Austria, Denmark and Germany have begun to unfreeze sectors. And Saskatchewan has laid out a cautious four-phase approach
By Jock Finlayson and Denise Mullen Business Council of British Columbia The Great Suppression, the widespread shutdown of most non-essential economic and social activity across much of the world, is both a lived experience and experiment like few others in human history. There have been three other worldwide pandemics in the 20th century – 1918…
Neither the lockdown not government diktat will end our dependence on fossil fuels for quite some time
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre In 1897 while in London in the midst of a worldwide speaking tour, American author Mark Twain became the subject of rumours back home that he was dead. To discover the truth, a reporter from the New York Journal wrote to Twain to ask if he…
As the cost of pumping crude exceeds the selling price in most cases, production in many oil-producing countries is already taking a hit
The math is fuzzy. When the agreement to cut crude oil output by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) was announced, U.S President Donald Trump, who played a dominant role in getting the agreement, went further. “Having been involved in the negotiations, to put it mildly, the number that OPEC-plus is looking to cut is…
Getting communities engaged in a potential project would allow the northern region to take control of its economic destiny
A pipeline to the Port of Churchill would revitalize the long-neglected economies of northern Manitoba and northern Saskatchewan. But the ultimate success of this proposed project to Churchill, Man., will depend on the involvement and support of Indigenous communities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. This alternate route to get oil to ocean tankers was proposed when…
For four years, the U.S. has firmly rejected joining the producers’ club to curb output. It can’t remain aloof any longer
Energy diplomats are on overdrive, seeking to bring an end to the senseless global crude oil war. Russia and Saudi Arabia have flooded the market, driving down oil prices. A G20 virtual meeting of energy leaders is being urged, with International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol reportedly propelling the idea. Former U.S. Energy Information…
The COVID-19 crisis can’t be used as an excuse to kill one of Canada’s largest, best-paying industries, which benefits us all
Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre While the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic and an economic downturn, anti-energy activists have spotted an opportunity: to kill off Canada’s oil and gas industry – the one that provides hundreds of thousands of jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars in tax revenues to governments.…
With demand and supply shock acting simultaneously, crude markets are imploding. And this is just the tip of the iceberg
The global oil war is on and no one seems to be blinking. Saudi Arabia is set to increase its crude oil exports in May by about 600,000 barrels per day (bpd), bringing its total petroleum exports to 10.6 million bpd, an official at the Saudi Arabian Energy Ministry told the Saudi Press Agency. Russia…
Necessity was the mother of invention for Marlon McDougall. After 35 years in the oil and gas industry, McDougall was frustrated with the pressures of regulations, environmentalism, pipeline restrictions and the need for expensive technologies as more easily accessible reserves were depleted. Then, in 2019, he was approached to work with what’s been called “the…
Oil sands extraction declined largely because of shutdowns and maintenance of some production facilities. Crude oil extraction also falls
The natural resources sector in Canada continues to be challenged. A new report released Friday by Statistics Canada said real gross domestic product (GDP) of the natural resources sector fell 2.2 per cent in the third quarter, following a 2.8 per cent rise in the second quarter. The federal agency said the decline was largely…
Limited cash flow also a concern for business owners when it comes to investing in their companies these days, according to BDC survey
Many Canadian entrepreneurs will continue investing in their companies in 2020 despite growing uncertainty about world economies. But business owners in the Prairies are the most pessimistic, mostly because of low commodity prices and limited cash flow, says the latest annual survey by BDC. The study on investment intentions found that entrepreneurs in the manufacturing…
By Jock Finlayson and Denise Mullen Business Council of British Columbia The Great Suppression, the widespread shutdown of most non-essential economic and social activity across much of the world, is both a lived experience and experiment like few others in human history. There have been three other worldwide pandemics in the 20th century – 1918…
