Globe and Mail
Michael Byers
Tag: news coverage
Oil Sands Project in Canada Will Go On if Pipeline Is Blocked: New York Times
New York Times
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Oil Sands Project in Canada Will Go On if Pipeline Is Blocked
One way or another — by rail or ship or a network of pipelines — Canada will export oil from its vast northern oil sands projects to the United States and other markets.
The oil sands have reserves of 171.3 billion barrels, according to estimates by the provincial government of Alberta.
So the regulatory battle over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would link the oil sands to the Gulf Coast of the United States, may be little more than a symbolic clash of ideology, industry experts say. Even if the Obama administration rejects the Keystone plan, the pace of oil sands development in northern Alberta is unlikely to slow
Enbridge didn’t detect Norman Wells pipeline leak: CBC
CBC
Video only June 8, 2011
Aboriginal hunters first detected the oil link from the Norman Wells pipeline.
June 7, 2011
No coverup in N.W.T. pipeline leak: Enbridge
Enbridge says it was not covering up the true size of a pipeline leak in the Northwest Territories, which leaked up to 1,500 barrels into the northern environment… from its Norman Wells pipeline on May 9…
Enbridge executive Leon Zupan told CBC News that crews only discovered the true size of the spill after they started drilling down into the permafrost to obtain core samples.
Enbridge officials say they don’t know how the leak began, but they said the oil leaked out of an opening about the size of a pinhole….
Oil coming out of such a small opening has, over time, created a spill about half a hectare in size, according to the company.
Enbridge still short on pipeline support: Globe and Mail
Globe and Mail
Enbridge Inc. is struggling to win aboriginal support for its Northern Gateway project, despite major financial promises and efforts to curry support through sponsoring golf tournaments, powwows and rodeos, regulatory documents filed by the company show.
Enbridge has pledged some $1-billion in financial sweeteners to first nations, including a 10-per-cent equity stake in the project and promises of hiring guarantees and hundreds of millions in spending on aboriginal businesses….
But documents filed with the National Energy Board by Enbridge… show that a surprising number of groups do not appear interested in the offer….
US allows restart of Keystone pipeline: Reports
There are media reports that the United States Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration is permitting the restart of the Keystone pipeline after earlier saying it could not be restarted following a spill on May 29.
The Wall Street Journal reports
The U.S. Department of Transportation on Saturday approved TransCanada Corp.’s plan to restart its Keystone pipeline…. TransCanada on Saturday provided results of its testing along the Keystone and can restart it as soon as the morning of July 5, the PHMSA said in a letter to the company.
“Based on a review of the information submitted, the restart plan is approved,” PHMSA Central Region Director David Barrett said in the letter.
Reuters reports that pipeline could start as early as Sunday:
TransCanada Corp (TRP.TO) can restart its Keystone oil pipeline on Sunday, after the company satisfied a series of safety conditions following leaks that idled the key export line twice in less than a month, the U.S. pipeline safety regulator said on Saturday.
The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said it approved resumption of crude flows from Canada on the pipeline after the agency evaluated the company’s restart plan and was satisfied safety requirements were met.
As of this posting there is no confirming information on the PHMSA or TransCanada websites.
US orders Keystone pipeline shut down after leaks: Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
U.S. regulators have barred TransCanada Corp. from restarting its Keystone pipeline until the company can provide more proof that the system is safe, after several leaks in just a year of operation…..
Following at least three Keystone leaks in May, the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration took sudden action Friday. It issued a corrective action order that mandates 14 steps TransCanada must take before resuming operations, including demands for information, mechanical and metallurgical testing and a report on all issues and incidents on the line….
For Canada’s oil and gas industry, the Keystone outage is just the latest in a series of pipeline-related headaches. A major Michigan spill on an Enbridge Inc. pipeline last summer resulted in rolling outages that lasted until this spring, as the company worked to fix problems on the line
Document
US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration order to shut down the Keystone pipeline (PDF)
Enbridge refines sales pitch: Terrace Standard
Terrace Standard
Enbridge officials are sharpening their sales pitch for the company’s planned Northern Gateway oil pipeline project, saying it will bring jobs, provide an economic boost and help wean the country from an overdependence on the United States of America.
Andrew Popko, one of three Enbridge officials on a tour of the area last week, said Canada deserved to get world prices for its products.
“Our most valuable asset is oil from northern Alberta,” he said.
Kinder Morgan proposes second Kitimat bitumen pipeline
In a story broken early Thursday, June 2, by the Vancouver website Tyee and confirmed by Northwest Coast Energy news, another major energy player, Kinder Morgan is proposing a second pipeline to carry bitumen from the Alberta oil sands to the port of Kitimat.
The proposal was part of a presentation to industry analysts during a conference on March 24, 2011, with a PDF of the Power Point presentation posted on the Kinder Morgan Website.
The likely controversial proposal was not picked up by the media until Tyee broke the story.
The presentation says the proposed pipeline is one of several alternatives proposed for the expansion of the existing Kinder Morgan Transmountain Pipeline. In this scenario the pipeline to Kitimat would branch off from the Transmountain Pipeline go through Prince George and then apparently follow existing pipeline routes to Kitimat and not follow the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway route.
The Kinder Morgan presentation says the Transmountain pipeline branch to Kitimat would cost $4 billion, compared to the $5,5 billion that Enbridge has budgeted for the Northern Gateway project. The Transmountain pipeline would have a capacity of 450 million barrels a day compared to the Northern Gateway capacity of 550 million barrels a day.
Tyee says:
A power point presentation
for investors by Ian Anderson, president of Kinder Morgan Canada Group,
provides a wealth of information that has not been widely shared with
the general public or local governments:
Tyee says Kinder Morgan is also asking the National Energy Board for a immediate jump in the bitumen going through the port of Vancouver
They are also requesting to divert more Alberta crude and bitumen capacity to the Westbridge tanker terminal in Burrard Inlet and away from existing land-based refineries in B.C. and Washington. If approved, this would immediately expand crude capacity through Vancouver from 52,000 bpd to 79,000 bpd — an increase of more than 50 per cent
.
According to the documents seen by Tyee, the Vancouver end of the project would require the dredging of Second Narrows to allow large supertankers to visit the port. Tanker traffic in Vancouver would increase, Tyee says
Tanker transits through Vancouver will increase to 216 per year in 2016, up from 71 in 2010 and 22 in 2005.
All this is being propelled by increasing energy demand from China. It also appears that Kinder Morgan wants to increase the Vancouver capacity because of the delays in the Enbridge Northern Gateway project, which means that Alberta oil patch is seeking new ways to get the raw bitumen to China.
Links
Kinder Morgan Canada presentation on the Kitimat pipeline and the Vancouver port expansion (PDF)
Kinder Morgan application to the National Energy Board (PDF))
Shell says it’s looking at B.C. Coast for new LNG terminal: Vancouver Sun
Vancouver Sun
Shell says it’s looking at B.C. Coast for new LNG terminal
Shell Canada says it is investigating the potential for a new liquid natural gas terminal to be located on the B.C. coast.
Shell “is interested in, and currently exploring LNG opportunities along the B.C. coast,” Stephen Doolan, of Shell’s media relations department said in an email to The Sun.
“We are early in the evaluation process so do not have specific details but are pursuing opportunities,” he said. “Natural gas is a key area of growth for Shell. In terms of LNG, we will continue to invest in our global leadership position as demand continues to grow
.
First Nations “manipulated” by Americans on Enbridge: National Post columnist
National Post
Columnist Peter Foster
Northern Gateway is being ostensibly opposed by native groups. The question is how far those groups are being manipulated -and paid -by the green movement. Two weeks ago, aboriginal protestors ululated and banged on their drums outside the Enbridge annual meeting. They have also appeared at bank meetings, including that a few weeks ago of the Royal Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh. They are a permanent fixture at UN climate meetings….
And just how many informed natives do the protestors represent? One loud group, the Yinka Dene Alliance, has asserted its unyielding opposition to Northern Gateway, no matter how much training, and how many benefits and jobs, are provided to often desperately poor native communities. However, some observers suggest that the alliance represents only 150 people. According to Enbridge, some support the line, although the company is reluctant to identify them because it doesn’t want to stir potential conflict. This reflects the usual situation in which project proponents find themselves silenced while opponents are free to conspicuously drum their moral outrage….