Economics

Superior refinery expansion at center of Great Lakes debate
By Dan Egan/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Superior Telegram
Published Friday, December 26, 2008

SUPERIOR — There is indeed a growing awareness of just how precious the Great Lakes are — and will be — in a century in which many are predicting fresh water will become more coveted than oil.

The significance of this can’t be underestimated for a system of linked lakes that hold 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water and 90 percent of the nation’s.

Superior at center of oil production plans
By Dan Egan/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Superior Telegram
Published Wednesday, December 24, 2008

SUPERIOR — U.S. dependence on foreign oil conjures images of derricks pecking at Saudi Arabian sands or supertankers steaming for coastal refineries.

But here is a more apt icon for our future reliance on other nations’ fossil fuels: fields just south of Lake Superior pocked with gymnasium-sized tanks of oil piped 1,000 miles from tar sands in Alberta — one of the largest proven “unconventional” oil reserves in the world.

Peak coal to follow peak oil?
mongabay.com
December, 19, 2008

Is peak coal coming sooner than we think?

Governments have greatly overestimated global coal reserves according to estimates presented by a geologist at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.

David Rutledge, a professor of engineering at Caltech, estimates economically recoverable coal reserves at 400 billion tons worldwide. By comparison, governments claim 850 billion to 998 billion tons of recoverable coal.

New Technology Could Help Oil Sands Producers (SU)

SRI Consulting published a new report on producing crude oil from western Canada's oil sands deposits. The report concludes that "with rational engineering and prudent business decision making, grass roots tar sands projects should be economically viable at benchmark crude oil prices below US$60 a barrel." This brings about good news and bad news for the Canadian Oil Sands sector.

VANOC may axe Whistler ceremonies
By BOB MACKIN, 24 HOURS, Dec 24, 2008

A Whistler forest may have been cut for naught.

Medals are supposed to be awarded nightly at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver and the Celebration Plaza next to Whistler Village during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Vancouver 2010 organizers -- faced with unprecedented recessionary pressure for a North American-held Games -- may cancel the Whistler ceremonies to save money.

Voyageur contractors to stay home
Suncor asks workers to hold off ‘remobilizing’ in wake of plummeting oil prices
December 22, 2008
By CAROL CHRISTIAN // Today staff

Some contractors have been asked not to return to Suncor Energy right after Christmas as the company revisits its Voyageur project as oil prices sink lower than predicted.

Suncor spokesman Brad Bellows confirmed this morning the company has asked some of its contractor workforce to hold off “remobilizing” immediately after Christmas.

Bellows didn’t say how many workers would be affected.

Sunoco considering returning to the oilsands
By CAROL CHRISTIAN
Today staff

After more than a decade-long absence, Sunoco Inc. is looking to return to the Alberta oilsands by way of increased bitumen for its U.S. refineries.

Sunoco president Lynn Elsenhan outlined that business intention Monday during an analyst conference call. However, she didn’t offer any specific companies as potential partners for the Northern Alberta venture.

The company has started looking, however, and is looking long-term, according to company spokesman Thomas Golembeski.

Once-booming oilsands face uncertain future as list of cancelled projects grows
By JIM MACDONALD, The Canadian Press
December 22, 2008

EDMONTON — Thousands of workers from as far away as the Philippines are watching their jobs in Alberta evaporate as the richest oil boom in the province’s history deflates.

Sinking oil prices have forced skittish investors to hedge their bets on half a dozen multibillion-dollar oilsands projects, leaving one of the key engines of Canada’s economy teetering on an uncertain future.

Oil Sands Output Cuts Unlikely Despite Sliding Crude Price

OTTAWA (Dow Jones)--The plunge in oil prices has forced the first output cut in Canada, but shutdowns across the country's abundant oil sands are a distant prospect.

Earlier this week, Connacher Oil and Gas Ltd (CLL.T) said it will nearly halve output from its Great Divide oil sands project to 5,000 barrels a day indefinitely. The development in northern Alberta had been producing around 9,000 barrels a day of the sludgy bitumen, which sells for less than benchmark light, sweet crude due to its poor quality.

IN MY HOMETOWN: Enbridge plans new pipeline
Kevin Bonham Grand Forks Herald
Published Monday, December 22, 2008

While the controversial Keystone Pipeline is being built across North Dakota — from Hardisty, Alta., to Illinois and Oklahoma — another pipeline company continues to expand in the region.