Oil producers face catastrophe if countries worldwide move to limit global warming by two degrees Celsius
Crude oil demand is weak and the fundamental factors aren’t encouraging. Yet, most major oil-producing countries are moving to boost their output levels in the short run. Why? Saudi Arabia is pursuing plans to develop major offshore expansion projects to add an extra 1.15 million barrels per day (bpd) to its oil capacity by 2024,…
The province appeals to mining investors because it’s able to match its relatively strong endowment with competitive policies
By Jairo Yunis and Alex Whalen The Fraser Institute As Newfoundland and Labrador deals with the effects of COVID-19 and recession, good news economic stories appear to be in short supply. However, a recent survey of investors sheds light on the province’s mining potential. Mining plays an important role in the province’s economy and the…
Canada was the only free-country supplier of foreign crude oil to the U.S. between 1993 and 2020
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre Imagine you’re in Germany and wonder if it’s a good idea to rely so heavily on natural gas imports from Russia, where the governing regime is accused by German politicians of killing journalists and the attempted murder of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. German Chancellor Angela…
To attract the investment required to develop resources, mitigating the risks of policy uncertainly needs to be a top priority
By Jairo Yunis and Elmira Aliakbari The Fraser Institute The COVID recession has hurt Canada’s natural resources sector, with supply disruptions, commodity price declines and greater uncertainty regarding future demand. Not surprisingly, capital investment in the Canadian mining industry has dropped to its lowest level since 2009. Of course, business investment should be a key…
Between 2006 and 2018 the oil and gas sector spent $28.1 billion on environmental protection; ALL other industries combined spent $39.6 billion
By Mark Milke and Ven Venkatachalam Canadian Energy Centre As two people not born in Alberta but who live here now – one of us came from British Columbia and the other from India – we’re constantly amazed at the misinformation about the province and one of Canada’s biggest economic contributors: the oil and gas…
Although the OPEC+ decision resulted in immediate oil price gains, the warning shots on the horizon couldn’t be altogether ignored
Saudi Arabia is leading the pack on crude oil production management. Russia seems to be following. Despite murmurs in the oil market of a possible rift between the two countries on the issue of output, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their allies in the OPEC+, at their virtual meeting last Thursday, went…
Has led to significantly higher wages, higher investment by industry, more taxes and royalty revenues for governments
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre We take a lot for granted. Consider the evolution in farming over the centuries. Imagine being a farmer a century or more ago. You likely used animals or your muscle to move a plow to furrow the soil in preparation for planting the seeds. Perhaps you…
Canadian oil helps keep the United States economy humming and natural gas helps keep American homes warm
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre In a world where Russian President Vladimir Putin is widely assumed to be behind the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, liberal democracies should stick together. This should be especially relevant on matters related to energy. Russia has been using energy exports as a weapon for…
Non-Indigenous fishers in Atlantic region need not be worried that Indigenous rights will come at the expense of conservation
A dispute in Ontario may help us understand ongoing tensions over the lobster fisheries on the East Coast and offer a solution. The war over Indigenous fishing rights has played out before in Canada. As we reflect on recent violence in Nova Scotia over the lobster fisheries, it’s important to know if there are any…
But how long will the bull run last?
With the Brent crude oil price touching $65 last week, markets have entered the hot zone. Inclement weather, the resultant rising demand for heating, a dip in United States output and the unilateral Saudi output cut all helped to tighten the markets, contributing to the bull run. Parts of the U.S. have been in a…
2021 perfect opportunity for the feds to demonstrate its commitment to a sector critical to the Canadian prosperity
If only the federal government would put its full force behind the energy sector, as it does other critical sectors in the economy. In early October, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he wouldn’t back down from the latest American round of attacks on Canada’s softwood lumber industry. Then, the federal government announced it would pursue…
By every measure, Canada is a beacon of civil, political and economic rights
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre Over the past two years, three insurance companies from Europe – Axa, Zurich and Swiss Re – announced plans to stop insuring Canadian oil sands projects, and reduce or entirely eliminate investments in the oil and gas sector. The reason offered is the standard refrain: assumed…
The government should be bolder on reform commitments and less grandiose in its promises
Canada and its Indigenous communities should finally commit this year to making the systemic reforms needed to ensure First Nations drinking water standards are the same as the rest of the country. For starters, Indigenous communities ought to experiment with more regional water authority agreements to deliver safe drinking water. In late 2020, Indigenous Services…
Some observers see prices moving even higher as refiners increase processing rates to meet rising product demand
Oil extended its longest winning streak in two years last week. Crude oil prices climbed more than nine per cent, as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies in OPEC+ curbed supplies, depleting global oil inventories. A United States government report also indicated that U.S. domestic oil stockpiles have fallen by 6.6 million…
More than 70 years of Alberta prosperity could be in jeopardy. And the continued fixation and dependence on fossil fuels could bring disaster
Lack of diversification is a risky invitation to investment disaster. Very few institutional, corporate or individual investors would put their total net worth into one sector. Yet that’s just what Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Saskatchewan have done. The economies of these provinces are heavily dependent on the fortunes of the petroleum industry. Corporate and…