Author: Brian Zinchuk

Lighter than air

Drill, Baby, Drill 27 Comments

Royal Helium announces Val Marie helium project with Sparrow Hawk Developments. This means Saskatchewan will soon have multiple #helium producers, and a year from now, should be 2/3 on the way to its goal of having 15 helium purification facilities by 2030. I’m guessing we’ll have more than that by 2030.

For those who are not aware, helium production is almost indistinguishable from natural gas production, and requires oil and gas service companies to make it happen. Same drilling rig, same service rig, same lease builders, same facility builders, same just about everything. It’s the “other natural gas,” as it were. And Saskatchewan is aiming to hit 10% of the global market by 2030.

We’re going to do our own thing, thank you

Climate Cult 15 Comments

The proposed federal Clean Electricity Regulations say in 10 years, seven months and 15 days we won’t be able to use natural gas-fired power generation without carbon capture except for very short periods of time over a whole year.

Or in Saskatchewan, we just say to hell with that and turn sod on our newest big natural gas-fired power station.

Also, Biden hates oil so much, he wants more of their money.

Saskatchewan-based small oil producers leading the charge in land sale

Drill, Baby, Drill 4 Comments
Aldon Oils, seen drilling near Lampman last September, was one of the active buyers of mineral rights. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

A number of small Saskatchewan oil producers are scooping up land for future drilling.

Every two months Saskatchewan holds a competitive auction for mineral rights for petroleum and natural gas. If a company is interested in getting the Crown mineral rights to a few sections, for instance, they will apply to the government to have that land posted. Then at the next land sale, anyone can bid on it, and whoever bids the highest, wins. So even if a company had does all sorts of exploration and research to secure a certain piece of property, another company can notice what’s been posted on the land sale and outbid them. But whoever bids on it has certain spending obligations within a certain amount of time or they will lose those rights and they can go back up on the auction block again if they are once again posted. This is quite common.

It took me a while to get to this as it came out last week, but that gave me the time to dig deeper and discover that a good chunk of the activity appears to be from Saskatchewan-based junior producers. And that’s pretty exciting news. Yes, there’s still a substantial amount hidden by land agent deals, but seeing the juniors getting in the game like this is a sign of confidence in the industry. And this was posted BEFORE the multilateral announcement. So I wonder what will happen a few months down the road, with postings after the multilateral announcement?

Drill, baby, drill.

To hell with it is “definitely on the table”

Climate Cult Drill, Baby, Drill 23 Comments
Jim Reiter, Bronwyn Eyre, Michael Milani. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Saskatchewan fights back on federal oil and gas emissions cap, Methane 75. Saying “to hell with it” is “definitely on the table,” says minister when asked.

Province invokes Saskatchewan First Act, again, building its case against the federal government’s never-ending smothering greenhouse gas emissions rules, regulations and legislation.

I was up in Saskatoon Monday to cover this important announcement. Saskatchewan’s not going to take it, anymore. Kinda like Twisted Sister. For some reason, I keep referencing that song.

… and the horse you rode in on, Charlie!

Climate Cult Drill, Baby, Drill Freespeechers 37 Comments

The member of parliament who on Feb. 5 introduced one of the most draconian laws against free speech (and that’s saying something in recent years) has decided not to run again in the next election. NDP MP Charlie Angus is calling it quits at the end of this term, after 20 years.

He’s the guy who wanted to ban promotion of fossil fuels, having introduced a private members bill which would have meant every ad on Pipeline Online, for instance, could incur up to a half million dollar fine.

About bloody time

Climate Cult Drill, Baby, Drill 12 Comments
Mountain 3 Horizontal Directional Drill pullback in the Fraser Valley between Hope and Chilliwack, BC. Trans Mountain

Six years ago, they scratched dirt on TMX. Finally, FINALLY, it is nearing completion, and expected to enter service May 1.

The original pipeline was built over 65 years ago with equipment that largely didn’t even have hydraulics, and absolutely did not have computers, GPS, laser measurement or anything else like that. And they did it in 16 months.

Also:

Brian Zinchuk on Evan Bray Show: Multilateral wells, oil royalties, TMX pipeline, lithium, helium and more

Carbon and lithium

Climate Cult Drill, Baby, Drill 5 Comments

Working through the periodic table:

Lithium in SK, Part 27: Lithium Bank sells Estevan area land to unnamed buyer

Those Lloydminster folks aren’t too happy about the carbon tax.

Nor are a bunch of other people happy about the carbon tax.

And regarding hydrogen and carbon in the form of methane and other natural gas liquids,

Pembina closes Alliance Pipeline deal with Enbridge

As a note, The Alliance Pipeline runs right through Saskatchewan. I started work on it three weeks after my May, 1999 wedding. I was the only guy on my road bore crew of 12 married once! Most were on their second marriage, a few on their third, one I think on his fourth. At that point you walk into a bar, find a woman you don’t like, and give her your house.

In six weeks, it’ll be 25 years for us. So that pipeline project has some meaning for me.

 

Carbon tax, round ??? Fight!

Climate Cult 41 Comments

Conservatives blast pro-carbon price economists as ‘so-called experts’ It doesn’t cause inflation, didn’t you know? Then why were my groceries yesterday 40% more than 2020?

Meanwhile, the carbon tax fight is heating up as the price is about to go up, again, on April. 1, fittingly April Fool’s. Conservative premiers are lying about carbon pricing: Trudeau, while Moe addresses Commons committee.

 

Sorry I didn’t have time to dig into this one myself. Not enough hours in the day. After all, I had to spend half an hour at Sobey’s on Wednesday pointing out to my 17-year-old son how prices of soup, meat, green onions and the like have gone up 40% in the last four years. In the end, a cart which wasn’t even full cost $300, whereas in 2020 it would have cost closer to $210 or so. I kept asking, “And who do we blame for this?”

What do you think the right answer was?

Also, for your reading pleasure:

 

For the first time in about two decades, Saskatchewan changes its oil royalties scheme

Drill, Baby, Drill 8 Comments

Are multi-laterals the next big thing in oil? Saskatchewan bets heavy on it with new incentive program. This is the largest change in oil royalties in decades, as the government hopes to incentivize activity and production. It’s a big shift for a government that for its entire 16 years in office said it wasn’t touching a thing when it comes to royalties.

Let me put this into perspective – for the several years Bill Boyd was energy minister, he always gave the same speech, which basically went like this: “The premier has told me to say thank you. Thank you for the jobs, thank you for the taxes, thank you for the royalties and investment. And we’re not touching a thing when it comes to royalties.”

Usually whenever someone mentions royalty changes, it’s with the intention of raising them. This is the opposite, providing a royalty incentive – NOT a holiday – to get more activity and production going.

 

The Germans came for LNG, Trudeau offered wind/hydrogen/ammonia

Climate Cult 20 Comments

Remember when Germany came to Canada, asking for liquefied natural gas, and were handed a weird wind and hydrogen project in Newfoundland instead? Looks like things are moving forward on that front.

But wait! This whole scheme is to build on-shore wind generation on the southwest corner of Newfoundland, and use that to turn water from an old mine into hydrogen. But since there’s only one very small ship on the entire planet that can ship liquid hydrogen (at 20 degrees above absolute zero), the Newfie wind-hydrogen will be converted to ammonia to ship to Germany. Got that?

Wouldn’t it be easier to just build the wind turbines in the German part of the North Sea instead?

And for something completely different: Brian Peckford was one of the premiers that signed the Constitution Act of 1982, which brought us the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Op-Ed: Brian Peckford: Now that we can amend our constitution, we have no leadership to do so

And since we’re talking about political bullshit, here’s a little bullshit.

Quick Dick McDick: How is a calf born, in 5 minutes or less

And Saskatchewan’s burgeoning helium industry is continuing to grow, using oil and gas services to do so.

North American Helium adding two more processing facilities in Saskatchewan

The newspaper ship is sinking

youmightbeinsaskatchewan 46 Comments

Glacier Media sells its Saskatchewan news websites to Harvard, puts its Saskatchewan buildings up for sale, but still printing newspapers

The news websites for the newspapers from Estevan, Weyburn, Yorkton, Canora, Battlefords, Preeceville, Outlook, Assiniboia, Carlyle, Humboldt, Moose Jaw, Unity, Wilkie and Kamsack have been sold to a radio broadcasting company. The newspapers’ offices are all up for sale, as is the building housing the last remaining printing plant for them. The newspapers are still printing, for now, but how long is anyone’s guess. Otherwise, why would the last Glacier printing plant left in Saskatchewan have its building for sale?

 

Will a First Nation-owned pipeline be without protests and opposition?

Climate Cult Drill, Baby, Drill Insufferable Twits The Tolerant Left We Are All Treaty People 15 Comments

Can’t imagine why oil shippers demand explanation from Trans Mountain for pipeline cost overruns, can you?

B.C. First Nation and Western LNG partner to purchase natural gas pipeline project. Can they succeed in bringing a major pipeline in on time and on budget, or will they face the same perils as Trans Mountain (above) and Coastal GasLink? Will other First Nations do all they can to halt it, like GasLink? Will they destroy equipment and raid camps?

US Bureau of Land Management accepts bids for the sale of Federal Helium System. FYI the US Govt getting out of #helium is what’s driving Saskatchewan’s burgeoning industry

Hey, about that pipeline?

Drill, Baby, Drill Ethical Energy 14 Comments

Brian Zinchuk: If Poilievre wins a massive majority, can we PLEASE build the Energy East Pipeline?

(I’m fairly certain Premier Moe is tired about me asking about this. I was still talking about it two years ago, which was four years after it was supposed to have been completed. But it’s worth a shot.)

 

UPDATE: It appears Premier Scott Moe agrees:

 

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