CNRL incident(s) at Primrose

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I read Dan Healing’s article on the CNRL surface emulsion release incident at Primrose/Wolf Lake, Emma Pullman’s DeSmog Blog piece, and the Alberta Energy Regulator’s news release release. I’ll admit I dismissed it all at the time – sounds like an isolated incident, I thought – and I assumed it was from a well-head or pipeline. I didn’t … Read more

On Keystone XL and gas prices

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Today, a post has been making the rounds which claims that the Keystone XL pipeline would raise gas prices in the US Midwest by, “20 to 40 cents per gallon, based on the $20 to $30 per barrel discount on Canadian crude oil that Keystone XL developers seek to erase.”  Further, the report claims that, “such an increase, just in the Midwest, could cost the U.S. economy $3 billion to $4 billion a year.” Both of these claims deserve to be challenged, since they are not supported by any evidence.

Before I take on these two claims in turn, it’s worth noting that claims about the effect of Keystone XL on gas prices have been floated by proponents of the pipeline as well, such as this piece from TransCanada which states that, “Keystone XL will increase supply to the broader US market – namely the US Gulf Coast. For a given level of demand, higher supply would lower prices for crude oil, which is the most important factor shaping gasoline prices.”  What follows applies to those claims as well.

Continue reading at Canadian Business Magazine

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Mégantic and the BP Spill

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The scale and scope of the terrible tragedy in Lac Mégantic, Quebec is only begining to sink in, and my thoughts are certainly with the victims and their families at this time. In the midst of the shock and sadness of this event, already there are those who have concluded that this is an advantage for the … Read more

Energy East

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Last night, Darcy Henton filed a story which detailed a memorandum of understanding between the Alberta government and TransCanada with respect to the proposed Energy East Pipeline from Alberta to Eastern Canada. “The province has signed a memorandum of understanding to take up to 100,000 barrels-a-day of firm capacity on TransCanada Corp.’s proposed Energy East … Read more

On bubbles of bitumen

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On January 24th, Premier Redford used a televised address to Albertans to declare that price discounts for Alberta bitumen would lead Alberta to a significant deficit position – “this ‘bitumen bubble’ means the Alberta Government will collect about six billion dollars less in revenue, this year alone.” In much of the coverage which has followed this announcement, the level of misinformation has been high, so I am going to use this post to look back at fiscal year 2012-2013, to parse some of the statements made by the Premier and others, and to take a look ahead.

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Signing back on!

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Hello again!  After a wonderful year spent on secondment to Environment Canada, I will be re-activating my FrogBlog. I’ve missed the conversations generated by this blog greatly, and so I am looking forward to re-engaging with many of you over the coming months. Before I get back to writing more regularly, I do want to … Read more

Signing off

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Dear Readers, This afternoon, I am pleased and excited to inform all of you that I have accepted a secondment to Environment Canada during my sabbatical year from July 2012 through June 2013. I will be a visiting scholar at Environment Canada, and hope to be involved in many aspects of their work over the … Read more

Let’s make the right arguments on the EU FQD

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Today, with great praise from industry, a new report, commissioned by the Alberta Government, on oilsands GHG emissions was released.  This report, by Jacobs Consultancy, assesses the degree to which oilsands GHG emissions compare to other sources of crude entering the European Union. The results are not particularly surprising, nor are they likely to significantly … Read more

Refine it where you mine it?

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The question of what, if anything, Alberta should do to encourage more upgrading or refining in the province will be an important one regardless of which party wins the election on Monday.  This question is pressing as, within the next decade, the province expects to receive about 300,000 barrels per day in bitumen as royalty payments (PDF), and to date have signed a single agreement to process (PDF) for 37,500 barrels per day, with Northwest Upgrading (NWU).

Should the bitumen be provided below market prices to local refiners?  Alternatively, as in the NWU deal, should the province contract with merchant upgraders and/or refiners to process the bitumen?  If so, should we only consider refineries located in Alberta, or should we be prepared to look more broadly? Or should Alberta simply market the bitumen to the highest bidder?

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