Oil - Pipelines

Canada’s tar sands are emitting more greenhouse gases per barrel now than they did five years ago, according to a new environmental report card. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers found per barrel greenhouse gas emissions for tar sands and other unconventional oil sources — like oil shale — have grown by 21 percent, and total emissions have grown from 90 million metric tons in 2008 to 109 million metric tons in 2012.

Yesterday I met with the premier of Alberta, Alison Redford. I am happy to report that in the course of our brief chat we were able to reach a historic accord in support of the Northern Gateway pipeline. It is possible you may be wondering what on earth any of this has to do with me, and why my support should make any difference to the pipeline's chances one way or the other. You might well ask. Indeed, you might well ask the premier the same question. While you're at it, you might ask the premier of British Columbia.

British Columbia’s “sacrosanct” Agricultural Land Commission will be effectively dismantled and the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission will assume new responsibilities for land use decisions if a proposal prepared for cabinet is adopted, according to confidential government documents. Information obtained by The Globe and Mail shows that B.C. Agriculture Minister Pat Pimm is preparing to ask cabinet to endorse a plan to “modernize” the ALC, an independent Crown agency, which has overseen and protected about four million hectares of farmland for 40 years.

More publicity stunts for the premiers of British Columbia and Alberta, as they announce what they call a "truce" over pipelines. Christy Clark and Alison Redford are pushing ahead on plans to bring Alberta tar sands bitumen across B.C.in pipelines and then to world markets on ocean tankers. Beginning last year, with an eye to the May 2013 provincial election, Premier Clark began insisting that "five conditions" had to  be met before any deal would go through. She postured as an ardent defender of ‘B.C.

Alberta Premier Alison Redford says she's optimistic her deal with B.C. Premier Christy Clark will increase the flow of oil west to the Pacific to diversify Canadian energy markets. She spoke Tuesday to the Vancouver Board of Trade after the two premiers unveiled what they called a framework agreement for cooperation on new heavy oil pipelines. "It makes it clear, officially, that Alberta's royalties are off the table," Redford said. "The economic benefit cannot be provided or guaranteed by the government of Alberta." While B.C.

A lawsuit the Coldwater Indian Band filed against Kinder Morgan could set precedent for a series of other legal battles, said both the pipeline company’s lawyers and an environmental lawyer. Matthew Kirchner, who is defending the band, argued on Wednesday that Kinder Morgan was illegally operating the Trans Mountain pipeline on the  reserve. Coldwater is seeking a judicial review of an assignment to a right-of-way that Kinder Morgan has applied for to expand the pipeline’s production three-fold by twinning it.

By Roger Annis

Another oil train derailment and explosion in Canada has sent nearby residents fleeing from their homes in the middle of the night. It happened at 1 a.m. on Saturday, October 19 on a CN Rail line outside the hamlet of Gainford, Alberta, 85 km west of Edmonton. The accident coincides with new steps by the Canadian government to extend oil and other resource extraction into the Arctic.

New environmental review rules anger oilsands critics
Government unveils changes to review requirements

Last week saw a remarkable shift in the pipeline standoff between B.C. and Alberta over the contentious problem of getting Alberta's oil to B.C. ports, for shipment to Asia.

Until recently, government officials on both sides of the Rockies had described this particular interprovincial relationship as "frosty." With neither side even willing to seriously discuss it.

Last summer, the then-unelected premier of British Columbia, Christy Clark, hit the ‘pause’ button on promotion efforts for the Northern Gateway tar sands pipeline across northern British Columbia. She said that ‘five conditions’ had to be met in order for the project to proceed.