CAGC

By: James Mahony Published: Daily Oil Bulletin While raising few problems in the current downturn, a dwindling stable of Alberta seismic firms could pose problems later, when a recovery starts to take shape, seismic industry leaders said recently. For seismic acquisition firms in particular, activity in Western Canada has been at a low ebb for the past two years, three, according to some executives. When oil and gas producers once again turn to exploration, as they likely will, the fear is that the ensuing rush will overwhelm the few surviving firms, leaving many producers hanging. “Our initial [concern] is that there won’t be enough [acquisition contractors] left to put out the number of crews that could be required,” said Mike Doyle , head of the Canadian Association of Geophysical Contractors (CAGC). While the market will eventually catch up, a key question is just how long that will take, he said. Doyle estimated that in 2002, Alberta had about 20 seismic acquisition comp...

By: Marc Morano Publisher: ClimateDepot Introduction : CO2 is not the tail that wags the dog. CO2 is a trace essential gas, but without it life on earth would be impossible. Carbon dioxide fertilizes algae, trees, and crops to provide food for humans and animals. We inhale oxygen and exhale CO2. Slightly higher atmospheric CO2 levels cannot possibly supplant the numerous complex and inter-connected forces that have always determined Earth’s climate.  As University of London professor emeritus Philip Stott has noted: “The fundamental point has always been this. Climate change is governed by hundreds of factors, or variables, and the very idea that we can manage climate change predictably by understanding and manipulating at the margins one politically selected factor (CO2) is as misguided as it gets.” “It’s scientific nonsense,” Stott added.  Even the global warming activists at RealClimate.org acknowledged this in a September 20, 2008, article, stating, “The actual t...

By: Carter Haydu Published: Daily Oil Bulletin Communities are not “particularly exercised” over the climate change impacts of pipelines, gas-fired power plants or natural gas developments so much as they are concerned about the local impacts of these developments. Therefore, says the Canadian Gas Association ’s former president and chief executive officer, industry should address local concerns, providing practical assurances to help “restart the conversation” around energy developments. “The climate activist community that makes such an effective use of Canada’s reputation as a climate shirker has the interest of conflating the risk of local effects with the climate consequences of energy development,” Michael Cleland told last week’s Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) Industry Insights Luncheon “That is why I argue it is in Canada’s interests to shift the narrative by acting more forcibly and visibly on carbon.” He added: “At the same time we need to revisit ...

By: Steve Chapman M.Sc. - Change Management Specialist/MOYO Inc. Published: Oilfield Pulse     Albertans are resilient. We survive. This is not our first downturn in the market. It's not our first crisis. It's not the first time oil prices have fallen. It's not even the second or third time. I well remember in 2001 as oil plummeted to under $15 a barrel and ALL my clients were oil and gas. I remember the sinking feeling as my monthly consulting revenue fell from $150,000 to less than $40,000 in 45 days,  and suddenly, I was losing $60K a month by staying in business.      It is also not our first time we have seen government spending outside their means by bringing in questionable fiscal practices and mismanaging what seems to be basic business practices. We have seen inexperienced MLAs making poor decisions.      Albertans do not have much experience however with our government seemingly abandoning us in our time of ...

By: Holly Nicholas - M.SC. Candidate, GEO.I.T. Petrologist Consultant Published: Oilfield Pulse        It's a rare occurrence to find an Albertan who will admit they voted for Rachel Notley and the NDP these days. When you do stumble across that uncommon entity, their reasoning is usually along the lines of wanting change. At this point, I'd be willing to bet the majority of Albertans would take the previous Progressive Conservative government back in a heartbeat if they had a choice. Out of all the hope and change that was promised, not one single NDP policy has been effective in alleviating any of the pertinent issues the province and Albertans face. Among the worst decisions for business were raising the corporate tax, the promise of a royalty review, and the implementation of the carbon tax coming January 1st, 2017. However you look at it, the NDP strategy is counter intuitive to basic economics.       Oil ...

By: Mike Binnion - President & CEO Questerre Energy Published: Oilfield Pulse      The 20th century famously was going to belong to Canada, according to Sir Wilfred Laurier. It didn't quite turn out that way. Canada turned out to be the reliable junior partner to Britain, then America and often the international community. Through two world wars and international peace keeping, we showed that Canada can be trusted to punch above our weight and do the right thing. Canadians have a lot to be proud of and deserve our amiable international reputation.      We can afford to be generous. Canada is blessed to be the second largest country in the world with a relatively small population. We have more resources that the world's largest economies need, than we could ever hope to use ourselves. Even better, we have the enormous geopolitical advantage of both, having the shortest trade routes to the world's largest economies and being one tof the worl...

Stop protesting and be thankful: cheap energy has brought us pretty much everything, including the capacity for green energy By: Terry Etam Published: Fort Nelson News It's Thanksgiving season in Canada, and soon in the US, and it's time to show some gratitude. It's time to reflect on how we live, all the things we are able to do, and how that all happens. This isn't just about energy, it's about effort and building and creating. And it's about recognizing that we owe respect to those that provide so much of what we take for granted.      Examples are not hard to find, both economic and not. Someone somewhere spends his time writing a song that may lift the mood of millions, but no one says hey thanks for doing that. Some lonely farmer pounds around the field and produces enough grain to feed a small town, but no one says thanks when they buy the lentils. Some solitary operator does his rounds checking on gas wells to make sure they are running, and indir...