Saskatchewan appears before Senate committee looking into Bill C-69, take 2.
Oil and Gas 20 and 30 classes to be offered to Sask high schools
Saskatchewan launches high school oil and gas courses to encourage students to join industry
High school students in Saskatchewan will soon be able to take Grade 11 and 12 level classes in oil and gas. The class will be half online, and half in the field. How that second part is going to work out remains to be seen. This is in-depth coverage on this new initiative to encourage young people to join the energy industry.
My 17 year old son will likely be one of the first to sign up.
UPDATE: and the Leader Post’s Murray Mandryk doesn’t like it.
Also: B.C.’s Eby frustrated at Quebec immigration money ‘at the expense’ of Western Canada
Trump’s opponents are making effective use of lawfare
If this hush money thing was such a big deal, why did it take 8 years to get to trial? Why not when he was in office, or right afterwards? Why now? Ask yourself that.
Some might accuse Trump’s opponents of specifically holding legal action against him for various alleged misdeeds until such time that he would otherwise be on the campaign trail. Guess what? It’s working.
Eight years ago, Trump made a big deal out of his North Dakota campaign stop. It’s when and where I got to ask him if he would approve the Keystone XL pipeline. This year, Trump’s legal battles kept him from the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference, which I attended two weeks ago. Unfortunately, I’ve been pretty busy, so I haven’t had the time to write this until now. But the timing is fitting, with the trial wrapping up.
Oil and gas isn’t a sunset industry yet, despite what many think
This lithium thing in Saskatchewan is getting real, while U of C sees the light
Lithium in SK, Part 29: Arizona Lithium begins drilling commercial production wells near Torquay
If Arizona Lithium is successful, we will hopefully start producing commercial lithium in Saskatchewan next year. That’s an entirely new resource industry, producing jobs, taxes and royalties.
These are exciting times. EMP Metal and ROK Resources (Hub City Lithium) are doing their pilot plant testing in Estevan. I’ll have a story on that soon. A third company is also at this moment drilling lithium wells in southeast Saskatchewan, and I expect to have a story on that later in the summer. Hopefully today’s story on the start of commercialization is just the first of many!
Please note the early part of the story credits the work done by Ben Rostron, the Saskatchewan Geological Survey, and Gavin Jensen, without which it is unlikely much of anything like this would be happening today. And that is why that recent announcement of $10 million for further research by the survey is so critical.
And also note – every single service company working on this project, as far as I’m aware, works in oil and gas. Without the oil and gas industry, we would not have the start of a lithium industry.
Also:
I’ve written the biographies for the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show awards. I haven’t been posting them here because it’s a bit too much insider baseball, but if you’ve driven around any oilfield and seen a bent pumpjack, you can credit this man, Paul Cheung. He and his partners literally changed the Saskatchewan landscape. And along the way he’s owned oil companies, drilling rig companies, and a service rig company.
Finally:
In an incredibly stupid move, the University of Calgary, headquarters of the Canadian oilpatch, stopped new intakes into its petroleum engineering program. Three years later, they realized how dumb that was and reopened the program. Funny thing, I was just talking to some people last week about how dumb this was. Could you imagine if the University of Saskatchewan got rid of its agriculture program? Or UBC got rid of forestry? These are the very foundations of each of those province’s economies. And Alberta has the third largest petroleum reserves ON THE PLANET. But nope, don’t need any more petroleum engineers.
University of Calgary looks to relaunch oil engineering program after hiatus.
Wall to be honoured by Saskatchewan oil industry
Former Premier Brad Wall will be inducted into the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Hall of Fame at the upcoming Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show on June 5.
During his tenure as premier, Wall did something most politicians in the rest of Canada wouldn’t. He stood up for and celebrated our energy industry.
Crescent Point no more, and more on Rex
Crescent Point Energy, which was briefly Saskatchewan’s largest oil producer and a corporate darling, is continuing its shift to Alberta focus. Last week saw the sale of one of its last major remaining properties in Saskatchewan, and on Friday, it changed its name.
Oh, and it lost a pile of money in that sale, it seems. If they were going to lose so much money, why the rush to sell it?
And hockey had Gretzky, while columnists like myself had Rex Murphy. He wasn’t afraid to be an ardent supporter of oil and gas, in large part because it proved to be the salvation of Newfoundland when the cod fishery collapse.
Build a pipeline, things pick up. Who woulda thunk it?
Anyone think that new pipeline might actually make a real difference? Hmmm? Too bad it wasn’t done five years ago. Trans Mountain pipeline project ushers in new era for oilsands hub Fort McMurray.
And too bad Northern Gateway wasn’t built 8 years ago. And Energy East was supposed to be in service December, 2018. Lots of too bads. I wonder why…
So I take my kid to a career day in Estevan, THE ENERGY CITY, and not one energy company has a table at the career fair. Here’s my not too impressed column about it.
Cenovus got spanked for an offshore oil spill.
And if you move dirt, ever, in Saskatchewan, you should be aware of Sask 1st Call. They had some big changes last year, apparently.
Harper to speak in Weyburn
Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper to headline the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show in Weyburn June 5-6. He speaks at noon on June 6.
Remember when he said the Liberals were promising teeny tiny deficits? Fortune teller, that one. “The budget will balance itself.”
Speaking of the oil show, there are a number of people who will be honored for their life’s work. Dean Gilliss is the first profile I’ve written this year.
Also: Apparently April 22 was Earth Day. Who knew? I must have missed that one. Anyhow, Biden used it as an excuse to throw another $7 billion at solar.
Jordan Peterson and Patrick Moore talk climate change and CO2
This is a REALLY good discussion about CO2, its role in the world, and anthropogenic climate change. The call it “fake catastrophes.” Lots of talk about glaciation, which I love, because no one ever talks about that. I do.
It is worth your time to listen to this some time this weekend. I feel a lot smarter now, and I’m only 2/3 through it.
Saskatchewan-based small oil producers leading the charge in land sale
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”
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.
Boiling that frog. But is it really a frog in the pot?
Alberta’s rolling blackouts show we’re the frog being boiled.
Also:
Saskatchewan’s Top 10 oil producers in 2023.
A second LNG facility at Kitimat, Cedar LNG, is getting seriously closer to going ahead.
Indeed, companies like Baker Hughes are already crowing about getting contracts.
… and the horse you rode in on, Charlie!
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
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
For the first time in about two decades, Saskatchewan changes its oil royalties scheme
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.
Hiring young people today is different
Brian Crossman writes about hiring young people in the oilpatch. There’s different expectations today. But really, this applies to all sectors, methinks.
A while back he wrote this column about work ethic, which is the best I’ve seen. I frequently quote it to my own kids, one of whom is in the trades and one will be going into the trades.
Everything energy in 2024 Sask budget
Saskatchewan Budget 2024: Everything energy in the 2024 Saskatchewan budget. Details on Multi-lateral Well Program released #oilandgas
Hey, about that pipeline?
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:
— Scott Moe (@PremierScottMoe) March 14, 2024
About those multi-lateral wells … and the Alberta grid
Saturn Oil & Gas has joined the multi-lateral bandwagon, having drilled two open hole multi-lateral wells that the Government of Saskatchewan announced an incentive for yesterday (shared yesterday)
I’ve been saying for over a year the Government of Saskatchewan needs to do something to increase drilling numbers. I’m wondering if this is it?
Also: Alberta’s shaking up its electrical grid by 2027. And in a related story, new rules for power generators in Alberta