Tag: oil production

Build a pipeline, things pick up. Who woulda thunk it?

Drill, Baby, Drill 8 Comments

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

Climate Cult Drill, Baby, Drill 11 Comments

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.

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

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.

 

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:

 

About those multi-lateral wells … and the Alberta grid

Climate Cult Drill, Baby, Drill 6 Comments
Photo by Brian Zinchuk

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

Drill, baby, drill. New drilling incentive in Saskatchewan

Drill, Baby, Drill 7 Comments

On Monday, Saskatchewan announced a new comprehensive program to attract investment to the province. One of the items is a new program to incentive multi-lateral wells. That’s a well that looks like a herringbone or spiderweb, with lots of legs and increased production.

The question I will be asking soon is if companies are already doing this, why do we need an incentive? Are we leaving money on the table, or is there an expectation of a lot more returns?

Pipeline chicken or the egg?

Drill, Baby, Drill 9 Comments

Pipeline capacity gets restrained, slowing growth in oil production. Pipelines get built (Enbridge Line 3 replacement, Trans Mountain Expansion, eventually) allowing for oil production to grow. Oil production will soon grow to use up all that extra capacity, and production growth will be restrained, again.

So then what? I’m not aware of ANY major new export pipelines projects being considered. After Northern Gateway, Keystone XL and Energy East being canned, who would? And after the federal government proved you could go 6x, maybe closer to 7x over budget building a pipeline they way they want it built, what idiot will try again?

The alternative will have to be crude-by-rail. Oh, lovely.

(That pipeline photos is of a tiny gathering pipeline near Estevan, not a mammoth transmission line.)

 

As for another fan (NOT) of crude by rail, Quick Dick McDick hauled canola recently. And sang about it. Seriously.

A plan to save coal, power generation, and the oil industry in SE Sask

Climate Cult Drill, Baby, Drill 23 Comments
Boundary Dam Power Station

What if there was a way to keep coal mining jobs in Saskatchewan, continue to produce low-cost electrical power, and extend the production of a substantial portion of Saskatchewan’s oilfields not by decades, but by generations? And in doing so, we could still dramatically reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and maybe save some money by reducing our nuclear rollout?

Recent developments from Whitecap Resources showing using CO2 in the Frobisher formation led to initial results of 5x improved production. Not 5%, or 50%, but 5x. That’s 500%. I’m not saying it’ll stay anywhere close to that, but we should be taking a very serious look at this development, especially since most new drilling in southeast Saskatchewan is focused on the Frobisher, part of the Mississippian. While the Bakken was a flash in the pan, the Mississippian has been the mainstay of SE Sask oil production for generations. And this is a generational opportunity, but we will let it slip through our fingers if we shut down our coal-fired power plants.

This is one of the most significant opinion pieces I’ve ever done with regards to energy. It basically puts it all together.

 

Should Saskatchewan again have a sovereign wealth fund?

Drill, Baby, Drill youmightbeinsaskatchewan 15 Comments

With Alberta going all-in on its sovereign wealth fund (posted yesterday), should Saskatchewan take another look at one of its own? We had one, but it didn’t last long, and turned into something of a slush fund for Crown corporations, apparently. I dug up this discussion paper that was written by U of R professor Stuart Wilson which is actually pretty good. I republished the entire paper, with his permission, on Pipeline Online.

Perhaps ironically, Norway’s massive sovereign wealth fund was originally modelled on Alberta’s. And that fund is now worth US$1.42 trillion dollars (with a “t”). (Norway has less oil than Alberta).

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