawal symptoms in the new year…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Critics of Canada’s most controversial cross-border pipeline projects aren’t taking their demise for granted under president-elect Joe Biden.
A new report from the U.S.-based Rainforest Action Network says two of them — Keystone XL…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Now that he’s the president-elect, Joe Biden is doubling down on his promise that economic recovery efforts in the United States will remain a made-in-America endeavour.
Biden, who was vice-president when Canada last confronted a D…
WHITEHORSE — The Yukon government says it does not support a permit for an oil drilling exploration project in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, although experts fear the United States administration will push ahead with the plan. Yukon E…
TORONTO — Stock market investors are breathing a little easier despite potentially facing higher taxes as the possibility of a contested U.S. presidential election appears to be fading, say investment experts.
With nine days to go before election day,…
CALGARY — TC Energy Corp. says chief executive Russ Girling will retire at the end of this year.
The pipeline company says he will be replaced by chief operating officer Francois Poirier who will be promoted to the top job on Jan. 1, 2021.
Poirier wil…
CALGARY — Texas-based Wilks Brothers LLC says it is making formal the $26.1-million takeover bid for Calfrac Well Services Ltd. it proposed last week, while continuing to urge shareholders to reject a management reorganization plan.
The company, which…
CALGARY — Enbridge Inc. says it will restart the east segment of Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac after winning approval from the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the Michigan Circuit Court.
The Calgary-based company sh…
SWAN HILLS, Alta. — A large spill of crude oil and produced water at a Cardinal Energy facility near Swan Hills is being cleaned up.
The Alberta Energy Regulator has few details about Saturday’s spill on its compliance reporting website.
It says 320,0…
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump is eager to jump-start energy projects such as the TransCanada Keystone XL oil pipeline, and he’s taken action to assert executive power over such infrastructure.
The president last month issued a new permit fo…
CALGARY — A move by the governor of Michigan to halt work on a project to replace Enbridge Inc.’s 65-year-old Line 5 pipeline is raising fears that the recently elected Democratic administration could also try to shut down the existing pipeline.
Analy…
CALGARY — Analysts say Canadian oilfield services companies with operations in the U.S. are now earning more of their revenue south of the border than they have for at least six years.
In a report, AltaCorp Capital says that trend is expected to conti…
CALGARY — Another foreign oil company says it’s getting out of the Canadian oilsands.
Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy Corp. announced after markets closed Tuesday that it will pursue the “separation” of its Canadian assets and its Barnett Shale holdi…
TORONTO — The CEOs of Canada’s largest bank and its largest pipeline company say the country needs an energy strategy that will better balance environmental and Indigenous goals with the need to develop its abundant oil and gas resources.
But Royal Ba…
OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada is set to rule today on whether energy companies can walk away from unprofitable wells on agricultural land without having to clean up behind them.
A 2016 ruling in the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench allowed a bank…
CALGARY — Enerplus Corp. says it will increase spending and production this year while continuing to focus on its North Dakota Bakken light oil play.
The mid-sized producer says it plans to spend between $565 million and $635 million this year, with t…
VANCOUVER — Some First Nations and Metis communities are determined to purchase an equity stake in the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion despite a court ruling that halted construction and potentially set the project back for years.
The Federal Court …
TORONTO — Walmart Canada is buying more Tesla semi trucks as it aims to reduce its carbon footprint by having its entire fleet powered by alternative energy by 2028.
The Canadian subsidiary of the U.S.-based retail giant says it will acquire 30 of the…
VANCOUVER — A court decision expected Thursday could determine the fate of the contentious Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and further define Canada’s duty to consult with First Nations, experts say.
The Federal Court of Appeal is to rule on a case …
OTTAWA — Kinder Morgan Canada documents say expanding the Trans Mountain pipeline will cost the federal government another $1.9 billion beyond the company’s original construction estimate and will take another full year to complete.
The figure is incl…
OTTAWA — The federal government is set to become the official owner of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion after failing to quickly flip the project to another private-sector buyer.
Pipeline owner Kinder Morgan had been working with the government t…
CALGARY — Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. says the actual price the federal government will pay for its Trans Mountain pipeline system and expansion project will be hundreds of millions of dollars less than the $4.5 billion it announced in May.
In a regulat…
The Trudeau government and the Trump administration have found common ground at the NATO summit — shared concern over a proposed Russian pipeline that would cross through the Baltic Sea into Germany.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says Can…
OTTAWA — Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr says Canada’s pathway to a clean energy future includes not only transitioning to renewable sources of energy but also technology that makes traditional fossil fuels cleaner to both produce and burn.
That p…
Thousands of Canadians and one territorial government are asking American regulators not to allow oil drilling in an Alaskan wildlife sanctuary that is home to a crucial transboundary caribou herd.
The request comes in a letter delivered Tuesday, the …
VANCOUVER — Cedar George-Parker remembers the moment he decided to devote his life to defending Indigenous people and their traditional territories. It was the one-year anniversary of a shooting at his high school that killed four of his classmates in…
CALGARY — A new study shows that Canada’s energy sector workforce became larger and more diverse from 2006 to 2016, but remains predominantly the domain of older, white men.
PetroLMI says the number of people directly employed in oil and gas grew by a…
OTTAWA — The federal government has taken a step towards fulfilling it’s promise to get rid of fossil fuel subsidies by agreeing to finally explain how much it actually spends on them.
Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr was in Argentina on Thursday w…
CALGARY — Canada’s oil production is expected to increase by 1.4 million barrels per day by 2035, despite an ongoing “competitiveness gap” that discourages investment, according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
Total Canadian oil pr…
CALGARY — Central Canadian consumers can expect to pay less for natural gas to heat their homes as a new pipeline connects shale gas from the northeastern United States to the Dawn storage hub near Sarnia in southwestern Ontario.
The Rover Pipeline la…
ROSEDALE, B.C. — The prime minister is expected to meet with Indigenous leaders in British Columbia today, including a First Nations chief who has been a vocal supporter of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
Justin Trudeau will be in the Fraser Va…
CALGARY — Kinder Morgan Canada is paying $1.5-million bonuses to two senior executives to ensure they stay with the company as its Trans Mountain pipeline system is sold to the federal government in a $4.5-billion sales agreement.
The company says it …
CALGARY — Oil and gas producer ConocoPhillips Canada is being fined $180,000 for a 2016 pipeline leak that spilled a light petroleum liquid in a remote area of northwestern Alberta.
The Alberta Energy Regulator says the leak of 380,000 litres of conde…
CALGARY — With just over a week remaining until the May 31 deadline set for abandoning its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, no suitors have publicly emerged to step into builder Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd.’s shoes.
Analysts and observers say they rema…
CALGARY — A tank containing crude oil or asphalt exploded at a Wisconsin refinery owned by Calgary-based Husky Energy Inc. on Thursday, injuring several people and causing a blast that one worker described as sounding like a sonic boom.
No fatalities …
Canadian First Nations are gearing up to fight new U.S. oil-drilling interest in the calving grounds of a caribou herd key to Indigenous physical and cultural survival.
“We will continue to fight,” said Chief Wanda Pascal of the Tetlit Gwich’In in For…
CALGARY — Kinder Morgan is open to discussing an investment in its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion by the Alberta government if there’s clear assurance that the project can actually be completed, the company’s chief executive said Monday.
Alberta Pr…
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has just regaled another audience with a tall tale involving Canada, this one about a conversation involving the Keystone XL pipeline he insists never happened.
Spoiler alert: it did happen, in his office, with came…
CALGARY — Cenovus Energy Inc. said Thursday it has been running its oilsands operations at reduced production rates and storing excess barrels due to wider-than-normal light-heavy oil price differentials and pipeline capacity constraints.
The company …
BURNABY, B.C. — RCMP say more than a dozen people protesting the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline have been arrested at a construction site in Burnaby, B.C.
A B.C. Supreme Court judge granted the company an injunction last week restricting pro…
CALGARY — Shares in Canadian pipeline companies Enbridge Inc. and TransCanada Corp. failed to recover fully Friday from a steep sell-off on Thursday after the U.S. said it would eliminate a tax break for owners of certain interstate pipelines.
Both Ca…
VANCOUVER — Canada’s natural resources minister says Ottawa is determined to see the Trans Mountain pipeline expanded, despite an interprovincial dispute on whether the project should go ahead.
Jim Carr said the federal government approved the project…
CALGARY — Alberta Premier Rachel Notley’s threat to reduce oil shipments to other provinces, the latest salvo in a recent pipeline dispute with British Columbia, carries on a provincial tradition of using its natural resources to reinforce its politic…
CALGARY — Canada’s competitive disadvantage with the United States is being reflected in lower spending plans by oil and gas producers, and Tuesday’s budget does nothing to change that trend, oilpatch observers say.
In a report released Wednesday, Sta…
EDMONTON — Alberta is investing $1 billion in oilsands bitumen upgrading to get a bigger bang for the buck on its oil.
Premier Rachel Notley announced Monday that the money will be used for loan guarantees and grants to attract anywhere from two to fi…
CALGARY — The National Energy Board has issued three decisions for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion approving the tunnel route through Burnaby, B.C., and allowing construction to begin on a tunnel entrance.
The energy board said in a news release…
CALGARY — Imperial Oil Ltd. is warning regulators and customers that aviation gasoline shipped from its Edmonton-area refinery could cause interference with aircraft fuel gauge sensors.
The company says in a release that a product quality problem was …
WASHINGTON — It’s the latest incoming trade salvo from the United States: the U.S. is considering punitive duties on pipeline material from a half-dozen countries including Canada.
The duties being sought for large-diameter welded pipe from Canada are…
OTTAWA — Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr says the government will not entertain any attempts by British Columbia to stall or stop the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.
“If that is the goal of any province, we will take the necessary action…
CALGARY — Suncor Energy Inc. is making good on its promise to return cash to shareholders, announcing a 12.5 per cent increase to its dividend as it reports fourth-quarter income that beat analyst expectations.
The company says it will raise its quart…
CONKLIN, Alta. — A worker has been killed in an energy sector accident in northern Alberta.
Cenovus Energy Inc., says the accident happened late Tuesday night at its Christina Lake oilsands site, about 350 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.
The company…
An international affairs think tank says economic development in Canada’s Arctic is falling far behind that in northern regions in other parts of the world.
“There’s just no sign of the vision and long-term political energy required to bring us up in …
OTTAWA — Canada’s oil and gas producers are struggling to stay competitive with their U.S. counterparts because of the fight to expand pipeline capacity, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute.
The analysis by associate director of research Be…
CALGARY — About 400 jobs are expected to disappear at Suncor Energy Inc.’s oilsands mines in northern Alberta as it deploys driverless ore-hauling trucks to replace the ones humans operate now.
“We have about 500 roles that will get eliminated through…
CALGARY — A growing number of Canadian drilling rigs are being moved south of the border to take advantage of brighter prospects in the United States — and observers say it’s unlikely they will ever return home.
A week ago, Calgary-based Akita Drillin…
CALGARY — For most Canadians, Drumheller conjures up images of dinosaur bones and ancient fossils, but entrepreneur Sean Clark’s expedition in the southern Alberta town is focused on a very current obsession: Bitcoin.
The CEO of Hut 8 Mining Corp. rec…
CALGARY — A rally in oil prices that started late last year and shows no signs of stopping in 2018 is expected to pave the way for bigger payouts for long-suffering Canadian energy investors as fourth-quarter reporting season gets underway in the next…
CALGARY — Refineries in central and Atlantic Canada could save money on oil costs and produce fewer global greenhouse gas emissions if they bought more Canadian crude oil, according to a study by the Canadian Energy Research Institute released Wednesd…
MONTREAL — Moody’s Investors Service says global automakers, aside from Tesla, will generate low returns on battery electric vehicles even though sales will surge by 2030.
The rating’s service estimates that electric vehicles will account for about se…
CALGARY — The National Energy Board is setting up a process to resolve future permitting issues between Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. and provincial and municipal authorities on the Trans Mountain expansion project.
The NEB said Thursday that under the pr…
TABER, Alta. — A group with the support of thousands of farmers will appear before the Supreme Court of Canada to oppose a legal ruling that allows energy companies to walk away from unprofitable wells on agricultural land.
The court announced Thursda…
CALGARY — Shares in Calgary-based Husky Energy Inc. fell nearly seven per cent Thursday after operations aboard its SeaRose FPSO vessel off the Newfoundland and Labrador coast was ordered suspended by the federal-provincial regulator because of a clos…
CALGARY — Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. said Wednesday that the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project could be a year behind schedule as it continues to encounter permitting delays.
The estimate is three months further behind from the company’s last e…
Oil-related operations on the SeaRose FPSO vessel off the Newfoundland and Labrador coast have been ordered suspended by a federal-provincial regulator in response to a close call with an iceberg it had last March.
The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador…
CALGARY — Steep discounts in prices for western Canadian heavy oil are moderating and should gradually ease through 2018 to allow Canadian producers to reap bigger rewards from strengthening world oil prices, according to GMP FirstEnergy.
A spike in t…
CALGARY — Suncor Energy Inc. says operations have ceased at its oilsands base plant near Fort McMurray, Alta., after a temporary power loss Wednesday afternoon.
Company spokesperson Erin Rees would only describe the cause of the power loss as a “proce…
EDMONTON — Alberta’s governing NDP says draft policy ideas put forward by the Opposition United Conservatives are risky and would benefit the wealthy — but the new party calls that baseless fearmongering.
Finance Minister Joe Ceci says a proposal to r…
CALGARY — ATB Financial says its ownership of Calgary investment firm AltaCorp Capital is growing from a minority to a majority interest under succession provisions triggered by the sudden death of AltaCorp founder and CEO George Gosbee in November.
A…
SAINT JOHN, N.B. — Irving Oil is apologizing for a butane lake in the city’s east side that forced the evacuation of businesses on at least two streets in Saint John, N.B., Monday.
Police say the rupture happened at about 11 a.m. in a line that runs f…
CALGARY — Suncor Energy Inc. and Teck Resources Ltd. are getting a bargain price for bigger stakes in the Fort Hills oilsands mine they are buying from partner Total S.A., analysts say.
The two Canadian companies announced Wednesday they will pay an a…
SPRUCE GROVE, Alta. — A gas station operator near Edmonton has used some unparliamentary language to publicly protest an increase in Alberta’s carbon tax.
The illuminated sign at the Tempo Gas Station in Spruce Grove on Tuesday night used the f-bomb i…
CALGARY — The cold snap that continues to blanket many parts of North America is driving short-term natural gas prices higher but they remain far below historic highs and the trend is unlikely to significantly affect either Canadian consumer bills or …
MONTREAL — Canadian initial public offerings rebounded last year from their worst performance in nearly two decades in 2016 as $5.1 billion in proceeds were generated with the prospect for a strong 2018, says Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
There were 38 iss…
EDMONTON — Alberta’s carbon tax jumped on New Year’s Day, but the province’s NDP government maintains the tax played a vital role in Alberta’s improving economic outlook.
Deputy premier Sarah Hoffman told reporters there was a clear link between the a…
TORONTO — While stabilizing oil prices helped Canadian equities break out of their doldrums in the second half of 2017, investors expecting the Toronto Stock Exchange to catch up with its outperforming global peers in the new year should instead antic…
CALGARY — Imperial Oil says its much-delayed $16.1-billion project to build a natural gas pipeline across the Northwest Territories from the coast of the Beaufort Sea to northern Alberta has finally been cancelled.
In a brief news release posted on it…
EDMONTON — Nexen Energy is facing workplace charges following the deaths of two oilsands workers in northern Alberta.
The men had been doing maintenance work in a hydrogen compressor building at the company’s Long Lake upgrader near Anzac on Jan. 15, …
CALGARY — In a rare sign of optimism for the future of the oilsands, South Korea-owned Harvest Operations Corp. says it has decided to complete and begin producing from a 10,000-barrel-per-day project it halted more than two years ago due to low oil p…
MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway is testing the commercial viability of shipping dry pellets of heavy crude by rail, a process it says lessens environmental risk and could unlock offshore markets for the country’s energy producers.
Earlier this ye…
VICTORIA — Salmon migrating through rivers and streams in British Columbia use all their strength, but new research says even tiny amounts of diluted bitumen weakens their chances of making it back to spawn.
Exposure to diluted bitumen hinders the swi…
LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — The winds of change are pushing Mark Kokas in a new career direction.
Nearly two years after being laid off as an electrician in Alberta’s flailing oil and gas sector, the 42-year-old is training to become a wind turbine technician…
CALGARY — Sales of oil and gas drilling rights in Alberta delivered almost four times as much money for the provincial treasury in 2017 compared with 2016 but the total remained well short of the record.
Alberta Energy reports receiving $18 million in…
CALGARY — Nebraska regulators have declined requests to amend its approval allowing TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline to run through the state.
The Nebraska Public Service Commission says in an order that in a unanimous vote it denied all motio…
CALGARY — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says a lack of detailed inspection procedures contributed to a 10,000-litre crude oil leak east of Edmonton last March.
The board says the leak from a storage tank at the Enbridge terminal in Sherwoo…
CALGARY — Driving by empty workforce accommodation camps along northern Alberta highways near Fort McMurray, the oilsands boom that became a bust still hits home three years after the slide began.
The empty parking lots surround plain, functional-look…
CALGARY — Inter Pipeline Ltd. (TSX:IPL) says it has decided to go ahead with a $3.5-billion petrochemical project in an industrial area north of Edmonton.
The complex will convert propane into polypropylene, a plastic used in the manufacturing of prod…
EDMONTON — Alberta has begun monitoring oilsands emissions from the sky.
The province’s environmental monitoring agency is using airborne sensing equipment to measure the release of greenhouse gases and other chemicals from oilsands mines north of For…
CALGARY — Canadian oilsands producers face rising price discounts as growing production “materially exceeds” export pipeline capacity to the United States in the first quarter of 2018, RBC Dominion Securities says in a new research report.
The report …
FREDERICTON — New Brunswick is adopting federal targets for large industrial emitters that could make them pay to offset their pollution.
The province introduced legislation Thursday that it says would also redirect taxes on gasoline and diesel to pro…
FREDERICTON — An environmental group in New Brunswick says the province’s plan to combat climate change offers no incentive for motorists to reduce the amount of fuel they burn.
“I understand what the government is trying to do by saying we’re going t…
CALGARY — The new chief executive of Cenovus Energy Inc. unveiled plans for a leaner oilsands company Thursday, announcing hundreds of job cuts, lower-than-expected 2018 capital spending and the departure of three key executives.
Alex Pourbaix, who re…
CALGARY — Bids in an auction to pick renewable energy projects were so attractive that the Alberta government decided to back proposals to build 600 megawatts of new generation, 50 per cent higher than its goal of 400 MW.
The government said Wednesday…
MONTREAL — Canadians will purchase a record number of electric vehicles this year as the growing sales of cars with longer ranges is prompting a push to increase the number of fast chargers, the head of the country’s largest charging network says.
Add…
CALGARY — Enbridge defended its plan to sell its onshore renewable assets Tuesday on a day that saw major climate change commitments emerge from a conference in Paris.
Speaking at an investor conference in New York, company CEO Al Monaco said the sell…
CALGARY — Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. is promoting a 27-year veteran of the company to president as part of a management succession plan.
Canada’s largest producer of natural gas and one of its biggest oilsands companies says president Steve Laut …
FREDERICTON — The New Brunswick government will not impose a new direct tax on consumers when it introduces legislation for carbon pricing on Thursday, according to a government source.
The source tells The Canadian Press that the legislation will inc…
TORONTO — The Progressive Conservatives have asked the Ontario Provincial Police to investigate millions in ineligible expenses — including scuba gear and raccoon traps — filed by nine power generators in the province.
Auditor general Bonnie Lysyk rep…
GUELPH, Ont. — Shares in Canadian Solar Inc. rose Monday after the company revealed it has received a non-binding takeover offer from its chairman, Shawn (Xiaohua) Qu, who is also CEO and president.
Qu is tentatively offering US$18.47 in cash for each…
MONTREAL — A far-left activist group has claimed responsibility for vandalizing the home and property of the president and CEO of Junex Inc., an oil and gas company conducting exploratory drilling in Quebec’s Gaspesie region.
Media reports revealed th…
CALGARY — A long-running dispute over a well completion technology that helped usher in the shale oil and gas boom in North America has resulted in a Canadian court decision declaring invalid a patent held by Packers Plus Energy Services Inc.
In the d…
CALGARY — The National Energy Board has allowed Kinder Morgan Canada to bypass some bylaws in Burnaby, B.C. that stand in the way of its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.
The decision released on Thursday was met with outrage with those oppos…
EDMONTON — A union that represents 3,000 oilsands workers at Suncor Energy sites in northeastern Alberta has won a court injunction against random drug testing.
Unifor Local 707-A had argued that random testing would be a violation of workers’ rights …
TORONTO — Ontario’s opposition parties are calling on the province’s Independent Electricity System Operator to release the names of power generators that billed millions in ineligible expenses and for it to recoup all of that money.
The IESO said Thu…
EDMONTON — Alberta’s energy regulator wants to keep bad operators out of the oilpatch to reduce the ballooning number of bankrupt companies who have walked away from unprofitable wells.
“We will be requiring more information at the time a person or a …
CALGARY — Alberta has set out its competition-based plan to reduce carbon emissions from the province’s big industries, but it’s raising concerns from some about jobs and costs.
The regulations will give companies credits if their facilities produce l…
CALGARY — A moratorium on loans for energy pipeline projects has been lifted, Desjardins Group said Wednesday, as it vowed to consider environmental, social and governance practices of clients in all future lending decisions.
The decision in July to t…
CALGARY — Alberta is setting aside close to $1.4 billion from climate levies to help industry reduce carbon emissions.
The government said the funding, spread over seven years, will make it easier for industries to invest in new technologies, stay com…
CALGARY — Kinder Morgan Canada (TSX:KML) says it is still not in a position to start significant construction on the Trans Mountain expansion project and expects spending on the project for at least part of next year to focus mostly on permitting.
In …
CALGARY — Suncor Energy (TSX:SU) says it has started the regulatory process on replacing aging boilers at its oilsands Base Plant with two cogeneration units to lower costs and carbon output.
The company says the cogeneration units, which allows indus…
REGINA — The Saskatchewan government has introduced a climate-change strategy that inches toward a price on carbon emissions, but leaves large parts of its economy untouched.
And it doesn’t include a carbon tax, which Environment Minister Dustin Dunca…
CALGARY — Kinder Morgan Canada and Burnaby, B.C., clashed in a National Energy Board’s hearing room Monday over the fate of local permitting for the controversial Trans Mountain expansion project.
The company (TSX:KML) argued at the NEB’s Calgary head…
CALGARY — Husky Energy Inc. (TSX:HSE) is planning to increase its capital spending in 2018 to between $2.9 billion and $3.1 billion.
That includes up to $1.1 billion on growth projects and up to $2 billion on sustaining and corporate spending.
The 20…
Saskatchewan and three U.S. states have signed a memorandum of understanding on carbon capture and storage.
The three-year agreement, signed at the Western Governors’ Association meeting in Arizona, says Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and Saskatchewan…
OTTAWA — First Nations, environmental groups and Yukon Premier Sandy Silver welcomed a Supreme Court of Canada ruling on wilderness lands Friday as a victory for the northern territory.
The unanimous high court ruling is likely to ensure ecological pr…
EDMONTON — A judge hearing an application from a union for an injunction to stop Suncor from starting random drug tests at oilsands facilities in northeastern Alberta is to make his ruling next Thursday.
Unifor Local 707-A says such random testing wou…
EDMONTON — Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci says he is not considering introducing a sales tax to help cure the province’s financial woes because Albertans don’t support it.
Ceci says the idea of a sales tax came up today when he had a roundtable mee…
MONTREAL — The Dream group of real estate companies had the highest proportion of female board members and executives last year, according to detailed data released Thursday by Canadian securities regulators.
Five Dream-related Ontario businesses scor…
VANCOUVER — British Columbia says the federal government needs to back off and stop interfering in an independent review process over the approval of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline.
Environment Minister George Heyman said he is “very disturbe…
CALGARY — Pembina Pipeline Corp. (TSX: PPL) says its board of directors has approved construction of an export terminal at Prince Rupert, B.C., to be used to send liquefied Western Canadian propane to markets in Asia and Central America.
The Calgary-b…
CALGARY — Shares of Enbridge Inc. popped higher in early trading after the company announced plans to raise its dividend, issue shares and sell off at least $3 billion in assets next year.
The stock was up $2.72 or about six per cent at $48.47 in trad…
CALGARY — Enbridge says it is going to sell off at least $3 billion of its assets next year.
The Calgary-based energy giant said it has identified $10 billion of what it describes as non-core assets.
Enbridge announced a strategic update late Wednesda…
OTTAWA — The federal government wants to see a new process established to resolve conflicts over permits that Kinder Morgan says is delaying construction on its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in British Columbia.
Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr…
FOR: ENBRIDGE INC.NYSE SYMBOL: ENBTSX SYMBOL: ENBDate issue: November 29, 2017Time in: 4:47 PM eAttention:
CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwired – Nov. 29, 2017) – Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB)
(NYSE:ENB) (Enbridge or the Company) announced today that its Board of…
FOR: ENBRIDGE INC.NYSE SYMBOL: ENBTSX SYMBOL: ENBDate issue: November 29, 2017Time in: 4:46 PM eAttention:
CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwired – Nov. 29, 2017) – Enbridge Inc. (Enbridge or
the Company) (TSX:ENB)(NYSE:ENB) today announced the finalization o…
FOR: ENBRIDGE INC.NYSE SYMBOL: ENBTSX SYMBOL: ENBDate issue: November 29, 2017Time in: 4:44 PM eAttention:
CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwired – Nov. 29, 2017) – Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB)
(NYSE:ENB) today announced that it has entered into subscription agree…
FOR: ENBRIDGE INCOME FUND HOLDINGS INC.TSX SYMBOL: ENFDate issue: November 29, 2017Time in: 4:34 PM eAttention:
CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwired – Nov. 29, 2017) – Enbridge Income Fund Holdings
Inc. (TSX:ENF) (“ENF” or the “Company”) announced today its…
FOR: CHANGFENG ENERGY INC.TSX VENTURE SYMBOL: CFYDate issue: November 29, 2017Time in: 1:17 PM eAttention:
TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Nov. 29, 2017) – Changfeng Energy Inc., (TSX
VENTURE:CFY) (“Changfeng” or “the Company”), an energy provider in…
FOR: SANJEL ENERGY SERVICES
Date issue: November 29, 2017Time in: 9:00 AM eAttention:
CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwired – Nov. 29, 2017) – Sanjel Energy Services today
announced that as part of the company’s growth strategy, Mr. Murray Bickley
will assum…
FOR: CUB ENERGY INC.TSX VENTURE SYMBOL: KUBDate issue: November 29, 2017Time in: 8:54 AM eAttention:
HOUSTON, TEXAS–(Marketwired – Nov. 29, 2017) – Cub Energy Inc. (“Cub” or the
“Company”) (TSX VENTURE:KUB), a Ukraine-focused upstream oil and gas com…
EDMONTON — Alberta remains on track to rack up a $10.3-billion deficit this year but Finance Minister Joe Ceci says the economy is rebounding and it’s time public sector workers step up to help keep it going.
“Alberta is back in the saddle,” Ceci said…
FOR: UNITED HUNTER OIL & GAS CORP.TSX VENTURE SYMBOL: UHOFRANKFURT SYMBOL: 18UDate issue: November 28, 2017Time in: 5:00 PM eAttention:
TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Nov. 28, 2017) – United Hunter Oil and Gas
Corp. (TSX VENTURE:UHO)(FRANKFURT:18U) …
CALGARY — TransCanada Corp. (TSX:TRP) said Tuesday it has started to engage with Nebraska landowners along the alternate route of its Keystone XL pipeline approved last week.
Speaking at an investor day in Toronto, Dean Patry, senior vice-president of…
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Exxon Mobil Corp. says first oil has been produced ahead of schedule from the $14-billion Hebron project in the Jeanne D’Arc Basin about 350 kilometres southeast of St. John’s.
It had been expected to begin production in December. A…
MONTREAL — Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. hasn’t given up hope of selling cannabis as some Western Canadian provinces turn to the private sector for over-the-counter sales, the convenience store operator’s CEO said Tuesday.
Brian Hannasch said the larg…
FOR: POINT LOMA RESOURCES LTD.TSX VENTURE SYMBOL: PLXDate issue: November 28, 2017Time in: 3:10 PM eAttention:
CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwired – Nov. 28, 2017) –
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED
STATES
Point…
FOR: CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE (CSE)
Date issue: November 28, 2017Time in: 2:00 PM eAttention:
TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Nov. 28, 2017) – Biocure Technology Inc., the
issuer resulting from a Fundamental Change of Gravis Energy Corp. has been…
FOR: BROMPTON OIL SPLIT CORP.TSX SYMBOL: OSPTSX SYMBOL: OSP.PR.ADate issue: November 28, 2017Time in: 1:30 PM eAttention:
TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Nov. 28, 2017) – Investors and investment
advisors are invited to listen to an update presentati…
FOR: EAGLE ENERGY INC.TSX SYMBOL: EGLDate issue: November 28, 2017Time in: 11:55 AM eAttention:
CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwired – Nov. 28, 2017) – Eagle Energy Inc. (“Eagle”)
(TSX:EGL) is pleased to announce initial production test results from its fir…
FOR: SUNCOR ENERGY INC.TSX SYMBOL: SUNYSE SYMBOL: SUDate issue: November 28, 2017Time in: 10:40 AM eAttention:
All financial figures are in Canadian dollars
CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwired – Nov. 28, 2017) – Suncor today confirmed that
it has been advi…
FOR: GRAN TIERRA ENERGY INC.NYSE MKT SYMBOL: GTETSX SYMBOL: GTEDate issue: November 28, 2017Time in: 9:15 AM eAttention:
CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwired – Nov. 28, 2017) – Gran Tierra Energy Inc.
(“Gran Tierra” or the “Company”) (NYSE American:GTE)(NYS…
FOR: TRANSCANADATSX SYMBOL: TRPNYSE SYMBOL: TRPDate issue: November 28, 2017Time in: 6:00 AM eAttention:
CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwired – Nov. 28, 2017) – News Release – TransCanada
Corporation (TSX:TRP) (NYSE:TRP) (TransCanada) will host its annual I…
FOR: THE FRASER INSTITUTE
Date issue: November 28, 2017Time in: 5:00 AM eAttention:
CALGARY, AB –(Marketwired – November 28, 2017) – British Columbia now ranks
as the least-attractive Canadian jurisdiction for oil and gas investment —
followed by A…
CALGARY — Former Alberta premier Alison Redford has taken a new job as policy adviser to Afghanistan’s minister of energy.
The World Bank says Redford has been hired as a consultant, but wouldn’t confirm her specific job title.
Her LinkedIn page says…
CALGARY — TransCanada Corp (TSX:TRP) says it plans to restart operations on its Keystone pipeline on Nov. 28 after making repairs to a leak that spilled about 795,000 litres of crude oil in South Dakota.
The company says U.S. regulators have cleared i…
CALGARY — TransCanada Corp. has asked the Nebraska Public Service Commission to reconsider its order that approved an alternative route for the company’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline through the state.
Company spokesman Terry Cunha says TransCanada i…
EDMONTON — Several First Nations and Indigenous groups have asked the federal government to step in and protect some endangered caribou herds on provincial land in Alberta.
In a letter to federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, the coalition s…
FOR: RAISE PRODUCTION INC.TSX VENTURE SYMBOL: RPCDate issue: November 27, 2017Time in: 5:29 PM eAttention:
CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwired – Nov. 27, 2017) – Raise Production Inc. (TSX
VENTURE:RPC) (“Raise” or the “Company”) announces that it has grant…
CALGARY — Enbridge Inc. says it has reached a deal with the State of Michigan on the aging Line 5 pipelines that run along the bottom of a channel between Lakes Huron and Michigan.
The twin pipelines were laid in 1953 and have raised increasing concer…
CALGARY — Houston-based Civeo Corp. says it is buying Noralta Lodge Ltd. of Edmonton for $367 million in a deal that unites two major providers of workforce accommodation in the oilsands region of northern Alberta.
The companies say in a joint news re…
FOR: TRANSCANADATSX SYMBOL: TRPNYSE SYMBOL: TRPDate issue: November 27, 2017Time in: 3:15 PM eAttention:
AMHERST, SOUTH DAKOTA–(Marketwired – Nov. 27, 2017) – Media Advisory –
TransCanada Corporation (TSX:TRP) (NYSE:TRP) (TransCanada) announced that …
FOR: EPCOR UTILITIES INC.
Date issue: November 27, 2017Time in: 2:42 PM eAttention:
EDMONTON, ALBERTA–(Marketwired – Nov. 27, 2017) – EPCOR Utilities Inc. (EPCOR)
has completed a public offering in Canada of unsecured medium term note
debentures in t…
FOR: AFRICA ENERGY CORP.TSX VENTURE SYMBOL: AFEDate issue: November 27, 2017Time in: 7:00 AM eAttention:
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwired – Nov. 27, 2017) – Africa Energy
Corp. (TSX VENTURE:AFE) (“Africa Energy” or the “Company”) announces th…
CALGARY — Mining and oil and gas companies not only face threats from cybercriminals hoping to gain financially but may also be targeted by “hacktivists” who want to make a political or environmental point, says Yogen Appalraju, EY Canada’s cybersecur…
CALGARY — Data theft from high-profile hacks against companies like Uber and Equifax can cost consumers thousands of dollars but resource companies worry about millions in damage, along with potential injuries and death, if their technology is comprom…
CALGARY — Alberta Premier Rachel Notley took her pro-pipeline tour to the heart of the energy industry in Calgary on Friday where she urged business leaders not to let up on the message that Canada’s climate progress depends on pipeline progress.
Spea…
TORONTO — An Ontario New Democrat is proposing a private member’s bill that would regulate gas prices, though the Liberal government doesn’t seem keen to do so.
Gilles Bisson will introduce a bill next week that would allow the Ontario Energy Board to…
OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says strong performance in the financial sector drove Canadian corporate operating profits to just over $100 billion in the third quarter, up 17.2 per cent from the same period last year.
The federal agency says profits were…
CALGARY — One of the few female CEOs in the Canadian oilpatch says she is looking forward to creating a “clean hydrocarbons” company after she parted ways with the American financial backers of her oil and gas producing firm.
Suzanne West said Friday …
OTTAWA — Canada’s oilpatch could get a big head start on reducing emissions of a powerful greenhouse gas for a “near-zero” cost, says an academic study on the price of methane reduction.
“Industry, as a whole, doesn’t suffer,” said David Tyner, a Carl…
CALGARY — South African energy company Sasol Ltd. is looking to sell its Canadian shale gas assets.
The company says it has identified the assets as being non-core and it will start a structured sale process involving Progress Energy, its partner in t…
CALGARY — The Alberta Energy Regulator says a pipeline owned by Calgary-based Mount Bastion Oil & Gas Corp. has leaked about 560 barrels of an oil and water mixture at a northern Alberta wellsite.
AER spokesman Jordan Fitzgerald says the regulator has…
SURREY, B.C. — FortisBC says it has shipped 950 gigajoules of liquefied natural gas from Vancouver to China, marking the industry’s first shipment to the Asian country.
The move is part of a pilot project aimed to determine long-term feasibility of B….
OTTAWA — Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is warning all political parties to take off their partisan blinders or both the environment and Canada’s energy industry will fail.
Notley was in Ottawa this week as part of a campaign to build support for pipel…
CALGARY — Activist investor FrontFour Capital says it will attempt to influence decisions at Calgary-based Obsidian Energy Ltd. (TSX:OBE) after accumulating more than 27 million shares.
The Greenwich, Conn.-based hedge fund says in a declaration filed…
CALGARY — The association that represents Canadian oil and gas drilling companies says it expects “muted stability” for the industry in 2018 despite recent strengthening in oil prices.
The Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors is callin…
TORONTO — Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says Nebraska’s decision to allow TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline to run through that state brings North America closer to greater energy security.
Nebraska’s Public Service Commission on Monday approved the …
An international summary of five year’s worth of research on Arctic climate change concludes the top of the world is getting warmer faster than anyone thought.
And if it all sounds interesting but a little far removed from southern concerns, David Bar…
MONTREAL — Loblaw Companies Ltd. says it is among the first purchasers of Tesla’s new electric truck.
Canada’s largest supermarket chain (TSX:L) says it has pre-ordered 25 of the vehicles called the Tesla Semi.
“It’s part of our commitment to electrif…
CALGARY — Oil and gas investments may have soured for managers of the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund but two Canadian funds say they have plenty of room for such securities in their portfolios.
In a letter this week, Norway’s central bank urged the N…
CALGARY — TransCanada Corp. said Friday that work is well underway to clean up a sizable oil leak at its Keystone pipeline in South Dakota that occurred days before a vote on the fate of the company’s flagship pipeline proposal.
The company said about…
MONTREAL — A Quebec biofuels company has signed its first deal to power an airline’s jets with energy grown from Canadian oilseeds.
Agrisoma Biosciences Inc. of Gatineau will supply biofuel to Australia’s Qantas Airways made from Carinata seed, a non-…
CALGARY — TransCanada Corp. said its original Keystone pipeline has leaked an estimated 795,000 litres of oil in Marshall County, S.D. just days before Nebraska is set to decide the fate of plans to expand the pipeline network.
The company (TSX:TRP) s…
CALGARY — Negative market reaction to a slight rise in its 2018 spending plan by natural gas producer Seven Generations Energy Ltd. (TSX:VII) shows how little patience investors have for anything but conservative management in the oilpatch, analysts s…
CALGARY — Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU) says it will spend between $4.5 billion and $5 billion in 2018 to deliver average upstream production of about 760,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The midpoint in spending guidance represents a decline of a…
FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. — A judge says air ambulance service in the oilsands region in northeast Alberta is hobbled because helicopters can’t land directly at the Fort McMurray hospital.
A fatality inquiry report into the 2007 death of an oilsands worker…
EDMONTON — Starting Thursday, customers at Husky gas stations in Ontario will be required to pay before fuelling up, either in the store or at the pump.
Husky Energy says it believes requiring customers to pre-pay will minimize risks to gas station st…
CALGARY — Obsidian Energy Ltd. says it has reached a US$8.5-million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over fraud-related charges filed earlier this year.
The SEC had alleged the company and three executives participated in a …
CALGARY — The new CEO of Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX:CVE) says he will focus on paying down debt through asset sales as he works to regain the trust of investors.
Alex Pourbaix, 52, says he wants to ensure the Calgary-based company produces oil and gas t…
Canada’s drive to shut down all of its coal-fired power plants by 2030 could be undermined by provincial side-deals like the one currently being negotiated with Nova Scotia, critics say.
“A 2030 date, overall for Canada, is achievable and ambitious — …
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Newfoundland and Labrador will target big spending in health, education and by the Crown corporation overseeing the bloated Muskrat Falls project as its deficit mounts.
The province is now expecting a deficit of $852 million this fi…
LINCOLN, Neb. — A decision on the last major regulatory hurdle for TransCanada (TSX:TRP) in its nine-year quest to complete the Keystone XL pipeline will be made next week.
The Nebraska Public Service Commission says in statement that a vote on the ap…
CALGARY — Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX:CVE) says it is selling its majority stake in a Saskatchewan enhanced-oil recovery project to Calgary-based Whitecap Resources Inc. (TSX:WCP) for $940 million.
The deal is the last on a list of four asset sales the m…
CALGARY — Investment firm AltaCorp Capital Inc. says its founder and CEO, Calgary oil and gas financier George Gosbee, died suddenly on Sunday.
Gosbee was a former governor of the National Hockey League and, in 2013, led a group to purchase the Arizon…
OTTAWA — Climate change talks in Germany are headed for a collision course on coal this week — and Canada is right in the middle of it.
Environment Minister Catherine McKenna is arriving today in Bonn, Germany, to attend the second week of COP23, the …
EDMONTON — The Canadian government says it lacked the scientific evidence to determine if oilsands tailings ponds were leaking into waterways and hurting fish.
But the government says it continues to work on methods to determine if chemicals associate…
CALGARY — Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (TSX:CNQ) is considering adding a 30,000- to 40,000-barrel-per-day bitumen-only project to its Horizon oilsands mine to take advantage of excess ore production and pipeline capacity.
The proposed project could…
CALGARY — The cost of looking after hundreds of wells, pipelines and other oilfield gear left behind by bankrupt Lexin Resources Ltd. has exceeded $2 million and the bills continue to roll in, says Alberta’s Orphan Well Association.
The association wa…
CALGARY — Suncor Energy has named Mark Little as chief operating officer at the oilsands giant, shifting him from his current role as president of upstream operations.
The company says he will be responsible for all operations and many of its corporat…
CALGARY — TransCanada Corp. said Thursday it received broad interest for space on its Keystone XL pipeline, with a final investment decision on the project possibly weeks away.
The company (TSX:TRP) closed an extended bidding window for space on the p…
OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada will hear an appeal from Alberta’s energy regulator that seeks to overturn a ruling that could allow bankrupt energy companies to walk away from cleaning up abandoned oil wells.
The decision could affect industrial…
CALGARY — Tourmaline Oil Corp. (TSX:TOU) says it is cutting its 2018 capital spending budget by half a billion dollars because of persistently low natural gas prices.
The Calgary-based oil and gas company says it will dial back production growth to 10…
CALGARY — TransCanada Corp. earned $612 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss a year ago.
The pipeline company (TSX:TRP) says the profit amounted to 70 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30.
That compared with a loss of $135 mill…
VANCOUVER — A non-profit group has abandoned a legal challenge of the Trans Mountain pipeline project in British Columbia, saying losing the case could bankrupt the organization.
Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch says the advocacy group decided to with…
CALGARY — Encana Corp. (TSX:ECA) has no plans to spend more to increase production despite recent world oil price increases linked to unrest in Saudi Arabia, CEO Doug Suttles said Wednesday.
He said the Calgary-based oil and gas company, which has a …
OTTAWA — The single biggest element of Canada’s national emissions reduction plan might not be unveiled on time.
A year ago, the federal government announced plans to develop a national clean fuels standard to reduce harmful emissions. It was supposed…
CALGARY — Natural gas processor and transporter Keyera Corp. (TSX:KEY) saw its profits swing lower in its latest quarterly report released Tuesday after markets closed.
The Calgary-based company saw its net earnings fall to $38 million or 20 cents per…
OTTAWA — The National Energy Board says it will not expedite the process to determine if the city of Burnaby, B.C. is deliberately obstructing construction of the expanded Trans Mountain Pipeline by refusing to issue necessary construction permits.
Th…
CALGARY — Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (TSX:CNQ) is throttling back capital spending in 2018, but plans to increase production to more than one million barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Western Canada’s largest heavy oil and natural gas producer s…
VANCOUVER — Finning International Inc. says it earned $52 million in its latest quarter, up from $36 million a year ago, as revenue improved 16 per cent.
The heavy equipment dealer (TSX:FTT) says the profit amounted to 31 cents per share, up from 22 c…
EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is to go on tour later this month to stump for the Trans Mountain pipeline, but is resisting opposition calls to wield a big stick against its opponents.
Notley is to speak in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgar…
BURNABY, B.C. — A city in British Columbia wants Saskatchewan’s justice minister to withdraw comments suggesting it “is deliberately slowing down” the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
A lawyer acting for Burnaby sent a letter to Don Morgan saying ci…
REGINA — SaskPower says it won’t likely support more carbon capture and storage projects due to costs.
President and CEO Mike Marsh says the technology is still worthwhile, but the current economic climate doesn’t warrant moving forward with such projects because the low cost of natural gas makes that a more viable option.
SaskPower’s Boundary Dam power plant in Estevan takes emissions from coal generation and stores them.
When the $1.5-billion facility opened with much fanfare in October 2014, the goal was to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by one million tonnes annually; in 2016, SaskPower said the plant was on track to capture 800,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
SaskPower had to pay $7.3 million in penalties to Cenovus Energy (TSX:CVE) in 2015 because the plant wasn’t operating enough to deliver all the captured carbon dioxide promised to Cenovus.
The Crown corporation must decide next year what options are best to retrofit its last two coal generated units at the plant.
Boundary Dam was forced offline several times in 2015. SaskPower’s annual report that year said the power plant faced technical and mechanical issues which “prevented the plant from achieving an acceptable level of reliability and performance.”
Premier Brad Wall touted Saskatchewan’s carbon capture and storage technology at an international climate change conference in 2015.
(CJME, The Canadian Press)
CJME, The Canadian Press
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said spokesman Jonathan Tremblay.
FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. — One of the country’s largest oilsands companies is facing federal charges in the death of 31 great blue herons at one of its mine sites in northern Alberta more than two years ago.
The charges against Syncrude Canada under the Migratory Birds Convention Act are in addition to provincial charges already laid.
In August 2015, Syncrude revealed that 29 carcasses from the large shorebirds were discovered near a pump house at an abandoned sump pond at Mildred Lake north of Fort McMurray.
Additional birds were euthanized on the order of Alberta Fish and Wildlife.
Despite initial reports that bird deterrents at the facility were fully working, a Syncrude spokesman later acknowledged that no such equipment was in operation.
Syncrude installed fencing, sound cannons and bird-scaring statues, including a robotic falcon. Human observers were also stationed at the site around the clock.
Syncrude appeared in provincial court in Fort McMurray on Wednesday to answer to the federal charges.
The provincial charges relate to failing to properly store a hazardous substance. The maximum fine is $500,000 per count.
Great blue herons, which feed on fish and frogs along shorelines and riverbanks, are Canada’s largest heron. They stand more than a metre tall with a wingspan of up to two metres. Their numbers are considered secure.
In September, 123 dead and dying songbirds were discovered at Suncor’s nearly complete Fort Hills oilsands mine. The Alberta Energy Regulator is investigating those deaths.
Suncor is also investigating why the birds were in the area despite the presence of working bird deterrents, including cannons, radar and scarecrows.
In 2010, 550 birds had to be destroyed due to an early winter storm that forced them to land on ponds at Syncrude and Suncor. No charges were laid.
In 2008, Syncrude Canada was fined $3 million when more than 1,600 ducks were killed after they landed in a tailings pond.
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — The Parliament Hill hoopla this week was all about horoscopes and Halloween costumes, with an undertone of Bill Morneau controversy for good measure.
The new Governor General, former astronaut Julie Payette, made a notable debut on the federal scene on Wednesday with a speech to fellow scientists. Her mocking of climate change deniers, creationists, homeopathic medicine and horoscope believers prompted howls of protest from those who say a representative of the Queen should be seen, not heard — at least when it comes to opinions.
And outrage spewed over the appearance of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the House of Commons dressed as Clark Kent, complete with a stretchy Superman costume under his shirt and tie. Detractors demanded the PM get back to business, and/or also do something about the hair that made him look too much like Conservative finance critic (and Morneau nemesis) Pierre Poilievre.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer stuck closer to home in his get-up as Data from Star Trek — a hat tip to science-based evidence, his handlers say. The public reaction was . . . subdued.
The week in politics was not just about indignation. Developments on immigration policy, the North and Stephen Harper will have lasting implications. Here are three ways federal politics touched us this week:
MORE NEWCOMERS
Canada will very gradually increase the number of immigrants it admits over the next three years.
In recent history, Canada has admitted about 250,000 newcomers a year, rising to about 300,000 for the past two years. Now, the federal government aims to increase the level to 340,000 by 2020.
Proponents of higher levels have long argued that Canada needs a constant influx of highly skilled immigrants to fuel prosperity for the next generation. And they were generally content with the increases and the long-term planning evident in the three-year horizon that they saw this week.
But refugee advocates, who have found a strong ally in the Trudeau government in the past, were disappointed. The United Nations has repeatedly pointed out that the world is in the throes of a migrant crisis, and has lobbied wealthy countries like Canada to dramatically up their intake.
However, this week’s numbers show Canada is aiming to take 43,000 refugees next year, up just 3,000 from this year. Of those, the government-assisted refugees that the UN had in mind will remain static at 7,500 people.
THE NORTH
Every once in a while on a fairly regular basis, the premier of the Northwest Territories flies down to Ottawa and complains about being forgotten and neglected. This time, it was on a different scale.
Bob McLeod’s trip this week aimed to raise the alarm, and show Ottawa that the North has tumbled into despair despite doing all the right things to become self-supporting.
The culprit, he says, is the federal government’s decision a year ago to ban new oil and gas development in the Arctic because an oil spill would be disastrous for the region.
In the name of environmental protection, McLeod argues, the ban killed off investment at a time when the Arctic is already fighting a losing battle to deal with the vast, spillover effects of environmental degradation from the south. Dwindling caribou herds, melting permafrost, erosion and forest fires are destroying a way of life.
With 40 per cent of the territory’s economy depending on natural resources, the ban means “everything we have built is now in jeopardy,” McLeod said.
So far, mainly silence from the federal government.
HARPER
Former prime minister Stephen Harper has determinedly kept himself out of the public eye for two years now, only wading in occasionally to make a comment or two on government decisions. So last Friday night, when a note written by Harper-the-consultant to his business clients surfaced, every word was weighed heavily.
The government, he wrote, was not taking Donald Trump’s threats to tear up NAFTA seriously enough. The Liberals should stop pushing their progressive agenda on labour, gender, Indigenous Peoples and environment. They should stop allying themselves with Mexico. And instead, they should figure out how to salvage what they can from the trade agreement that is central to Canada’s economic health.
NAFTA-watchers have heard it all before. But because it was the former prime minister speaking this time, both the Liberals and the Conservatives were quickly on the defensive — the Liberals saying they were negotiating in Canada’s interests and would not capitulate, and the Conservatives insisting they were not trying to use Harper to disrupt a united front at the bargaining table.
The next round of talks will take place in Mexico City later this month — presumably enough time for the Harper uproar to settle down.
Heather Scoffield, Ottawa Bureau Chief , The Canadian Press
CALGARY — Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says she wants the National Energy Board to move quickly to remove roadblocks on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.
The City of Burnaby, B.C., hasn’t issued necessary permits to allow Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. (TSX:KML) to expand its pipeline from the Edmonton area to a tank farm and port in Burnaby.
Trans Mountain wants the board to clear the way for work to begin and Notley shares that view.
“We are going to push very hard to have that matter heard very quickly, because we think they are overreaching extensively. We should not be allowing projects that are of such national significance to be held up by municipalities using laws for purposes for which they were not intended,” Notley said Friday.
“The position of the municipality in that case is not very strong. Delay is not helpful and playing around with authorities in order to create delays is not the way to go.”
Kinder Morgan has said that Burnaby’s “failure to act in a timely manner raises serious issues of jurisdiction” related to the $7.4-billion pipeline expansion.
The company also wants the board to set up a way to make an “expedited determination” about similar complaints in the future.
Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan have all indicated they want to intervene in the Burnaby permit proceeding, the board said Friday.
“The chair of the board has authorized a panel to deal with this matter,” board secretary Sheri Young said in a letter.
Saskatchewan Justice Minister Don Morgan said the interprovincial pipeline has already been approved and shouldn’t be held up by a municipality.
He said Burnaby is deliberately slowing down an important project for an industry that is just starting to recover from sluggish oil prices.
“Saskatchewan has consistently taken the position that once an interprovincial pipeline has been approved by the federal government, provinces and municipalities should not be able to interfere,” Morgan said in a statement.
“Our government will continue to advocate for an expansion of pipeline capacity across Canada.”
Notley welcomed Saskatchewan’s decision.
“The more people that can be engaged in it (the hearing), the better. As I’ve said, we’re not particularly interested in pursuing a delay in that matter.”
Kinder Morgan already has energy board and federal approvals to twin the pipeline, more than tripling its capacity, but CEO Steve Kean said recently delays in permits and regulatory approvals mean the project could be almost nine months behind schedule.
Notley said she doesn’t see a need for any further intervention by the federal Liberal government.
“You have to respect the role of the NEB to a certain degree, so if you push too hard and you undermine the process such that it then becomes subject to challenge, that’s not helpful either,” she said.
“We know the federal government has made the decision that the project is to go ahead. That’s what we needed to have happen. I think they are also working fairly hard on the issues that remain of concern to people in B.C.”
Notley said she will continue her arguments on the importance of Trans Mountain when she visits British Columbia later this month.
— Follow @BillGraveland on Twitter
Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press
REGINA — The Saskatchewan government says it has applied for intervener status in National Energy Board hearings on the Trans Mountain pipeline project.
Justice Minister Don Morgan says the province argues the interprovincial pipeline has already been approved and shouldn’t be held up by a municipality.
The city of Burnaby, B.C., hasn’t issued necessary permits to allow Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. (TSX:KML) to expand its pipeline from the Edmonton area to a tank farm and port in Burnaby.
Morgan says Saskatchewan is disappointed the city is deliberately slowing down an important project for an industry that is just starting to recover from sluggish oil prices.
He says Saskatchewan energy companies need to get their product to the coast and all Canadians — including Burnaby residents — benefit from a thriving energy sector.
Kinder Morgan wants the National Energy Board to clear the way for work on the Burnaby portion of the pipeline expansion.
It already has energy board and federal approvals, but the company says delays in permits and regulatory approvals mean the project could be almost nine months behind schedule.
“Saskatchewan has consistently taken the position that once an interprovincial pipeline has been approved by the federal government, provinces and municipalities should not be able to interfere,” Morgan said in a statement Friday. “Our government will continue to advocate for an expansion of pipeline capacity across Canada.”
The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER — Two key British Columbia cabinet ministers are expected to outline the government’s next steps Thursday on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion after campaigning against the project.
No details have been provided about the announcement by Attorney General David Eby and Environment Minister George Heyman, but the future of the $7.4-billion project has been heavily scrutinized since the NDP government came to power.
Premier John Horgan promised on the campaign trail earlier this year to use “every tool in the toolbox” to stop the project, but a mandate letter to the Heyman softened the language, saying instead that he must “defend B.C.’s interests in the face of” the expansion.
Last month Eby said the province would not artificially delay permits for the project, because doing so would risk a costly lawsuit from proponent Trans Mountain, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Canada.
Several First Nations and municipalities have filed legal challenges against the expansion, which would triple the capacity of the Alberta-to-B.C. pipeline and increase the number of tankers in Vancouver-area waters seven-fold.
The project has been approved by Ottawa and the province’s former Liberal government.
Trans Mountain says construction is set to begin in September.
The Canadian Press
CALGARY — Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (TSX:CNQ) trimmed its capital spending plan for this year as it reported a profit of $1.07 billion in its latest quarter compared with a loss a year ago.
The oilsands company says it has decreased its capital spending program by about $180 million for 2017. It had said it March that it planned to spend about $3.9 billion this year.
The decision came as Canadian Natural also raised the mid-point of its 2017 annual liquids and barrels of oil equivalent production guidance by 11,000 bbl/d and 3,000 BOE/d respectively.
The company says its profit in its latest quarter amounted to 93 cents per diluted share compared with a loss of $339 million or 31 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Adjusted earnings from operations were $332 million or 29 cents per share compared with a loss of $210 million or 19 cents per share a year ago.
Production in the quarter averaged 913,171 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from 783,988 in the second quarter last year.
The Canadian Press
CALGARY — Rick George, former CEO of Suncor Energy and a pioneer of Canada’s oilsands industry, has died at the age of 67 after a battle with acute myeloid leukemia.
George, who died Tuesday, is credited with transforming Suncor from a money-losing oilsands mining company into one of Canada’s largest corporations over a 21-year career before his retirement in 2012.
“Rick’s impact on the oilsands industry, the Canadian business community, and the broader community has been immeasurable,” said Suncor CEO Steve Williams in a statement.
“Rick was very much admired and loved by his Suncor family.”
Williams worked as an executive with George for 10 years at Suncor before assuming the helm of the company.
George joined the company that would become Suncor in 1991 and brought in changes that upset traditional mining practices but boosted production and profitability.
“He had the fortitude and the vision to change the model and he … reinvented the model to allow oilsands to reach its potential in a way that we’re all benefiting from today,” said Tim McMillan, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
George oversaw Suncor’s $19-billion merger with Petro-Canada in 2009, creating a company with oilsands production, refineries, retail outlets, offshore and conventional oil and gas assets throughout the country.
Suncor’s shares are now worth about $68 billion.
In a statement on Wednesday, his family asked for privacy.
“With heavy hearts, we are determined to embrace challenges and adventure with the same rigour that he demonstrated every day,” the statement said.
“A brilliant businessman, a loyal friend, and a loving husband, father and grandfather, he will be greatly missed.”
His immediate family includes his wife Julie, sons Matthew and Zachary, and daughter Emily.
George was born in the small ranching community of Brush, Colo., and earned science and law degrees in the United States.
He served as managing director of Sun Oil Britain Ltd. before moving to Canada in 1991, later adopting Canadian citizenship.
Mike O’Brien, a current member of the Suncor board who retired as chief financial officer in 2002, said George’s drive was balanced by a folksy charm that helped him win converts to his point of view.
“He’s a hell of a nice guy. Everyone wants to help him get it done,” said O’Brien.
George was appointed an officer of the order of Canada in 2007 in recognition of his business acumen and commitment to Aboriginal communities and sustainable development.
“He was on the environmental file before anyone else was. He was on the Aboriginal file,” said O’Brien. “He just felt those things were priorities and he saw the big picture.”
George wrote a biography after retiring called Sun Rise: Suncor, the Oil Sands and the Future of Energy, in which he staunchly defended the environmental record of the oilsands and its interactions with Aboriginals while decrying delays in approving export oil pipelines such as the Keystone XL.
He recently served on the boards of Osum Oil Sands Corp., RBC and Anadarko Petroleum, and as a partner at Novo Investment Group.
George was chairman of Penn West Petroleum and officiated over the annual meeting in June in downtown Calgary where the company’s name was changed to Obsidian Energy.
Follow @HealingSlowly on Twitter.
Dan Healing, The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s attorney general says the NDP government will not artificially delay permits for the Trans Mountain pipeline, despite the premier’s vow to use every available tool to stop the project.
David Eby said he’s been tasked by Premier John Horgan to identify options to halt Kinder Morgan Canada’s $7.4-billion expansion of its Alberta-to-B.C. pipeline, which has already been approved by Ottawa and the previous B.C. government.
Eby said the province cannot deliberately stall on permits without risking a very costly lawsuit, but it can ensure that permits require that construction be done in a way that minimizes spills, protects the environment and ensures appropriate cleanup.
“I’ve been tasked by the premier to identify our options. There is an important piece to that, which is that we must do so within the laws of British Columbia and Canada, because if we don’t, we’ll be sued,” Eby told Kamloops radio station CHNL.
“We’ll end up paying hundreds of millions of dollars that should be going to schools and hospitals to an oil company and that is not a goal that anybody’s looking for.”
Trans Mountain, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Canada, declined comment on Eby’s remarks but said it’s in an ongoing process of seeking and receiving permits from the necessary agencies, as construction of the project is phased.
Eby did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Canadian Press.
Horgan’s NDP won 41 seats in the province’s May 9 election, shy of the 44 needed to mount a majority. But the Greens, who hold three seats, signed an agreement to support the New Democrats in a minority government.
The agreement states the government will “immediately employ every tool available to stop” the pipeline expansion.
A mandate letter issued by Horgan to Environment Minister George Heyman on Monday softens the language slightly, saying instead that he must employ every tool available to “defend B.C.’s interests in the face of” the expansion.
James Coleman, an energy law professor at Southern Methodist University who previously worked at the University of Calgary, said Eby’s remarks reflect the government’s need to be cautious about what it says and does.
“That’s certainly what you’d want to say. If you want to avoid compensation (to Trans Mountain), you wouldn’t want to give the suggestion that you were deliberately delaying or acting in bad faith,” he said.
“That’s one of those challenges the government faces. Because it has been so explicit that it’s going to use every tool to try and block this pipeline, that they may worry that the courts will see the government’s actions as being in bad faith.”
First Nations and environmental groups have filed lawsuits against the federal government’s approval of the project. Some groups have also launched legal challenges of B.C.’s environmental certificate.
The NDP government has not said what it plans to do about the lawsuits, but Coleman said if it is looking to avoid compensation, then the normal move would be to defend the certificate.
“The question is: Is that a half-hearted defence?” he asked. “I think that remains to be seen.”
Horgan said at a joint news conference with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa on Tuesday that he hasn’t yet been briefed by his attorney general but he has spoken with First Nations who have filed lawsuits against the federal government.
“I’ve met with the leadership of the Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam and Squamish First Nations and have heard very clearly their views on the matter, and we’ll deal with those in the days and weeks ahead,” he said.
Charlene Aleck, an elected councillor of the Tsleil-Waututh, said she had met with Horgan and felt confident he supports their efforts to halt the pipeline expansion. However, Horgan has not signalled that he intends to join their legal fight, she said.
Green party Leader Andrew Weaver said in a statement that he understands Eby’s points and expects they are not indicative of a broader change in the NDP’s stance on the pipeline.
“As an opposition party, we will remain steadfast in calling on the NDP government to use every legally available tool to stop the pipeline from going ahead,” Weaver said.
— Follow @ellekane on Twitter.
Laura Kane, The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — The debate around the future of the planned TransMountain pipeline expansion in British Columbia could intensify today when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets new B.C. Premier John Horgan for the first time.
Horgan was sworn into office last week after an unprecedented photo-finish election that saw former premier Christy Clark’s short-lived minority Liberal government defeated and Horgan’s NDP take over with the backing of the Green party.
Trudeau’s government approved the $7.4-billion pipeline expansion project last fall but Horgan campaigned against it and has pledged to fight the project with every tool at his disposal.
The two leaders have sidestepped the issue in official communications thus far, including a news release from Horgan on Monday where he said he intends to discuss the opioid crisis, B.C.’s wildfire emergency and the softwood lumber dispute with the U.S.
But there is little time for Horgan to waste if he wants to stop the project as pipeline-builder Kinder Morgan said just last week construction is on schedule to begin in September.
Following Horgan’s Ottawa trip, he will fly on to Washington, D.C., for meetings with U.S. lawmakers and officials about the softwood lumber dispute.
The Canadian Press
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said Horgan was sworn in last month instead of last week.
HOUSTON — The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. decreased by two this week to 950.
A year ago, just 462 rigs were active.
Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes said Friday that 764 rigs sought oil and 186 explored for natural gas this week.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Louisiana gained four rigs, California increased by two and North Dakota and Utah each gained one.
Oklahoma and Texas each declined by three, New Mexico fell by two and Alaska decreased by one.
Arkansas, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wyoming were all unchanged.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May of 2016 at 404.
The Associated Press
CALGARY — Encana Corp. (TSX:ECA) says its core operations will grow their production even more than expected this year, following a strong second quarter that included a US$331 million net profit.
The Calgary-based oil and gas producer, which reports in U.S. currency, says the profit amounted to 34 cents per share.
During last year’s second quarter, Encana had a $601-million net loss, equal to 71 cents per share.
The company says it now expects 2017 production from its core operations will be between 25 and 30 per cent above last year’s fourth quarter level.
Encana had previously estimated the production from core operations would grow 20 per cent or better.
The Canadian Press
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version said Encana’s annual shareholder meeting would be held today, but it was on May 2.
CALGARY — The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion remains on track to begin construction in September, Kinder Morgan Canada president Ian Anderson said Wednesday in the face of environmental and political opposition that threatens to derail the project.
Anderson, speaking on Kinder Morgan Canada’s first quarterly earnings call since it went public in May, said he looks forward to working with the new NDP government of British Columbia Premier John Horgan, who was sworn in a day earlier.
“I’ve worked co-operatively with several provincial and federal governments over the years on the development of this project,” Anderson said.
“I want to do the same with Premier Horgan’s government.”
In Horgan, Anderson faces a premier that has vowed to use whatever means he can to stop the $7.4-billion project because of environmental concerns. But for weeks, Horgan has not elaborated on how he would bring the development to a halt.
“I’m not going to speculate on what an NDP government might do in British Columbia at this stage in order to advance their views,” Anderson said.
Experts have said that while the Trans Mountain expansion has secured federal and provincial approvals — the previous B.C. Liberal government endorsed the project — the New Democrats can disrupt it by delaying or denying permits, which Anderson noted Kinder Morgan is trying to secure.
“We continue to need a good number of local permits from British Columbia, and Alberta for that matter, as they relate to crossings, road crossings, utility access, Crown land, etc.,” he said.
The twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline would nearly triple the capacity of the 1,150-kilometre line running from Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C., to 890,000 barrels of oil per day.
Critics, including environmental groups, politicians at various levels and Indigenous leaders, have raised concerns over risks to marine life from the increased tanker traffic that would result, the potential for leaks at land or sea, and higher emissions of oilsands crude.
The project has also pitted Horgan against his Alberta NDP counterpart Rachel Notley as well as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, both of whom have voiced strong support for it.
Anderson said the expansion is expected to be complete in 2019.
In its second quarter ended June 30, Kinder Morgan Canada (TSX:KML) earned $25.1 million, including $4.2 million for restricted voting shareholders, or 11 cents per share. That’s less than half the $51.7 million in net income during the same period a year earlier.
Revenue was $168.7 million, slightly above $165.8 million in last year’s second quarter.
Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press
EDMONTON — An agency is maintaining Alberta’s credit rating but says the outlook for the long-term is negative because of the NDP government’s unwillingness to tackle its deficit and growing debt.
DBRS Limited says the rating remains at AA-high, but the trend on long-term ratings has been changed to negative from stable and the province could face a downgrade within a year.
“The negative trend reflects that Alberta continues to erode its low debt advantage through sustained deficit spending,” the agency said in a release Friday. “Moreover, the province has yet to provide a credible plan to restore balance.”
Credit ratings affect how much governments pay to borrow money. Alberta had a $10.8 billion deficit last year and is forecasting a $10.3 billion deficit this fiscal year.
Finance Minister Joe Ceci has said the NDP government hopes to balance the budget by 2024.
DBRS said it is not convinced this can be achieved even though Alberta’s economy is improving and appears to have turned a corner supported by a modest rise in oil prices.
“Given their reluctance to use additional tax room and the continued focus on maintaining services and funding growth, this objective is highly uncertain since it relies on a sustained recovery in economic activity buoyed by higher oil prices.”
Ceci responded to the DBRS rating by accentuating the positive.
“DBRS has maintained our AA-high credit rating, recognizing our province’s strong fiscal fundamentals and the many positive economic trends and signs of recovery happening in our province right now,” he said in a statement.
“Alberta’s economy is expected to lead the country this year in economic growth, and jobs are returning. Our balance sheet remains the strongest in Canada and we continue to have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio among the provinces.”
Ceci’s statement did not address the agency’s concerns or its warning about a possible credit rating downgrade in the coming year.
He said Albertans should remember that the province’s credit rating is among the highest in Canada and the government will continue spending on needed infrastructure projects and public services.
“We will continue to restrain spending below population growth plus inflation and, as the economy continues to recover, the deficit will decrease over time.”
Opposition Wildrose Leader Brian Jean said the DBRS release is the latest warning by bond rating agencies about government spending and debt.
He said it should prompt the NDP to take action to get Alberta’s finances in order.
“The NDP should take steps to reduce spending,” Jean said in a release. “Another credit downgrade — our sixth in just two years — would severely hurt borrowing rates and core government services.”
John Cotter, The Canadian Press
FOR: PENGROWTH ENERGY CORPORATIONTSX SYMBOL: PGFNYSE SYMBOL: PGHDate issue: January 20, 2016Time in: 10:26 PM eAttention:
CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwired – Jan. 20, 2016) – Pengrowth Energy Corporation
(TSX:PGF)(NYSE:PGH) today announced its 2016 capita…
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