Losing the Arctic edge [Canada needs to move quickly to join international rivals exploiting the potential of the Arctic]
Canada began to explore the Far North for oil almost a century ago. Jim Cornwall, a northern businessman, saw oil on the Mackenzie River in 1911 and hired an Aboriginal named Karkesee to look for seepages. Karkesee found several. Later analysis showed the oil to be medium in gravity and low in sulphur.
Cornwall formed a syndicate with two Calgary businessmen and the group engaged T.O. B...
Jul 2008
The long road to the Bakken [For the geologists who built their careers in Saskatchewan, the so-called Bakken discovery is no surprise. What everyone was waiting for was technology.]
Dean Potter, president of Medora Resources Inc., a small private company making it big in the red-hot Bakken oil play, has been working in southern Saskatchewan his entire career. And he is not an anomaly. He is among a number of oilmen whose lives are tied to this region and give the play its unique, clubby flavour.
"Unlike an Alberta play, where you've got different players moving in...
Jul 2008
Taking us there, from here [As incoming executive director of ISEEE, Dr. David Layzell’s mission is to bring Canada to a carbon-friendlier future]
It is no secret that proposals to sharply reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 60 to 70 per cent below 2006 levels by mid-century leave some in the oil and gas industry a bit queasy. In a town currently investing billions in oilsands development, it's hard to see how you can get there from here.
But, one person's road less travelled is another's way home.
Enter Dr. David...
Jun 2008
Special is... [With this edition of Oilweek, we bring you what we hope will be a lasting reminder of where we’ve been]
In the publishing world - especially in the magazine publishing world - the term "special issue" has been thrown around so much that it's started to lose the lustre of what a true special issue should be.
There are special issues now for just about any issue, any event, any commemoration. For the most part, those special issues are mere excuses to tap into a difficult market, to sell mo...
Jun 2008
A lifetime of change [Oilweek’s founder brought the oil world to his readers, and reported on monumental events that shaped today’s industry.]
"If it hasn't been in Oilweek it hasn't happened yet." - C.V. (Vern) Myers, Oilweek founder.
In 1986 I was driving through the Alps with my father, C.V. Myers, on the way to a much-anticipated Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) conference in Geneva. Although he was then in his early 70s, he had the eagerness of a cub reporter trying to land his first big story....
Jun 2008
Taking centre stage [The blowout of Atlantic #3 put Alberta on the world oil map and gave rookie derrickman Hugh Leiper a baptism by fire]
At 10 o'clock in the morning of February 13, 1947, a group of dignitaries welcomed in the Canadian oil industry's modern era. On that day, Imperial Oil brought in its Leduc #1 discovery with fanfare, but the event was primarily of local interest. Internationally, only the American oil press paid heed.
The event that brought Alberta's potential to the attention of the world came a year l...
May 2008
Gas goes global [Once an insulated, regionally marketed commodity, natural gas now is sold on the world stage, and Canadian gas producers must grab every opportunity to earn a role.]
Last year was awful for Canadian natural gas producers. Development and production costs were at record levels, yet the average Canadian price at the key AECO trading hub in Alberta was $7.66 per thousand cubic feet-74 cents lower than American producers received at Henry Hub. But then, as suddenly as they had ebbed, prices began to flow. At time of writing, spot prices for natural gas were much h...
May 2008
A tricky balance [The industry worked hard to attract and retain employees in the boom times. The last thing companies want to do now is cut them loose.]
Lack of skilled workers, an aging demographic, labour shortages-for a few years when it looked like the boom would never end, labour was a dire source of hand wringing, even panic.
In hindsight now, a lot of people wouldn't mind having those problems back instead of the challenges the industry faces today. But strangely enough, even though drilling activity is down and the industry has...
May 2008
And nary a drop to drink [The Alberta Water Council says the province’s Water for Life strategy needs to be strengthened to ensure a sustainable water supply for all users.]
Instead of greeting newcomers with a welcome sign, the province ought to post this: "Water is scarce in southern Alberta. We do not have enough room for you here unless you, personally, guard our precious resource and the land it flows through. Use water wisely, and we will welcome you."
Even without climate change making summers hotter, drier, and longer, the Prairies are dry-criticial...
Apr 2008
India Beckons [Bids are due this month on India’s seventh round of exploration rights. By most accounts, it could be the most lucrative opportunity yet to gain entry to the sub-continent’s exploding oil and gas sector.]
With the head of an elephant and the body of a man, Ganesh is one of the most revered deities in the Hindu pantheon, and certainly the most easily recognizable. Ganesh is the patron of arts and sciences; the god of intellect and wisdom; the remover of obstacles; the propitiator of business.
On one of the coldest days of winter, Ganesh seemed to arrive in Calgary, offering to remove obst...
