Extracting info: Why’s it so hard to get the goods on oil spills?
Leslie Young, Global News, May 22 2013
CALGARY – It can be tough to get a good sense of how safe Alberta’s oil industry is when you can’t access the information you need.
More than 91,000 litres of oil spilled from derailed Saskatchewan train
Canadian Press, Star Phoenix, May 22 2013
A freight train jumped the tracks in southeastern Saskatchewan Tuesday and spilled more than 91,000 litres of oil.
Pipeline dreams turn to ashes for Big Oil
Rick Smith, The Star, May 17 2013
The arrogance of oil companies and the Harper government turned a previously obscure environmental issue into a much more potent concern regarding the erosion of democracy and fairness
Enbridge breaks safety rules at pipeline pump stations across Canada
Max Paris, CBC News, May 6, 2013
Company's defence is that National Energy Board is interpreting rules differently
The biggest oil and gas pipeline company in Canada is breaking National Energy Board safety rules at 117 of its 125 pump stations across the country, but Enbridge says it's not to blame.
Harper government amends list of industrial projects requiring environmental reviews
Mike De Souza, Postmedia News, April 28, 2013
OTTAWA — Building a diamond mine, expanding an oilsands mine, offshore exploration or an interprovincial bridge could soon require a federal environmental review under proposed additions and subtractions to the Harper government’s new environmental rules.But provincially regulated pipelines, facilities used to process the heavy oil from the oilsands, pulp and paper mills as well as chemical explosive plants are among those being deleted from a list of projects requiring federal environmental investigations prior to approval.
Alberta exploring at least two oil pipeline projects to North
Yadullah Hussain, Financial Post, Apr 25 2013
Hemmed in by unco-operative jurisdictions to the south, west and east, Alberta is looking upward, exploring at least two new northern projects that would help the province get its oil to tidewater, making it available for export to overseas markets.
Plains Midstream charged in 2011 Rainbow Pipeline spill
Karen Kleiss, Edmonton Journal, April 26, 2013
Government acts after receiving Greenpeace report
EDMONTON - One day after receiving an advance copy of a scathing Greenpeace report, the Alberta government charged Plains Midstream Canada in connection with the Rainbow Pipeline oil spill.
Enbridge, Tundra to build Manitoba rail oil terminal
Scott Haggett, Reuters, April 16 2013
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Tundra Energy Marketing Ltd said on Tuesday it and Enbridge Inc, Canada's No.1 pipeline company, will build a rail terminal near Cromer, Manitoba, capable of handling up to 60,000 barrels per day of oil.
Stephen Harper’s “omnibus” strategy to overhaul green laws was proposed by oil industry, says records
Mike DeSouza, O.Canada.com, April 10 2013
OTTAWA – Lobbyists from Canada’s oil and gas industry recommended the Harper government’s 2012 strategy to put multiple changes to a series of environmental protection laws into a single piece of legislation, says a newly-released internal federal document.
NEB hearings application form called undemocratic
Max Paris, CBC News, Apr 8, 2013
Enbridge will be 1st test of new rules for who qualifies to comment on projects
The National Energy Board is changing its rules for participation in public hearings, starting with its hearings in August into the reversal of a pipeline that runs through Ontario to Montreal.
Enbridge pipeline opponents say hearings unfair
Mark Hume, Globe and Mail, Apr. 03 2013
VANCOUVER — Federal hearings into the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline project are unfair because company witnesses are allowed to huddle before answering questions during cross-examination, says a lawyer for two conservation groups.
Total sets sights on getting oil sands crude to Gulf Coast
Shawn McCarthy, Globe and Mail, Mar. 28 2013
France’s Total SA says current market conditions favour processing oil sands crude on the U.S. Gulf Coast rather than building an $11.6-billion upgrader in Alberta, as the company took a $1.65-billion (U.S.) loss on its 49-per-cent stake in the cancelled Voyageur project.
Suncor cancels Voyageur project, takes hit to profit
Brent Jang, Globe and Mail, Mar. 27 2013
Suncor Energy Inc., Canada’s biggest oil-sands producer, has cancelled its $11.6-billion Voyageur upgrader project because of soaring capital costs – and the belief that better profits are to be found in shipping out unprocessed bitumen.
Harper Gov't Changes to NEB Make First Nations' Concerns 'Irrelevant': Lawyer
By Geoff Dembicki, TheTyee.ca, March 25, 2013
World Water Day - Canadian Rivers
CANADIAN RIVERS, Peter Rowlands, March 22 2013
PEACE ATHABASCA ABITIBI MIRAMICHI
RESTIGOUCHE RICHELIEU ASSINIBOINE NECHAKO
KLUANE NAHANNI NIPIGON MISSINAIBI
NANOOK NOTTAWAY NOTTAWASAGA NASS
Corporate welfare not needed for LNG on West Coast
Claudia Cattaneo, Financial Post, March 21 2013
While Ottawa agreed in Budget 2013 to extend tax breaks for manufacturers for two years, a request by developers of liquefied natural gas terminals on Canada’s West Coast to receive similar tax savings fell on deaf ears.
Envoy to deal with First Nations concerns on pipelines
The Canadian Press, CBC News, Mar 19, 2013
Vancouver lawyer Doug Eyford to submit preliminary report to Harper by June
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has named an envoy to deal with aboriginal opposition to resource development in Alberta and British Columbia.
Ottawa tightens tanker safety with $120-million plan
Ian Bailey, Globe and Mail, Mar. 18 2013
VANCOUVER — The federal government pushed back at suggestions it is advancing an energy agenda at the cost of the environment, announcing amendments to the Canada Shipping Act and eight new tanker-safety measures in British Columbia, where there have been deep concerns about pipeline safety and spill control.
Harper government announces first steps towards World-Class Tanker Safety System
News Release, Transport Canada, March 18, 2013
VANCOUVER — The Harper government today announced a number of measures toward the creation of a World-Class Tanker Safety System. The implementation of eight tanker safety measures was announced along with the introduction of the Safeguarding Canada's Seas and Skies Act, and the creation of a Tanker Safety Expert Panel to review Canada's current tanker safety system and propose further measures to strengthen it. The announcement was made by the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and the Honourable Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources.
Through pristine Jasper Park, Kinder Morgan goes full-speed on Trans Mountain pipeline expansion
Jeff Lewis, National Post, March 13 2013
JASPER, Alta. • The smell of crude oil lingers as Rob Scott eases his pickup truck into a pump station and stops next to a tangle of white pipelines and valves jutting from the ground.
Bitumen's Extraordinary and Popular Delusions
Andrew Nikiforuk, TheTyee.ca, 9 Mar 2013
Behold the latest mystical and ecstatic pronouncements of Keystone XL acolytes.
Feds eye central Arctic exploration
Shawn McCarthy, Globe and Mail, Feb. 28 2013
OTTAWA — The federal government is opening a vast new frontier for oil and gas activity in Nunavut’s high Arctic with a call for companies to indicate their interest in bidding for exploration rights.
Alberta cancels funding for carbon capture project
Richard Blackwell, Globe and Mail, Feb. 25 2013
For the second time in less than a year a key carbon capture and storage project in Alberta has been hit with a major setback, denting the province’s efforts to combat carbon emissions.
Experts have warned of ‘bitumen bubble’ for years
Karen Kleiss, Edmonton Journal, February 24, 2013
EDMONTON - The Alberta government blames the “bitumen bubble” for the province’s current fiscal woes, but oil industry players have been warning about the phenomenon for more than a decade.A review of historical markets shows the gap between what Alberta oil sells for and the benchmark price for West Texas Intermediate has repeatedly hit $35 in the past two years.
