Scotiabank CEO calls for end to political bickering over energy projects

[Anonymous]

Opposition to energy infrastructure is hurting Canada's bottom line. The Scotiabank CEO is right that at a time when health care costs are soaring and will continue to do so with an aging population government will need the revenue these infrastructure projects will provide. Asia's thirst for energy will only continue to rise according to the IEA. The question is, do they buy LNG and crude from us or from countries that do not share our social, environmental values as well as technological know how.



Say yes to Canada and tell OPEC to go pound sand.

Canadian leaders must put aside bickering and indecision to ensure major energy projects get done before global markets move on to other suppliers, Bank of Nova Scotia chief executive Brian Porter said in his first foray into public policy.



"Our inability to deliver energy to world markets is detrimental to Canada's economy," Porter, 57, said in the text of prepared remarks for his speech at Scotiabank's annual investors meeting Thursday in Ottawa. "It is also detrimental to our country's brand and future economic prospects for all Canadians."



Porter, whose comments signal his willingness to wade into broader national issues for the first time since becoming CEO in November 2013, said global market access for the country's energy must be a "common objective" that corporate, government and community leaders pursue vigorously.



"The time for inter-provincial bickering and political indecision has passed," said Porter, who heads Canada's third- largest lender by assets.



Efforts by Canada's energy producers to get oil and gas out of Alberta's land-locked oil sands to international markets have been stymied by public opposition, legal challenges and political wrangling. That's hampered multibillion-dollar pipeline plans such as TransCanada Corp.'s Energy East and Enbridge Inc.'s Northern Gateway.



'Significant Constraint'



"Canada's inability to export meaningful quantities of energy efficiently is a significant constraint for one of the world's largest energy producers," Porter said. "Without the ports and pipelines needed to deliver Canada's energy products globally, importing nations will source their energy supply elsewhere."



Energy East, a $12-billion plan to transport oil to Saint John, N.B., would create tens of thousands of jobs at a time when the economy needs job creation, Porter said. Jobs and economic benefits would spread from Alberta to New Brunswick, he said.



TransCanada proposed Energy East after facing delays in the U.S. on its planned $8-billion US Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to Steele City, Neb., to help get oil to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Keystone is still awaiting a U.S. presidential permit.



Meanwhile, Enbridge is defending its $6.5-billion Northern Gateway project to skeptical British Columbians, including aboriginal and environmental groups challenging the pipeline that would transport Alberta oil to the Pacific coast for shipment to Asia. The federal government approved the project in June.



"Gaps in our infrastructure will have long-term consequences for our economy and for all Canadians," Porter said.



Tax and royalty revenue from energy and energy-related businesses will be hurt, with lower revenues constraining the ability of federal and provincial governments to invest in areas such as education and health care, he said.



"We must make global market access for Canadian energy a national priority, and then make it a reality," Porter said.

http://calgaryherald.com/business/energy/scotiabank-ceo-calls-for-end-to-political-bickering-over-energy-projects">http://calgaryherald.com/business/energ ... y-projects">http://calgaryherald.com/business/energy/scotiabank-ceo-calls-for-end-to-political-bickering-over-energy-projects

[Anonymous]

The recent decline in oil has gotten all the attention. However the long term price slump of natural gas has not. Alberta got $8 billion in royalties from natural gas in 2005/2006. BC was just under $2 billion for the same year. I believe Alberta got $800 million last year and BC next to nothing.



Get those LNG plants built, get the product to Asia where prices are 4-5 times higher than in North America. Turn BC into a high wage, low tax land of opportunity for Canadians.



Natural gas prices are extremely low, but there may be light at the end of the tunnel. This is from Birchcliff CEO.

He added the company's ability to make money — albeit, not very much money — in a low gas price environment will ultimately allow it to survive and thrive.



"From my perspective, Birchcliff is one of the lowest cost operators, right? So we are making money in a very low-cost environment," he said.



"And our competitors are losing money and so they're going to quit drilling natural gas and eventually the laws of supply and demand are going to take place.



"There's going to be less supply because people can't afford to drill natural gas at these prices and somewhere here, we'll either have a hot summer or cold winter and the U.S. economy will start to move and there'll be a greater demand for gas and the price will go up."



How long will that take?



"Not very long at these prices," he said.

http://calgaryherald.com/business/energy/birchcliff-ceo-predicts-gas-price-rebound-eventually">http://calgaryherald.com/business/energ ... eventually">http://calgaryherald.com/business/energy/birchcliff-ceo-predicts-gas-price-rebound-eventually

[The Langley Ladyboy]

FUCK the sheiks and mullahs. We can produce anything including oil and natural gas better than anyone. Get Canadian crude to Asia. Get the pipeline infrastructure in place. Anyone that opposes it should go move to to An OPEC shit hole that benefits from our lack o0f infrastructure and funds the anti-pipeline nitwit traitors.