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Log on and vote!
Over the last few months, I’ve been sorting through your nominations for Oilweek’s 2010 Producer and Supplier of the Year awards, and now the real fun begins. You get to vote on our five finalists. This year, from online nominations and straw polls amongst the editorial types here at JuneWarren-Nickle’s Energy Group, we’ve narrowed your [...]
An era ends
Nearly 30 years ago, in October 1981, a year into the National Energy Program, I joined Oilweek as an associate editor – with a couple of years experience under my belt as a weekly newspaper reporter and editor but a virtual neophyte in terms of covering the Canadian oil and gas industry. A few weeks [...]
When will the shale gas bloom fade?
It’s been hard lately to get my head around something that just doesn’t seen to make much sense: the ongoing strength of expensive shale gas drilling south of the border in the face of stagnant natural gas prices. A few years ago, when gas was robustly into the double digits, it was easy to join [...]
Green Leader Devon cops CAPP award
Devon Canada, which was featured in Oilweek’s March Green Leaders edition, took down one of four Stewardship Awards bestowed by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers earlier this week. Devon was recognized for its application of minimal disturbance techniques on roads it builds to wellsites, cutting right-of-ways from 20 metres to as little as eight [...]
As expected – permanence
As expected, Alberta’s competitiveness review is making permanent many of the tweaks added to the New Royalty Framework to address unintended consequences, most importantly the five per cent front end rate on conventional oil and natural gas. The max rate for conventional oil will be reduced to 40 per cent from 50 per cent, while [...]
It’s almost like Christmas in March
Finally, the day the industry has been on pins and needles for…Alberta’s long-awaited Competitiveness Review will be released this afternoon by Energy Minister Ron Liepert, bringing salvation and sustainability and certainty and longevity and…well, you get the idea. I don’t recall this much buzz and anticipation for a missive from the provincial government since…well, since [...]
We have to start somewhere…
Gas is strong – sort of – rigs are busy again – sort of – and now PSAC is encouraged enough by what’s going on in the field – sort of – to cautiously raise its 2010 drilling activity forecast by 1,000 wells. With the 12 per cent boost, the association now is forecasting 9,000 [...]
Wiebo’s detention
When word came down on Friday (Jan. 7) that near-legendary eco-activist Wiebo Ludwig had been detained by RCMP for questioning in the Encana pipeline bombings, I have to confess to an “I told you so” attitude. Wiebo’s efforts to aid the police investigation by communicating with the bomber always had a certain ring of insincerity [...]
The defections begin
Danielle Smith and her Wildrose Alliance Party are starting to have a direct impact on Ed Stelmach’s Tory administration in Alberta, witness the defections this week of MLAs Rob Anderson (Airdrie-Chestermere) and Heather Forsyth (Calgary-Fish Creek). Although the WAP is still in the midst of developing its energy policy – aided by long-time Oilweek columnist [...]
