Oil and Gas Sector-Politics and Image – Page 23

RCMP seeking to resolve Coastal GasLink pipeline crisis without resorting to ‘police enforcement’ – by Geoffrey Morgan (Financial Post – January 8, 2020)

January 8, 2020

https://business.financialpost.com/

CALGARY – Senior RCMP officers are in contact with First Nations protestors opposed to the $6.6-billion Coastal GasLink pipeline, trying to negotiate a way for construction work on the natural gas pipeline to resume in north-central British Columbia.

“Or priority is to engage with CGL, Indigenous communities and government to facilitate a resolution without police enforcement,” RCMP Cpl. Madonna Saunderson said in an emailed statement, adding that the force’s senior commander “has already been in direct contact with representatives of all these stakeholder groups, including the Hereditary Chiefs.”

Over the weekend, a breakaway group of hereditary Wet’suwet’en chiefs that oppose the natural gas pipeline asked the RCMP to “refrain from interference” in the dispute over the project that will link gas fields near Dawson Creek to the $40-billion LNG Canada export project in the coastal community of Kitimat.

The Trudeau Liberals will have to live with being in breach of a UN declaration they should never have adopted – by Terence Corcoran (National Post – January 8, 2020)

January 8, 2020

https://nationalpost.com/

According to an ancient political proverb, governments that pander to the globalist sword fighters at the United Nations run a grave risk of getting their policy necks lopped off. And so, as prophesied, that object now rolling across the Canadian West toward Ottawa is the Trudeau government’s self-righteous 2016 decision to wrap its arms around UNDRIP — the 2007 United Nations United Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

With Canada now signed on to the United Nations’ feel-good indigenous agenda, UN operatives are back and claiming, as is their practice, that Canada is failing to live up to the full meaning of the declaration, which among other things requires Ottawa and the provinces receive full agreement from Indigenous peoples before proceeding with economic development.

Through a subgroup called the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the UN has drafted a two-page decision calling on Canada to “immediately cease” construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, to “immediately suspend” construction on the Site C dam in British Columbia and to “immediately halt” all work on the Coastal Gas Link LNG pipeline.

‘A huge opportunity’: Alberta oilfields could give rise to lithium industry fuelled by electric cars – by Amanda Stephenson (Calgary Herald/Financial Post – January 6, 2020)

January 7, 2020

https://business.financialpost.com/

It’s long been known that Alberta’s historic oil and gas-producing Leduc Reservoir is rich in lithium deposits

Calgary-based E3 Metals wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the work of Elon Musk. The natural resources company, which was founded in 2016, has developed a patented ion-exchange extraction technology that produces purified lithium concentrate from the light metal that occurs naturally within the province’s oilfield brines.

The company’s goal is to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide that can be used in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries — the same type of batteries that power the electric cars made by Musk’s company, Tesla Inc.

“It wasn’t because of Tesla, but it was because of what Tesla did,” E3’s president and CEO Chris Doornbos said, on the inspiration for his company’s technology. “They took a concept, which was an electric vehicle, and turned it into something that could be a mainstream vehicle . . . and therein lies an opportunity.”

Canada is on an economic road to nowhere – by Diane Francis (Financial Post – January 7, 2020)

January 7, 2020

https://business.financialpost.com/

Who’s going to look after Canada’s economic wellbeing for the next five years? Canada slips and there’s nobody to catch it, not Parliament or other levels of government. The Liberals spent five years variously pandering to environmental, regional or anti-capitalist interests. Now in a minority position, the situation will worsen.

The country’s governance, like a 100-car pile-up, is a tangled mess that is transiting out of the free enterprise system every year.

The Liberals have adopted a soak-the-rich taxation approach and swallowed whole the green’s concocted “Climate Change Emergency.” As a result, Canada has missed out on what The Economist labelled the recent, half-decade global “jobs boom.”

Coastal GasLink halts construction after access road is blocked – by Brent Jang (Globe and Mail – January 6, 2020)

January 6, 2020

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

TC Energy Corp. will be forced to halt construction on a section of its $6.6-billion Coastal GasLink pipeline this week amid an escalating dispute with Indigenous hereditary chiefs.

Construction workers, who have been away on holidays, are scheduled to return to the area on Monday, but won’t be able to gain access because of a blockage along a remote logging road.

On Dec. 31, a B.C. Supreme Court judge extended an injunction against Coastal GasLink protesters, saying the project has been harmed by the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s blockades. But hereditary house chiefs disagree with the court ruling and in an attempt to turn the tables, they issued their own “eviction notice” on Saturday on the Wet’suwet’en’s unceded territory near Houston, B.C.

Canada could be an LNG giant — but the Liberals screwed it up – by Diane Francis (Financial Post – December 21, 2019)

December 23, 2019December 23, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

By declaring war against our natural resources, Trudeau’s government has missed out on building Canada’s single best contribution to the fight against climate change

The failure this week at the United Nation’s Climate Change conference in Madrid was predictable, given the current agreement’s flaws.

And yet, Canada’s Liberals are ranking members of the Climate Change Industry. They comply even though their accession has harmed our country. They govern as though they ran Denmark or Luxembourg with no resource industry, tiny populations and relatively small landmasses.

By swearing allegiance to the United Nations’ Climate Change religion, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and various other Canadian politicians have declared war against pipelines, resources, and the Canadian people. They have listened to politically correct zealots only and ascribed to fabricated regulations and rhetoric concocted by people with little to lose.

Marketing LNG as a climate saviour at Madrid summit isn’t going to work – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – December 11, 2019)

December 23, 2019December 23, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Good news for Canada! It is no longer in the running for the Fossil of the Day Award, which is bestowed by environmental activists on countries going out of their way to ensure the planet achieves burnt toast status. This week, at the Madrid climate summit, Australia and the United States have emerged as the big winners.

The bad news? The Canadian oil and gas industry will probably leave the United Nations climate conference with no prize of its own. It had hoped that exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) would play a role in reducing global greenhouse-gas emissions. Gas burns more cleanly than coal and the industry wanted Canada to earn emission credits by, say, exporting the fuel to China, where it might displace coal in power plants.

The idea seems to be going nowhere. Even Jonathan Wilkinson, the Environment Minister who made his international debut on Tuesday in Madrid, has played down the chances of LNG exports fitting into Canada’s emissions-reduction effort. “I think we have to be very careful about the LNG argument,” he told The Globe and Mail ahead of his arrival at the summit known as COP25.

Yes, Virginia, Canada needs more pipelines (Financial Post – December 19, 2019)

December 19, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

Opinion: Demand is what is driving pipeline construction, especially in the United States but also in Russia, China and elsewhere

Early this month, as the federal government returned to work, the Russian and Chinese governments jointly turned on a 3,000-kilometre natural gas pipeline that runs from Siberia to northeast China.

The “Power of Siberia” pipeline is a US$55-billion project whose geopolitical nature the Financial Times noted, characterizing it as “a symbol of Moscow’s diplomatic pivot towards Beijing at a time of worsening relations with the West.” It was that. But it was also a real-time rebuttal to Canadian critics who wonder if Canada “really” needs more pipelines.

As anyone not in hibernation well knows, pipelines have been a political football since at least 2009 when Barack Obama entered the White House. Over the next eight years he artfully blocked Keystone XL.

Goldman Sachs Curbs New Lending on Coal and Arctic Oil – by Russell Ward (Bloomberg News – December 15, 2019)

December 17, 2019

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/

(Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has tightened its policy on fossil fuel financing in a move welcomed by environmental groups, just as global talks on climate change faltered in Madrid over the weekend.

The Wall Street firm’s recently updated environmental policy framework includes pledges to decline financing that directly supports new thermal coal mines and upstream Arctic oil exploration and development. The company is targeting $750 billion for “climate transition and inclusive growth finance” over the next decade, according to its website.

Goldman’s stricter stance came as climate discussions in Madrid reached a disappointing end, with delegates from almost 200 nations watering down language on issues they had agreed on in previous years. While agreeing on the “urgent need” for countries to make deeper cuts to greenhouse gases, they shelved work on adding market mechanisms to meet their goals and failed to agree on finance needed to fix the problem.

Ottawa still didn’t consult properly on Trans Mountain: First Nations – by Geoffrey Morgan (Financial Post – December 17, 2019)

December 17, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

CALGARY – The federal government failed again to properly consult with affected First Nations groups on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, lawyers for groups opposed to the pipeline said Monday.

Lawyers for First Nations groups opposed to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project between Alberta and British Columbia argued before the Federal Court of Appeal in Vancouver on Monday that Ottawa, once again, had not upheld its duty to meaningfully consult with Aboriginal communities on the project.

Scott Smith, a partner with Gowling WLG acting on behalf of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, referenced comments by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau that described the federal government’s commitment the project “will be built” and “to get shovels back into the ground” as evidence that Ottawa’s consultations were not meaningful.

OPINION: The frustration in the West over energy policy is very, very real – by Colleen Collins (Globe and Mail – December 16, 2019)

December 16, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Colleen Collins is vice-president of the Canada West Foundation.

“Imagine if a few decades ago, the federal government in Ottawa said
to Hydro-Québec and the Quebec government that, due to (legitimate)environmental concerns around damming rivers, and (legitimate)concerns about Indigenous
rights of the region’s Cree and Inuit
populations, Ottawa was going to deny Quebec the ability to build
the James Bay project. That alone would have been more than enough
to have pushed Quebec out of Canada.”

If one were to look back to review the biggest political mistakes in Canadian history, the National Energy Program (NEP) imposed in 1980 would rank pretty high on any list. Not only was it disastrous economically for the West – it was disastrous in terms of national unity.

It cemented what had been an already growing distrust of Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto by many in the West. It took the then-government five years, and only after great harm, to realize just how much of a mistake it was before it was dismantled.

Yet here we are, a generation later, and the son of the man behind NEP1 has succeeded in creating NEP2. The reaction in the West is at least as bad as it was the first time. The big question is whether it will take five years for this government to realize its mistake, or whether it might fix the mess sooner. Because fix it, it can – and most certainly should.

Canada will consider climate plan in Teck oil project decision: minister – by Isla Binnie (Reuters Canada – December 12, 2019)

December 13, 2019

https://ca.reuters.com/

MADRID (Reuters) – The government will take into account its plan to make Canada carbon neutral by 2050 when it considers whether to approve Teck Resources Ltd’s plan for a giant oil sands mine, the new environment minister said on Thursday.

Teck wants approval for its C$20.6 billion ($15.5 billion) Frontier project, which involves an open pit mine to eventually produce 260,000 barrels per day (bpd). The mine in northern Alberta would open in 2026 and operate until 2067. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is supposed to decide by the end of February.

Regulators recommended approving the project in July, saying economic benefits outweighed “significant adverse effects” on the environment and indigenous communities.

Saudi Aramco tops Crown Prince’s $2-trillion valuation goal, though skepticism persists – by MARWA RASHAD AND DAVIDE BARBUSCIA (Globe and Mail – December 12, 2019)

December 12, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Saudi Aramco hit the US$2-trillion target sought by de facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday as its shares racked up a second day of gains, despite some skepticism about the state-owned oil firm’s value.

Aramco’s initial public offering (IPO) is the centerpiece of the Saudi crown prince’s vision for diversifying the kingdom away from its oil dependence by using the US$25.6-billion raised to develop other industries.

But that is well below his 2016 plan to raise as much as US$100-billion via a blockbuster international and domestic IPO. Riyadh scaled back its ambitions after overseas investors balked at the proposed valuation and only 1.5 per cent of Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Aramco) shares were listed on the Riyadh stock exchange on Wednesday, a tiny free float for such a huge company.

Canada’s new climate minister makes global debut, and faces momentous decision on oil sands – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – December 12, 2019)

December 12, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s new Environment and Climate Change Minister, points out that he has been on the job only three weeks. Translation: Cut me some slack, please, I don’t have all the answers.

But he’ll have to learn quickly. At the end of February, he has to decide whether to approve Teck Resources Ltd.’s enormous Frontier oil sands project or refer it to the wider Liberal cabinet. Either way, it will be a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t moment that will be instrumental in defining the federal government’s carbon-reduction trajectory and its relationship with Alberta.

If the project is approved, as Alberta Premier Jason Kenney so desperately wants, Canada’s plan to transition to a low-carbon economy, then to a “net zero” emissions economy by 2050, might go from the difficult to the virtually impossible without miracle technology or shipping fortunes overseas to buy carbon credits. Turning down the project would ignite a war with Alberta.

Chevron’s possible exit from Kitimat LNG project dents Canada’s aspirations of building LNG hub – by Geoffrey Morgan and Reuters (Financial Post – December 12, 2019)

December 12, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

Chevron Corp. is considering putting its entire stake in the proposed liquid natural gas project in British Columbia on the block, in a blow to Canada’s aspirations to build a robust LNG industry.

“Although Kitimat LNG is a globally competitive LNG project, the strength of Chevron Corporation’s global portfolio of investment opportunities is such that the Kitimat LNG Project will not be funded by Chevron and may be of higher value to another company,” the company said on Tuesday.

The San Ramon, California-based company said its Canadian unit will look for buyers for its 50 per cent interest in the Kitimat LNG Project, but set no timeline to conclude the process. Chevron’s other Canadian projects are not part of the sale.