Tag: economy

Encana optimistic about natural gas exports, others cautious: CP

Energy Link

Ecana, one of the partners in the KM LNG (Kitimat LNG) is optimistic about prospects for liquified natural gas exports from the west coast of British Columbia, Canadian Press reports from a conference in Calgary.

Encana sees renaissance in natural gas, while others more bearish on prospects

Laurgen Krugel reports

Encana Corp. foresees a “renaissance” in natural gas prices once
terminals begin to pop up along the West Coast to export the fuel to
energy-hungry Asian markets, but others addressing an energy conference
on Tuesday weren’t quite so enthusiastic.

“We think that the prices are going to stay robust in Asia.
You look today in Japan, it’s still US$13 (per 1,000 cubic feet) over
there,” Mike Graham, who heads up Encana’s Canadian division, told the
Peters & Co. event….

John Langille, vice-chairman of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. said he’s not quite so gung-ho….

:Canadian Natural has a large land position in northeastern B.C.’s shales, but has been focusing most of its attention on developing oil- properties in Western Canada and abroad. It has signalled no interest so far in jumping aboard the LNG bandwagon, though Langille said eventually the gas will have to find its way out of North America.

“And that will happen, but it’s a five-year scenario before that happens,” he said.

…

Japanese utilities using record amounts of LNG: Reuters

Energy

Japan utilities’ LNG usage hits record high in August

Japan’s 10 utilities consumed a
record 4.81 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas in August,
up 15.4 percent from a year earlier, industry data showed on
Tuesday, as they burned more gas to offset a fall in nuclear
power generation.

Edmonton region council backs Northern Gateway, but wants Alberta jobs

Energy Link

Capital Region Board to lobby for Northern Gateway pipeline

Edmonton radio station 880 News reports:

Mayors and reeves from the greater Metro Edmonton area are throwing some political weight behind the idea of a pipeline to the west coast.
 
But, there’s a catch to the proposal of the Northern Gateway.

“Don’t ship all of our bitumen out,” said Coun. Ed Gibbons during a break in Thursday’s meeting Capital Region Board meeting. “Let’s have value added, so we want to look at more upgraders into the future.

Harper kills bitumen export ban, support for ocean monitoring group: reports

Energy Links

According to media reports,  Prime Minister Stephen Harper has killed support for the Pacific North Coast Integrated Area Management Initiative (PNCIMA) set up to monitor the ocean on the northern BC coast, while at the same time killing a plan to ban export of bitumen to countries with poor environmental records.


The Calgary Herald, in Harper backs off from initiative that threatens opposition to Northern Gateway pipeline

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has withdrawn support from a deal with the B.C. government and First Nations due to concerns about excessive influence by U.S.-funded environmental groups in the development of an oceans management plan for the B.C. north coast….

There were specific concerns that a new plan being developed under the Pacific North Coast Integrated Area Management Initiative (PNCIMA) could be used to rally opposition to Calgary-based Enbridge Inc.’s proposed $5.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline that would funnel diluted bitumen crude from Alberta’s oilsands sector to Asian markets docking at Kitimat, B.C.

A letter dated Sept. 1, and sent to the B.C. government, three First Nations groups and the environmental organization Tides Canada, said Ottawa is withdrawing support for a proposed agreement that would have resulted in $8.3 million, from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation of Palo Alto, California, to fund the PNCIMA process.

The letter, from Fisheries and Oceans Canada regional director general Susan Farlinger, said the government still intends to come up with an oceans management plan by 2012 in co-operation with B.C. and First Nations.

The Vancouver Sun reports Conservatives’ promise to restrict bitumen exports falls by wayside

The Harper government has quietly buried a controversial promise to ban bitumen exports to countries that are environmental laggards…

One person familiar with Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s surprise announcement during the 2008 federal election campaign said the pledge was simply electioneering at the time and was to be “buried and never seen again.”

Alberta’s energy minister also wonders whether the campaign promise is even a government policy any longer, noting the issue has never been discussed with him during his two years in the portfolio.

However, a spokeswoman for federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said Wednesday the government policy — designed to halt the flow of raw bitumen and jobs overseas — remains in place but is being regularly examined.

Link Pacific North Coast Integrated Area Management Initiative

Editor’s note:A double standard?

On the issue of the PNCIMA, the controversy is over money for the organization from the foundation set up by the founder of Intel, Gordon Moore.

Moore is famous not only for starting the successful chip company but for Moore’s Law, which has governed the accelerating pace of technological change in the past decades and is described by Wikipedia in Moore’s original formulation: “The number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. This trend has continued for more than half a century…”  That simply means that computer processing power can be expected to double every two years.

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, according to the Herald, called for the money to be channeled through a group called Tides Canada.

Support for Canadian environmental efforts by American foundations has long been the subject of a heated campaign by blogger Vivian Krause who told the Herald, “I’m pleased that taxpayers’ money will no longer further a foreign-funded campaign that is against Canadian interests,” Krause said, adding that foundation money should go to the developing world.

Krause says she is an independent commentator. She  once worked as Corporate Development Manager for North America for NUTRECO, one of the world’s largest producers of farmed salmon and fish feed but disassociates herself from current public relations campaigns by the fish farming industry.  Her online biography says she spent some part of her childhood in Kitimat.

Krause is a favourite of many of the right wing columnists across the PostMedia newspaper chain.

While Krause may have some valid points, one wonders why  for Krause and her supporters on the business pages across Canada, that it is perfectly acceptable for the billionaires in the transnational energy industry, many of them American, (as well as the state owned Chinese energy companies)   to spend corporate  millions supporting the oil sands and the pipelines, while is not acceptable for another American capitalist billionaire to spend his money earned in the free market to support his views on the preservation of the environment.

 

US extends deadline for comments on Alaska halibut closure

521-areas2C_3A_sm.jpgThe United States National Marine Fisheries Service has extended the deadline for comments on its controversial Halibut Catch Sharing plan by 15 days until Sept. 21.

The NMFS made the announcement in a news release on Sept. 1.

There was increasing political pressure on the service to take another look at the proposal, which like parallel cutbacks along the British Columbia coast are raising fears of economic damage to the recreational halibut sector. In Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has closed the recreational halibut season as of midnight, Sept. 5.

The Seattle Times reported Sept. 1, “Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage, said the halibut-allocation plan proposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service, which could cut the bag limit for charter-boat anglers from two to one halibut, could have a tremendous impact on Alaska coastal communities that depend on tourism connected to sport fishing.”

In the news release, Natinal Atomspheric and Ocean Administration, the department that governs the NMFS, said.

The decision to extend the comment period comes following a visit to Alaska last month by NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, who attended a luncheon in Homer with U.S. Senator Mark Begich to hear concerns and comments about the draft plan first hand from both charter and commercial halibut fishers.

 “Alaska fisheries have been among the healthiest and most sustainable in the world, and we are working to keep them that way for both recreational opportunities and the long-term economic benefit of Alaska fishermen and fishing communities,” said Dr. Lubchenco.

“During my recent trip to Alaska, I was honored to visit communities where the local economy is tied to the halibut fishery. I listened to the community’s concerns and I want to make sure that everyone has a chance to provide input in this public process of shaping the final halibut catch sharing plan.”

 “While we need a plan to keep all segments of the halibut fishery within catch limits to sustain and rebuild the stocks, charter fishermen raised several legitimate issues at the Homer meeting warranting further consideration,” Sen. Begich said. “While many fishermen have already submitted comments, this extension will allow additional time for fishermen still out on the water to make sure they are heard. I am pleased Dr. Lubchenco is taking action and responding to the comments we heard when we spoke to the Homer Chamber of Commerce.”

 

 NOAA says that the halibut stock in southeast Alaska and the central Gulf of Alaska has seen a steep decline in the past several years.

The agency claims the proposed catch sharing plan is designed to foster a sustainable fishery by preventing overharvesting of halibut and would introduce provisions that provide flexibility for charter and commercial fishermen. It adds that the catch sharing plan “was shaped through an open and public process through the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which recommended the rule to establish a clear allocation between the commercial and charter sectors that fish in southeast Alaska and the central Gulf of Alaska.”

 However, in protest meetings and letters to local media, the charter and recreational fishers in the state are saying that the council is dominated by the commercial interests and has been unfair to the charter and recreational fishery.

Japan Quake Is Causing Costly Shift to Fossil Fuels: New York Times

Energy Link

New York Times
 Japan Quake Is Causing Costly Shift to Fossil Fuels

Japan, the world’s third-largest user of electricity behind China and the United States, had counted on an expansion of nuclear power to contain energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, its nuclear program is in retreat, as the public and government officials urge a sharp reduction in the nation’s reliance on nuclear power and perhaps an end to it altogether.

As its nuclear program implodes, Japan is grappling with a jump in fuel costs, making an economic recovery from the March earthquake and tsunami all the more difficult. Annual fuel expenses could rise by more than 3 trillion yen, or about $39 billion, the government says….

Prime Minister Naoto Kan has called for a gradual move away from nuclear energy, and proposed a goal of generating 20 percent of Japan’s electricity from renewable sources, including hydroelectric plants, by the early 2020s. The Parliament is debating legislation to spur that change…

Japan’s liquefied natural gas imports have jumped for three consecutive months, squeezing global supplies amid strong demand from China and other emerging economies…

Niger delta oil spills clean-up will take 30 years, says UN: Guardian

Energy Environment

The Guardian

Niger delta oil spills clean-up will take 30 years, says UN

The Guardian has obtained a copy of a special United Nations report on oil spills in the Niger River delta.

Devastating oil spills in the Niger delta over the past five decades will cost $1 billion to rectify and take up to 30 years to clean up, according to a UN report.

The UN Environment Programme (Unep) has announced that Shell and other oil firms systematically contaminated a 1,000 square kilometre (386 sq mile) area of Ogoniland, in the Niger delta, with disastrous consequences for human health and wildlife.

Nigerians had “paid a high price” for the economic growth brought by the oil industry, said Unep’s executive director.

Al Arabiya turns its eyes on Kitimat

Energy link

The English-language website of one the world’s major Arab-language satellite television networks  Al Arabiya, has turned its eye on Kitimat, the Northern Gateway pipeline and the repeated claim by the Conservative government that Canada is an “energy super power.”

The article:  Canada: Energy Superpower?  is an analysis by Mary E. Stonaker, described as “an independent scholar, most recently with the Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore.” Stonaker puts Canada’s energy policy, including the pipelines to Kitimat, in a world wide perspective, summing up the story for  Saudi-owned Al Arabiya‘s main audience in the oil-rich Middle East. It doesn’t just look at oil and gas energy, but hydro, solar and wind.

“Northern Gateway” has yet to be fully hatched though it is encouraging to see Canada expand its partnerships beyond its southern neighbor especially during the recent economic downturn. Relying too heavily on one consumer, no matter who that consumer may be, is setting up an extremely weak energy security strategy.

Louisiana governor announces LNG project; size, cost would rival Kitimat

Energy

The governor of Louisiana,  Bobby Jindal today announced that the state could be the site of what he calls the “one of the first natural gas liquefaction
facilities in North America.”  

The facility will be built by Cheniere Energy which already has a terminal at Sabine Pass in Cameron Parish in the state.

Cheniere says it will spend $6 billion to
expand its existing facility, which will be one of the largest capital
investments in Louisiana history.

That means the Louisiana terminal could rival Kitimat in size and potential.  The projected timeline for both shows construction and operational startup would happen at the same time.

A news release from the governor’s office says

The new project will create 148 new jobs and retain 77 existing jobs,
with a total compensation and benefits package that will exceed an
average of $100,000 a year. The new jobs will support another 589
indirect jobs in the area and 3,000 construction jobs will be created by
the project at the peak of construction activity. Cheniere will build
its new facility near the Louisiana-Texas border in Cameron Parish to
handle the shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the company’s
international LNG terminal.

Gov. Jindal said, “Cheniere Energy’s
construction of one the country’s first liquefaction facilities at the
Sabine Pass terminal in Cameron Parish is a huge win for our state. This
multi-billion dollar investment will be one of the largest capital
investments in the history of Louisiana, and build on our incredible
record of job creation projects all across the state. Cheniere’s
facility will grow our economy, increase natural gas production and
become a major exchange in continuing to meet the demand for energy
around the world.”

“The construction of Cheniere’s Liquefaction
Project in Cameron Parish will provide key support to Louisiana’s
economy and natural gas industry, which has been transformed by the
development of the Haynesville Shale,” said Charif Souki, Chairman and
CEO of Cheniere. “In only two years, Louisiana’s natural gas production
has doubled as the Haynesville has grown into one of the most prolific
shale plays in the world. Our Liquefaction Project will provide
thousands of jobs in Southwest Louisiana while connecting the state’s
natural gas industry to global markets, making Louisiana the world’s
first dual importer and supplier of LNG. We greatly appreciate the
support that Cheniere has received from the State of Louisiana and the
people of Cameron Parish, who have demonstrated a strong commitment to
our Sabine Pass LNG terminal.”

Cheniere Energy anticipates beginning
construction of the facility in early 2012. Hiring of the new permanent
jobs will begin in 2014 and the facility will commence operations in
2015. The final phase of the project is expected by the end of
2018.Adding liquefaction capabilities will transform the Sabine Pass
terminal into a bi-directional facility capable of exporting LNG in
addition to receiving LNG for regasification.

The Louisiana facility would use gas from the Haynesville Shale which is a Jurassic formation on the Texas-Louisiana border. Shale gas that would come through Kitimat comes largely from northeast British Columbia, especially the Horn River Basin. 

Both the Kitimat and Louisiana projects are scheduled to begin main construction in 2012 with operations starting in 2015.

The KM LNG  facility would have an initial plant capacity of 5 million metric tons per annum (mmtpa) with potential to expand to 10 mmtpa or more.  The Louisiana release does not give a figure for the capacity of the plant.

During the recent National Energy Board hearings on KM LNG’s application for an export licence, witnesses repeatedly stressed there could be potential rival export ports for northeast BC shale gas in the United States, mainly in Oregon or Washington states, if the licence was not approved or the conditions were too restrictive. The Louisiana terminal would not likely be a rival for Kitimat for northern shale gas, although as the witnesses at the NEB hearings always stressed there is no way of tracking the origin of the “molecules” in the integrated North American pipeline network.

 Governor Bobby Jindal’s news release