Like it or not, crude oil is the biggest reason for Canada’s prosperity

[Zetsu]

I couldn't agree enough with what Herman has posted, I bet our currency would be worth nothing toilet paper if it wasn't for the oil industry, and this fking bag o shit trudeau is trying to destroy what Canada only has left to stand on an international scale.

What other country deliberately kneecaps it's number one export. What other national leader does that. It makes no sense.

My thoughts exactly, Trudeau reminds me of that stupid Dee Dee character from the cartoon Dexter's Laboratory I used to watch as a kid, except Trudeau is an idiot and his acts are intentional, imo he should just resign before bringing anymore disgrace to the family.

[Anonymous]

Every time there is a Trudeau in office Western Canada suffers. Poppa Trudeau's motto was screw the West, I'll take the rest.



When the West's resources suffer at the hands of a Trudeau, all Canadians pay the economic price.

[Anonymous]

Jupiter Resources' Simon Bregazzi sees inverting fortunes for Canadian and U.S. gas producers

One to Watch: Canadian market's improved fortunes are a direct result of a group of gas producers, including Jupiter, pushing for changes

"The natural gas sector in Alberta was in crisis," said Simon Bregazzi, chief executive of Jupiter Resources Inc., describing how pipeline constraints and economics had caused AECO gas prices to bear little or no resemblance to wider North American benchmarks.



The AECO market's improved fortunes are a direct result of a group of gas producers, including Jupiter, pushing for changes. Through the spring and summer, Bregazzi and other natural gas CEOs negotiated with the Alberta government and pipeline giant TC Energy Corp. on ways to improve access to gas storage sites in the province.



There were initially deep divisions over TC Energy's changes to its service protocols that addressed who could access the pipeline system during maintenance periods. But all sides eventually reached an agreement that allowed all operators to move their gas into storage during critical maintenance outages. The Canada Energy Regulator approved the changes on Sept. 27, which led to a spike in AECO prices.



In addition to the protocol changes, TC Energy on Dec. 20 announced it had reached an agreement to reduce long-term tolls by 20 per cent on its pipeline network that moves Western Canadian gas to the Toronto and U.S. Midwest markets.



Based on the rate of gas being withdrawn from storage, the EIA is forecasting that gas inventories will be 1.9 tcf at the end March, or eight per cent higher than the five-year average.



As a result, the Henry Hub benchmark natural gas price is expected to tumble to an average of US$2.55 per mcf in 2020, which is shy of the US$2.69 average in 2019 and a far cry from the US$3.27 average in 2018.



By contrast, natural gas storage levels in Alberta are 23 per cent below the five-year average, according to analysts at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. who "expect them to remain at this level before they start to rebuild in the spring."



Natural gas production in Alberta has also declined by one billion cubic feet per day over the course of the past year, which executives and analysts said is leading to more confidence that demand for gas from coal-fired power plants in the province switching to gas will outpace supply.



"I believe all of this should point to an even more constructive Canadian natural gas price," Peyto Exploration and Development Corp. chief executive Darren Gee said in a letter to his company's investors in December, which predicted that AECO prices would average close to $1.95 mcf in 2020.



"Geez, who knew $2 gas would be something we'd be hoping to achieve," he said.



But for Gee, Bregazzi and other natural gas executives who have managed through seven-cent gas prices, the outlook is significantly rosier than it was a year ago, even if the broader North American benchmarks are in trouble.



"We confronted some of the issues that the U.S. market is confronting sooner," Bregazzi said. "In a purely local context, we've already gone through the process that faces the U.S. gas sector in 2020."

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A ray of hope for a change.





The improved access to storage and to major markets in Central Canada will expose domestic gas producers to North American benchmarks. The outcome is exactly what gas producers wanted, but the timing is unfortunate.

[Anonymous]

I remember when natural gas used to be a bigger part of resource revenue and jobs in this province than oil..



While other countries like Australia were building LNG plants and pipelines we played delay games.

[Anonymous]

Former federal NDP leader, Tom Mulcair wants Ottawa not to approve the twenty billion dollar Fronter mine ion NE Alberta on the grounds of meeting climate change targets. I guess he thinks if that oil is produced by other jurisdictions with lower environmental standards than Canada there will be less C02 in the atmosphere.

[Thiel]

Alberta's Aboriginal communities recognize the good the oil and gas sector does even if Trudeau Laurentian urban elitist government cannot.



Indigenous communities back proposed oilsands mine



Indigenous communities near a controversial oilsands development in Alberta's northeast are lending their voices in support of the project, arguing the company in charge will keep environmental impacts to a minimum.



The Teck Frontier oilsands mine is located between Fort Mcmurray and Fort Chipewyan and is currently awaiting approval from a joint provincial and federal panel. The mine hopes to produce 260,000 barrels per day by pipeline once at full production.



The company has agreements with all 14 Indigenous communities in the project area.



The project has received a lot of attention from advocates who argue the mine could do serious harm. In November, Indigenous and environmental groups held a conference calling for the mine to be scrapped.



Ron Quintal, the president of Fort Mckay Métis Nation, said his community signed on after years of consultation and shares a lot of the concerns regarding the environment but believes Teck will take all the necessary steps to lessen those impacts.



"I respect everyone's opinion, but I find in far too many circumstances Indigenous people are used as a lightning rod to polarize the issues like oilsands development," he said. "I don't agree with that. Indigenous communities should have the right to have their own voice and to be able to speak. Speaking on behalf of Fort Mckay Métis, we don't want anybody coming in and telling us our business."



Fort Mckay Métis Nation, located roughly 20 km north of the proposed mine, recently became self-declared and has about 112 members. The community relies heavily on the oil industry to provide work.



Quintal said the community has taken a lot of steps to become self-sufficient, including working with industry. He said he's never seen the level of consultation that Teck has provided.



"At the end of the day, if those (environmental) impacts are going to continuously mitigate, I think that's half the battle," he added.



Bill Loutitt, CEO of Mcmurray Métis, said with nearly 600 members, his community is the largest in the area. Like Quintal, Loutitt praised Teck for working with Indigenous communities in order to come to an agreement.



"They continue to develop in an environmentally friendly way," he said. "That's one thing that is in our agreement. There's a lot of committee work, and when there are issues, we're on the ground and we help them work through these to a solution. It's very tough to develop oilsands without some environmental damage. By working with them, we feel we're going to be able to help them reduce that amount of environmental impacts."



Loutitt said the mine will do a lot to boost the community's employment and mentioned they have promises from Teck that they will hire within the area.

I have my fingers crossed science and common sense will defeat ideology and symbolism.

[@realAzhyaAryola]

All the big ticket items the anti oil NDP and Greens promise will be paid for by the very industry they demonize--Canada's oil and gas sector.



https://business.financialpost.com/opinion/like-it-or-not-crude-oil-is-the-biggest-reason-for-canadas-prosperity?fbclid=IwAR0bnSMSaRrmRJsXea7xkzoV-D0j-O0FCtU68CYNN88870X1c95rKDVTzjE">https://business.financialpost.com/opin ... 95rKDVTzjE">https://business.financialpost.com/opinion/like-it-or-not-crude-oil-is-the-biggest-reason-for-canadas-prosperity?fbclid=IwAR0bnSMSaRrmRJsXea7xkzoV-D0j-O0FCtU68CYNN88870X1c95rKDVTzjE

Like it or not, crude oil is the biggest reason for Canada's prosperity

Patricia Mohr: Even at the bottom of the oil-price correction in 2016, crude remained the largest positive contributor to Canada's merchandise trade, generating a $33-billion surplus



The oil industry looms large in the Canadian economy and, in many ways, pays the rent in Canada. Yet many Canadians appear unaware of how critically important the oil industry is to the national economy, a fact often lost in the debate over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.



Canada is a trading nation. We owe our economic prosperity and relatively high per-capita income to trade — and crude oil dominates that trade. In 2014, before the oil-price downturn, crude oil alone generated a $70-billion trade surplus for Canada — excluding smaller surpluses in refined petroleum products and natural gas — far outstripping any other export category (the closest is metals and minerals) and helping to offset large, chronic deficits in autos and parts, industrial machinery, electronic goods and consumer products.



Even at the bottom of the oil-price correction in 2016, crude oil remained the largest positive contributor to Canada's merchandise trade, generating a $33-billion surplus. In 2017, net oil exports increased again to $46 billion and will likely climb to over $50 billion this year, alongside the recent recovery in West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil prices to the $70 mark.



Oil industry tax and royalty revenues have also strengthened the overall fiscal position of governments across Canada, helping to fund social services. In 2016, the latest year for which data is available, Alberta payments to Ottawa were around $22 billion more than it received, amounting to over $5,100 per capita, helping to fund equalization payments to Quebec, the Maritime provinces and Manitoba. Alberta has consistently shared a portion of its resource wealth with the rest of Canada. Per capita, Alberta's net federal payments are five times bigger than any other province.



The contribution of the oil industry could have been even greater — much greater — had more export pipeline capability been available, especially to the Canadian West Coast, but also to the United States. While export shipments to Asia are possible the existing Trans Mountain pipeline through the Port of Vancouver, pipeline utilization is tight, limiting overseas volumes. The vast bulk of Canadian oil exports flow to refineries in the U.S. Midwest, the mountain states and the Gulf Coast.



A lack of alternative export outlets for Canadian crude often translates into wide price discounts off WTI oil (the North American reference price) whenever U.S. demand slows seasonally or when there is a significant U.S. refinery outage. Late last year, a service interruption on a key pipeline to the U.S. caused the heavy-oil price discount off WTI to widen to around US$30, much higher than the US$12 justified by the higher cost of processing heavy crude. Discounts on light and medium crudes widened as well.

 

[Anonymous]

Even as foreign artists, writers and well financed eco activists urge Ottawa to nix Teck Frontier, Aboriginals support it.



From Postmedia



Mikisew Cree First Nation backs Teck Frontier project



he Mikisew Cree First Nation has thrown its support behind the Teck Frontier project.



"We applaud Teck, Canada and Alberta for working with us to identify ground-breaking measures to safeguard Wood Buffalo National Park, wood bison and our community," said Chief Archie Waquan in a Friday news release.



"With the long term commitments from Teck, Alberta and Canada, we see a strong path for protecting Wood Buffalo National Park, the Ronald Lake Bison Herd and our culture and community if the project proceeds. That is how we got to today's decision to confirm our support,"



If the Teck Frontier mine is built at its planned location between Fort Chipewyan and Fort McMurray, it would produce up to 260,000 barrels of oil per day by 2037 and generate about 4.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.



Until Friday, support for the project from Mikisew Cree First Nation was up in the air, as the federal and provincial governments sparred over Alberta's current and projected emissions, and how the project might affect them. The federal cabinet's deadline to make a decision on the Teck project is Feb. 28.



The decision to get behind Teck was made using a "community-based decision-making framework aimed at ensuring a healthy future for our people and the Peace Athabasca Delta," the release said.



The First Nation evaluated Teck's environmental and social commitments and the mitigation and accommodation measures being brought to federal and provincial decision- makers against Mikisew's Nikechinahonan Framework.



That framework is aimed at ensuring the project is consistent with the health of Wood Buffalo National Park, the health of traditional resources, and the cultural, physical and social health of the Mikisew community.



It also comes after a rigorous review of environmental and cultural studies in a 10-year consultation process led by elders and staff, said Waquan.



Mikisew leadership urged both governments to uphold commitments that have been developed to preserve the environment and culture if the project is approved.



The federal government, through a cabinet decision, stands to make a decision on the project next week.

[caskur]

Oil is used to make plastic.



Plastic is/can be a scourge.



And single use plastic is terrorizing the planet.

[Anonymous]

Oil is used to make plastic.



Plastic is/can be a scourge.



And single use plastic is terrorizing the planet.

Not from North America it isn't..



And what are single use plastic bags?



What working family doesn't find many uses for plastic grocery bags.

[Gaon]

Oil is used to make plastic.



Plastic is/can be a scourge.



And single use plastic is terrorizing the planet.

Not from North America it isn't..



And what are single use plastic bags?



What working family doesn't find many uses for plastic grocery bags.

That is true. All the plastics in the oceans come from about ten rivers and they are all in Africa, Asia or South America.

[caskur]

Oil is used to make plastic.



Plastic is/can be a scourge.



And single use plastic is terrorizing the planet.

Not from North America it isn't..



And what are single use plastic bags?



What working family doesn't find many uses for plastic grocery bags.

We used to use the for bin liners. Now we have very thick ones that cost us 15 cents. People have learned now to carry their own cloth shopping bags.



But it isn't shopping bags only, it's ALL plastic containers.

[caskur]

Oil is used to make plastic.



Plastic is/can be a scourge.



And single use plastic is terrorizing the planet.

Not from North America it isn't..



And what are single use plastic bags?



What working family doesn't find many uses for plastic grocery bags.

That is true. All the plastics in the oceans come from about ten rivers and they are all in Africa, Asia or South America.

plus ships dumping their rubbish to... and they dump their oil when they do oil changes.



Mankind is treating our important ocean like a dump.

[kiebers]

At least the oil is bio degradable.

[Anonymous]

At least the oil is bio degradable.

Oil is organic and settles on the ocean floor....plastic bags and bottles do not.