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Oil and Gas Sector-Politics and Image

In B.C., a small band of unelected Indigenous leaders continue to illegally block gas pipeline – by Barbara Kay (National Post – November 8, 2021)

https://nationalpost.com/

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent appointment of eco-warrior Steven Guilbeault to the environment portfolio struck me as a boost to the renewed protests in British Columbia’s Wet’suwet’en territory against the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline (CGL).

CGL’s pipeline is, in youth’s crude parlance, a big freaking $6.6-billion project. More than half complete, by 2023, the pipe will run 670 kilometres from northeast B.C. to Kitimat on the West Coast, where LNG Canada is building an $18-billion terminal.

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Company behind lithium bid applauds Alberta’s move towards developing rare earth metals – by Dylan Short (Calgary Herald – November 6, 2021)

https://calgaryherald.com/

A company in line to become Alberta’s first major lithium developer says the province’s latest move to regulate mineral and rare earth mining is good news for investors as they eye major productions in the field in the coming years.

Energy Minister Sonya Savage tabled a bill in the legislature on Thursday that, if passed, would move the regulation of all mineral and rare earth mining and development under the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) from start to finish.

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Trudeau declares war on Alberta oil – by Jesse Kline (National Post – November 1, 2021)

https://nationalpost.com/

If there was any doubt that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will pursue his climate goals at the expense of the Canadian economy, it was put to rest by his remarks at the COP26 conference in Glasgow on Monday, when he used the international forum to openly declare war on Alberta’s oil and gas industry.

“We’ll cap oil and gas sector emissions today and ensure they decrease tomorrow at a pace and scale needed to reach net-zero by 2050,” said Trudeau. While the prime minister admits this is “no small task for a major oil and gas producing country,” it’s also clear that he does not want the world to think of us as a burgeoning energy superpower.

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Trudeau’s new cabinet signals end of natural resource economy – by Brian Lilley (Toronto Sun – October 26, 2021)

https://torontosun.com/

The biggest changes and most worrying signs when it comes to Justin Trudeau’s new cabinet come by way of the portfolios that Trudeau has said are most near and dear to his heart.

Melanie Joly is in at foreign affairs, Steven Guilbeault is in charge at environment and John Wilkinson is in charge of natural resources. With these three appointments, Justin Trudeau is saying that natural resource extraction in Canada is in danger, and he doesn’t really care what the world thinks of this country.

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Green policies have denied opportunities to First Nations, without any benefit to the planet – by Chris Sankey (National Post – October 23, 2021)

https://nationalpost.com/

Everyone’s attention is turning to the energy crisis in Europe and Asia and the increasing cost of petroleum products, with record-high natural gas prices and oil at $80 a barrel and rising.

As a Tsimshian from northwest British Columbia, when I look at what’s happening in the markets, I wonder how much better off our communities would be if all the cancelled pipeline projects had gone ahead and B.C. was exporting LNG at these record prices.

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The fallout from the global energy crisis demands a reality check in Canada – by Derek H. Burney (National Post – October 26, 2021)

https://nationalpost.com/

An energy shortage and resulting dramatic spikes in oil and natural gas prices are stimulating a worldwide crisis, exacerbated in Canada by banks and major pension funds, like Quebec’s Caisse de dépôt, that are divesting fossil fuel assets.

Investment decisions normally reflect market principles. Yet, in their rush to embrace trendy political judgments and earn public favour, financial lenders are ignoring the most fundamental laws of supply and demand. Natural gas stocks are alarmingly low globally and prices have never been higher.

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David Staples: We can’t trust what Canadian green groups say if we don’t know who is paying them to say it – by David Staples (Edmonton Journal – October 21, 2021)

https://edmontonjournal.com/

Embedded in the 657-page report of the public inquiry into anti-Alberta energy campaigns by commissioner Steve Allan is excellent advice for green activists. If they want to be seen as credible, if they want the public to believe they’re fully on the up-and-up, it’s best they be completely transparent about who is giving them money and pulling their strings.

As the Allan report makes evident , that standard wasn’t always met in the last 15 years during the campaign to prevent new pipelines from being built to ship Alberta oil and gas.

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We are witnessing the perils of a disorderly energy transition – by Peter Tertzakian (Financial Post – October 20, 2021)

https://financialpost.com/

Renewables going up is not translating into oil and gas going down

Climate crisis plus energy crisis does not equal a good path to net-zero emissions. Policy wonks at the upcoming COP26 conference in Glasgow later this month will have a tough time with this calculus.

It’s been a while since the phrase energy crisis has been thrown around. When I hear it, I have déjà vu to the 1970s, the late-2000s and other lesser episodes in between. I reflect on societal hardship, ugly politics and uncertain outcomes.

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Foreign donors gave $1.3 billion to Canadian environmentalists to ‘hurt’ Alberta energy sector: Report – by Tyler Dawson (Vancouver Sun – October 21, 2021)

https://vancouversun.com/

EDMONTON — The inquiry launched by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s government into the scale of foreign funds aimed at damaging the province’s oil and gas industry has issued its long-awaited report, finding that foreign donors provided nearly $1.3 billion in funds for Canadian environmental campaigns between 2003 and 2019.

The report, compiled over two years by Calgary accountant Steve Allan, fulfils a major election promise for Kenney’s United Conservative Party and lays out the network of environmental organizations, and some of their funding sources, that have sought to limit the growth — or shut down entirely — Alberta’s oil and gas sector.

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World leaders ready big new climate pledges, as past failures leave people cold and poor – by Kelly McParland (National Post – October 18, 2021)

https://nationalpost.com/

A big environmental get-together is due to open in Glasgow soon , at which government representatives will gather to make promises. Progressives are very excited, hoping the promises will be big ones.

Already a few countries have gotten out in front with their pledges, eager to demonstrate their prowess at promising. President Joe Biden says the United States will cut its emissions by 50 per cent from 2005 levels within a decade, even if it has to slap windmills along the entire U.S. coastline.

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This energy crisis has been 30 years in the making. Why is anyone surprised? – by Rex Murphy (National Post – October 13, 2021)

https://nationalpost.com/

The inevitable collision between 30 years of global warming hyper activism — the howling demonization of available, proven energy resources — and reality, is upon us.

There is an atmosphere of semi-panic as many of the countries most committed to “getting off” oil and gas and turning their economies over to wind and sun find winter approaching and they, environmentally virtuous as they are, are wondering if they have enough oil and gas and even coal to get through it.

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How Vladimir Putin became the most important man in global energy markets – by Yadullah Hussain (Financial Post – October 13, 2021)

https://financialpost.com/

As Europe and Asia scramble for natural oil and natural gas and energy prices spiral out of control, Vladimir Putin is likely plotting his next geopolitical chess move.

Last week, the Russian president chided European governments for not securing long-term natural gas contracts that would have favoured his country’s producers such as Gazprom PJSC, calling the EU’s reliance on spot prices a ‘mistake’.

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OPINION: There is no quick fix for Europe’s self-manufactured energy crisis – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – October 9, 2021)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Suppose you were told 10 years ago that you had 10 years to replace your soot-spewing diesel car. You did not. Now, you’ve missed the deadline and have no right to be surprised by your sudden lack of four-wheeled transportation – you had ample time to buy a hybrid or electric car.

So it is with Europe. A bit more than a decade ago, a concerted effort was launched within the European Union countries and a few others on the continent to phase out their coal-fired generating plants to clean the skies and slow the pace of global warming.

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If oil and gas are dead, why are exports booming? – by Philip Cross (Financial Post – October 12, 2021)

https://financialpost.com/

Statistics Canada this week reported that energy exports reached $12.0 billion in August, more than recouping all their losses during the pandemic. Exports topped their March 2019 high of $11.4 billion and are closing in fast on their all-time peak of $12.8 billion set in 2014.

The increase was driven by sharply higher exports of both crude oil and natural gas. Despite all the hype surrounding electricity exports, they earn less in a month than oil and gas generate every day.

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Risk of blackouts, higher bills if Ontario sets 2030 target to phase out natural gas, report says – by Matthew McClearn (Globe and Mail – October 8, 2021)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Phasing out Ontario’s natural gas power plants by the end of this decade is not feasible and would lead to rolling blackouts and soaring electricity bills, the body in charge of planning and operating the province’s power system said Thursday in a report that gas opponents have criticized as too pessimistic.

In the report, which responds to demands from municipalities to phase out natural gas by 2030, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) estimates it would cost $27-billion to build alternative generating facilities and transmission lines, plus additional operating costs of $5.7-billion a year, causing a typical homeowner’s monthly bill to skyrocket by an average of $100, or 60 per cent.

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