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Showing posts from June, 2016

British Columbians have granted social license for oil pipelines: newest poll

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By: Resource Works Despite strenuous campaigns by some in the environmental movement, there is little public opinion pressure on the Liberal government to scrap these projects, according to Abacus Data Even in British Columbia, where public concerns led to 93 of the 157 conditions imposed on the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion approval last week, most people are either supportive of, or could support, all three major Canadian oil pipeline projects that are waiting to move forward. According to Abacus Data principal Bruce Anderson: “In a sense, social licence clearly exists. A broad cross section of voters and the large majority of Liberal voters feel uncomfortable with the anti-pipeline argument – believing instead that the best course for the country is to continue to harness the value of our oil resources, while putting increasing effort into reducing emissions and promoting other forms of energy." Continues Anderson: "This is consistent with the

CAPP Forecast Provides Some Optimism About the Future for the Canadian Oil Patch

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By David Yager - Yager Management Published: EnergyNow Media The only things certain about any and all economic forecasts is they are wrong. Don’t know why and don’t know in which direction but be assured the published information will not be correct. There are just too many unknowns when predicting the future. The multitude of wrong predictions on oil prices in the past two years is but one example. That said, modern commerce depends upon forecasts and therefore they proliferate. But for years economics has often been called, “the dismal science”. The old George Bernard Shaw quote goes, “If all the economists were laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion”. This is in stark contrast to climate change forecasts for which “the science is settled”. It seems counterintuitive that a civilization which cannot predict the future price of oil can accurately forecast the weather with such accuracy the necessary political response is new public policy and government regulations. P

End-Of-Oil Predictions Don't Match Reality: Tertzakian

By Pat Roche Published: Daily Oil Bulletin Headlines imply the end of the oil age is just around the corner. Public opinion surveys show many consumers believe humanity will stop consuming oil entirely within a few years. Meanwhile, people are buying more vehicles and heavier vehicles, and they’re driving more. So oil consumption continues to rise with no slowdown in sight. And if electric cars replaced petroleum-powered vehicles at a rate of one million a year (versus the current negligible rate), it would take 1,300 years to replace the existing global fleet of 1.3 billion gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles. These are among the insights   Peter Tertzakian , chief energy economist and managing director of   ARC Financial Corp. , delivered during the   American Association of Petroleum Geologists ’ annual convention and exhibition in Calgary on Tuesday. Those who casually predict the transportation industry will move entirely to non-carbon fuel sources in a few of years

MORALE BOOST

By: Gordon Jaremko Former editor of Oilweek and a member of the Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame. Court raises respect, but not pay, for geoscientists The Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta says a specialty regarded for generations as a geek branch of industry – nicknamed human computers and doodlebuggers – deserves greater respect. A spring judgement declared geophysicists’ portrayals of subterranean structures worthy of copyright as creative masterpieces. But the decision stopped short of awarding a pay increase. Earth scientists still have to settle for their costly work being defined as public art and made available for others’ use, free of charge, to the degree that government control of natural resources includes compulsory disclosure to regulatory agencies for release to prospectors.                 Oil and gas exploration firms hung on to free access to Canadian offshore and northern geological treasure maps in the landmark court ruling.  

On the glaring intellectual inconsistencies in 100% Wind Water and Sunlight

By: A Chemist in Langley Ralph Waldo Emerson is his famous essay   Self-Reliance   coined the phrase “ A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds ”. As readers of my blog know I have spent a lot of time researching and commenting on the 100% Wind, Water and Sunlight series (100% WWS) with the latest article being   100% Clean and Renewable Wind, Water, and Sunlight (WWS) All-Sector Energy Roadmaps for 139 Countries of the World   (called 100% WWS World hereafter). What I can confidently say from that research is that the champions of this approach are not small minds. Frankly the amount of effort that has gone into this project is admirable as is their goal, to achieve a 100% clean energy  future. This is a goal I share, I might add. The problem, to my mind, is that they have failed to convince and apparently do not understand economics. As I point out in my post   More on 100% Wind, Water and Sunlight and the Council of Canadians “100% Clean economy” by 2050 goal   the

Here's why you need to support your local oilfield service association

By: David Yager Published: JWN Energy The collapse of oil and gas prices has forced oilfield service (OFS) managers to dramatically slash costs. It’s survival. The short-term impact on workers and companies is already well known. The long-term damage will be determined. The three main OFS trade associations—Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC), Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors (CAODC) and Canadian Association of Geophysical Contractors (CAGC)—have not been spared. Revenue from membership renewals and other sources of income have fallen sharply, forcing operating budgets of about half of what they were in better times. While this is appropriate given the current economic environment for member companies, at some point these organizations must consider their own futures. And so should the OFS as a whole. The incredibly important work OFS trade associations perform on behalf of the entire sector versus the number of OFS companies providing financial