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Oil and Gas Sector-Politics and Image

OPINION: The European energy crisis may not be as severe as advertised – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – September 20, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Appalling prices for oil and natural gas will guarantee Europe’s status as a dark, frozen hell this winter. Manufacturers big and small will fail – are failing already. Unemployment will rise. Countries with gruesome bills for energy imports will sink into recession. And the euro will keep sinking.

This scenario is pretty much accepted as gospel, and most of the data and anecdotal evidence suggests the economic pain will intensify as cold weather boosts energy demand. Almost half the households in the European Union depend on gas for heating, and gas is in short supply as pipelines to Central and Western Europe are cranked shut by the Kremlin in retaliation for the West’s sanctions against President Vladimir Putin’s war machine.

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The bullish case for LNG, a reliable energy source investors should tap into – by David Rosenberg and Brendan Livingstone (Financial Post – September 9, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

‘Over the next decade plus, we see strong growth in LNG — and all that goes with it’

The Russia-Ukraine war is bringing to the forefront the importance of energy security, which has been neglected in recent years as supply exceeded demand and governments felt increased political pressure to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

However, with households confronting much steeper energy bills, which are at risk of rising further as winter approaches, the focus has shifted back towards providing reliable energy solutions at favourable costs.

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Breaking through Trudeau’s obfuscation on LNG – by Derek H. Burney (National Post- August 30, 2022)

https://nationalpost.com/

So, let’s try to get some things straight. About the time Vladimir Putin chose to invade Ukraine, Canada decided to veto Énergie Saguenay’s proposed LNG export facility in Northern Quebec, a project intended to enable exports to Europe.

One month later, the natural resources minister Jonathan Wilkinson said, “Our European friends and allies need Canada and others to step up.” He added “They are telling us they need our help in getting out of Russian oil and gas in the short term.”

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OPINION:Net zero by 2050? No way. Finding and burning hydrocarbons have become national obsessions since the war started – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – August 31, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Russia killed off any doubt that it was using energy as a weapon by shutting down the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, Gazprom’s main conduit for natural gas deliveries to Germany, on Wednesday.

While the shutdown, ostensibly for “maintenance,” is scheduled to last only three days – we will see about that – it comes after the Kremlin-controlled gas exporter reduced Nord Stream’s flows by 80 per cent.

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‘It’s shameful’: Critics slam Doug Ford’s plan to replace nuclear power with natural gas – by Rob Ferguson (Toronto Star – August 23, 2022)

https://www.thestar.com/

Ontario’s plan to replace electricity generation when an aging nuclear plant closes in 2025 has critics saying the province didn’t get the memo on the growing dangers of climate change. Of six new contracts announced by the province’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) on Tuesday, four are for power to be generated by burning natural gas, while the other two — for wind and energy storage — account for less than 10 per cent of the 764 megawatts under contract.

Energy Minister Todd Smith defended the procurement, made in the wake of last year’s IESO warning that phasing out gas-fired power plants before 2030 would result in rotating blackouts and higher electricity bills because alternate supply and transmission lines could not be built in time.

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Sask. projecting $1.04B surplus amid rising resource revenues – by Stefanie Davis and Brendan Ellis (CTV News Saskatchewan – August 23, 2022)

https://regina.ctvnews.ca/

Saskatchewan is projecting a $1.04 billion surplus for 2022-23, with a large bump from non-renewable resource revenues projected. That figure is a $1.51 billion improvement from budget forecasts, which projected a $463 million deficit for the year.

“A strong economy and higher resource prices have meant a significant improvement in the province’s finances. That means we can balance the budget, pay down debt and help Saskatchewan people with the rising cost of living,” Finance Minister Donna Harpauer said.

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‘It’s shameful’: Critics slam Doug Ford’s plan to replace nuclear power with natural gas – by Rob Ferguson (Toronto Star – August 24, 2022)

https://www.thestar.com/

Ontario’s plan to replace electricity generation when an aging nuclear plant closes in 2025 has critics saying the province didn’t get the memo on the growing dangers of climate change.

Of six new contracts announced by the province’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) on Tuesday, four are for power to be generated by burning natural gas, while the other two — for wind and energy storage — account for less than 10 per cent of the 764 megawatts under contract.

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Are we Canazuela? Has Canada lost the capacity to pull off great national projects? – by David Staples (Calgary Herald – August 12, 2022)

https://calgaryherald.com/

Canada is vast, with endless prairies, mountains and shield rock, cut through by rivers. But 140 years ago, Canada accomplished what’s known as the National Dream, building a railway across the land. Could Canada pull off something similarly ambitious today?

Of course, I’m not talking about building with slave labour conditions and without Indigenous consent, as the original railway was constructed. None of that is part of our world any longer. We have benefits agreements with land and rights holders, as well as amazing machines and skilled workers to do the heavy lifting in construction.

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Canada missed its first LNG opportunity. Don’t squander a second chance, Enbridge CEO Al Monaco urges – by Emma Graney (Globe and Mail – August 10, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Enbridge Inc. chief executive Al Monaco believes Canada missed a huge economic opportunity to supply the world with natural gas, when demand for the fuel started to climb.

Now, as Moscow’s war against Ukraine continues and Europe struggles to plug the supply gaps left by sanctions on Russian natural gas, Mr. Monaco says he is optimistic that Canada can help shore up the market.

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Germany argues over nuclear shutdown amid gas supply worries – by Geir Moulson (Associated Press – August 1, 2022)

https://apnews.com/

BERLIN (AP) — Rising concern over the impact of a potential Russian gas cutoff is fueling the debate in Germany over whether the country should switch off its last three nuclear power plants as planned at the end of this year.

The door to some kind of extension appeared to open a crack after the Economy Ministry in mid-July announced a new “stress test” on the security of electricity supplies. It’s supposed to take into account a tougher scenario than a previous test, concluded in May, that found supplies were assured.

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Big Oil set for record profit as world reels from high fuel cost – by Kevin Crowley, Laura Hurst and Francois de Beaupuy (Bloomberg News – July 26, 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Big Oil is poised for a record-breaking US$50 billion profit in the second quarter, but the industry’s stellar performance could contain the seeds of its own decline.

The soaring earnings are direct result of the high energy prices that have stoked inflation, piled pressure on consumers, raised the risk of recession and prompted calls for windfall taxes. Amid this political and economic turbulence, shareholders may have to temper their expectations for rising returns.

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The rich world’s message to the poor: Fossil fuels for me but not for thee – by Bjorn Lomborg (Financial Post – July 27, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

The rich are choking off funding for any new fossil fuels in the developing world

The rich world’s fossil fuel hypocrisy is on full display in its response to the global energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While the wealthy G7 countries admonish the world’s poor to use only renewables because of climate concerns, Europe and the United States are going begging to Arab nations to expand oil production, Germany is reopening coal power plants and Spain and Italy are ramping up African gas production.

So many European countries have asked Botswana to mine more coal it will have to triple its exports.

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Canada’s oilsands look into use of nuclear power as ‘net zero changes everything’ – by Amanda Stephenson (Canadian Press/CTV News – July 17, 2022)

https://www.ctvnews.ca/

CALGARY – The pressing global need to slash emissions in the face of a growing climate crisis is driving renewed interest in nuclear power — and few places more so than in Canada’s oilsands.

While the idea of using nuclear power to replace the fossil fuels burned in oilsands production has been bandied about for years, some experts say the reality could be just a decade or so away. On paper, at least, there is more potential to deploy small modular reactor (SMR) technology in the oilsands region of Alberta than anywhere else in the country.

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Ten financial actors own half of the world’s oil, gas, coal emissions – study – by Staff (Mining.com – July 24, 2022)

https://www.mining.com/

Ten financial actors with the most influence on the fossil fuel economy own 49.5% of potential emissions from the world’s largest energy firms, a recent study has found.

In a paper published in the journal Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, researchers from Canada, France and New Zealand take a deep look into the CU200, which are the 200 Carbon Underground firms that own 98% of global fossil reserves in the form of oil, gas, or coal.

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Loonie’s disconnect from oil prices makes higher interest rates necessary: Tiff Macklem – by Stephanie Hughes (Financial Post – July 14, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

Canadian dollar hasn’t gone up with oil prices like it usually does, complicating the Bank of Canada’s inflation fight

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said a surprisingly weak Canadian dollar is complicating his fight against inflation, and could result in higher interest rates than would have been necessary if the loonie was behaving as it has in the past.

The comments followed the central bank’s surprise decision on July 13 to increase the benchmark interest rate a full percentage point after the Bank of Canada‘s latest quarterly outlook predicted headline inflation was on track to crest eight per cent this summer, a startling number for a group of policymakers charged with keeping the consumer price index advancing at an annual pace of about two per cent.

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