We can get Canadians back to work by leveraging the sector’s leadership in environmental protection and its export potential
“The country isn’t going to recover unless the oil and gas sector recovers.” These words from federal Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan made headlines and highlight the importance of Canada’s largest industry. The reality is that natural gas and oil play an unarguable role in the national economy. Natural gas and oil are Canada’s biggest…
Confederation was designed as an economic union from sea to sea, linked by infrastructure that crosses provincial borders
During the recent French and English language debates for the Conservative leadership, one of the two leading candidates accused the other of wanting to impose an oil pipeline on Quebec without its consent. Erin O’Toole, the Conservative MP for Durham, Ont., articulated his vision for a national energy corridor throughout Canada. He was then accused…
The Chinese have stockpiled huge reserves of low-priced oil, giving them significant geopolitical leverage over Russia and Saudi Arabia
With the major stakeholders – Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States – emerging badly bruised from the last round of the crude oil price war, a new world order is set to emerge. The cost of the battle has been immense to all three. In April, as the battle erupted, the value of Saudi…
But a true recovery in oil prices will require an economic recovery, whose timing remains unclear
While there’s certainly carnage and woe in the oil and natural gas sectors at the moment, reports of the death of the industry are exaggerated. Many climate change activists and their sympathizers have been cheered by the dramatic drop in oil prices that coincided with, and were partly caused by, the COVID-19 pandemic. Prominent among…
By Ashley Stedman and Elmira Aliakbari The Fraser Institute Despite widespread need, particularly in Canada’s energy sector, the federal government’s Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF) program, meant to provide emergency funding to large companies, has yet to approve any applications. Why? To be eligible for LEEFF support, firms must agree to several environmental goals…
The long-term view is frightening. With long gestation periods, new oil and gas projects may not get online when needed
International oil and gas exploration and production are in the doldrums and won’t likely rebound any time soon. Canada has curtailed its crude output by one million barrels per day (bpd). The country’s active oil and gas rig count had fallen to an all-time low of 17 in early June, Baker Hughes reported. That was…
Provincial governments need to be sober, disciplined, realistic and do whatever they can to not lose money for their citizens
While crude oil’s startling and unprecedented recent price plunge into negative territory was notable, it didn’t mean that producers were actually paying others to take oil off their hands. It did point to major problems the industry faces, however. In the short term, the foremost issue is weak demand. And it raised a significant problem…
There’s no easy way to spur economic opportunity for every remote reserve. But resource-related development will help many
“In less than a decade, the Haisla Nation has leveraged the strategic location of its traditional territory to go from a Nation on the verge of remedial management to an eagerly sought-after partner and key stakeholder in several multi-billion-dollar LNG projects.” – The Haisla First Nation on its website Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian…
President Donald Trump’s efforts at salvaging the United States shale oil sector seem to be paying off
Saudi Arabia, Russia and their allies have opted to roll over crude oil output cuts for another month – until the end of July. Markets have somewhat firmed up. Oil prices have inched up. And President Donald Trump’s efforts at salvaging the United States shale oil sector seem to be paying off. The U.S. president…
The oil price crash of recent weeks has triggered a wave of huge exploration and production capital expenditure cuts
Lack of appetite to invest in the energy sector is leading the world into a supply crunch, says the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its recently unveiled World Energy Investment (WEI) 2020 report. The COVID-19 pandemic is having widespread and often dramatic effects on investments in the energy sector. At the start of the year,…
Will producers be tempted by a rise in crude oil prices to disregard quotas and voluntary production cuts?
Oil markets have taken some respite. But is this rally sustainable? Prices were surging until reports that Russia might back off on oil production cuts spooked the market. But even with that uncertainty, we’ve seen a complete turnaround in the markets. Just a month ago, crude oil markets faced a bloodbath. Since then, demand has…
At a time when the U.S. and Canada need it most, Keystone XL will generate more than 50,000 jobs
In the midst of the COVID-19-caused economic decline and huge job losses, it’s unfortunate that some, including Joe Biden, continue to smear Canada’s oil and gas industry. Biden, the presumptive U.S. Democratic presidential candidate, says if elected, he’ll shut down the Keystone XL pipeline project. The project is under construction, providing jobs to thousands of…
Oil and gas revenues can be used by tyrannies, autocracies and dictatorships to oppress their populations
Why would consumers treat tyranny oil differently than blood diamonds or clothing made by child labour? One of the more bizarre reactions to bare facts came recently after a colleague and I analyzed oil-and-gas-producing countries and their degree of freedom – the Tyranny Index, as we labelled it. Some argued such tracking is irrelevant because…
The need to generate cash, along with political pressure, compelled the Saudis to make some bitter decisions
Saudi Arabia has capitulated. A few moves here and there, in Washington and elsewhere, made the trick work. Saudi Arabia made a surprise announcement last week that it would cut its crude oil output by a further one million barrels per day (bpd) from planned June levels, “voluntarily.” This takes the total Saudi production cuts…
Stores will open again, cars and trucks will begin to run and planes will fly. Our lives will continue – and life takes energy
Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May recently said “oil is dead” and her “heart bleeds for people who believe the sector is going to come back.” It’s foolish to assert “oil is dead” at any time, but it’s particularly ignorant to say it in the midst of an unprecedented global crisis. Canadians are relying on…
“The country isn’t going to recover unless the oil and gas sector recovers.” These words from federal Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan made headlines and highlight the importance of Canada’s largest industry. The reality is that natural gas and oil play an unarguable role in the national economy. Natural gas and oil are Canada’s biggest…
