Amid rising costs, gyrating prices and a burst of supply competition down south, Canadian oil companies are rethinking investment in one of North America's earliest and fastest-growing "unconventional" oil frontiers—Alberta's oil sands.
On Thursday, executives at Suncor Energy Inc., Canada's largest oil sands producer by output, said they were reviewing three multibillion-dollar mining and upgrading projects that it and its partners have been considering, and that they would delay a final decision about going ahead with any of them. The move will help Suncor slash capital spending this year by 11%, the company said.
The slowdown so far is limited, affecting only the industry's most expensive segment, which mines and upgrades bitumen into a low-sulphur, synthetic crude. Still, it underscores the extent to which today's booming North American energy-production growth remains at the mercy of market forces, which often reward higher output with lower prices. That dynamic can sap fresh investment incentives, especially in the case of the capital-intensive energy industry.I've always said the Canadian oil sands were the canaries in the coal mine. Killing the Keystone XL didn't help (the Canadians), but it's been a godsend for the Bakken crude-by-rail industry.
On another note, the Jones Act was temporarily waived.
The Obama administration said it waived the requirement that only U.S. flagged ships carry goods between U.S. ports, an effort aimed at easing fuel shortages in the Northeast caused by superstorm Sandy.
“The administration’s highest priority is ensuring the health and safety of those impacted by Hurricane Sandy and this waiver will remove a potential obstacle to bringing additional fuel to the storm-damaged region,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said today in a statement. The waiver expires Nov. 13, she said.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said today he spoke with Napolitano about waiving the so-called Jones Act to speed deliveries of fuel to communities hammered by the storm. “The gasoline situation should get better,” Cuomo said at a news conference.Yesterday I mentioned that there was a gasoline problem, and was told THE problem was electricity, and "everyone" has said there's plenty of fuel -- but without electricity, they can't access it. My hunch: in about three days when the electricity issue is resolved, folks are going to see how much diesel is used by trucks in the recovery effort throughout the northeast. I think we will see some new fuel records set in the northeast over the next six weeks.
And despite "no" electricity, CLEAN Energy was able to get 49 CNG fueling stations up and running.
Clean Energy Fuels Corp. today reported that 49 fueling stations in the seven states affected by Hurricane Sandy are operating and providing CNG (compressed natural gas) fuel to a wide range of fleets and individuals. The fleets provide needed emergency, transit and refuse services in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania.
Municipalities and other organizations that are fueling at Clean Energy CNG stations include Atlantic County Utilities Authority, Atlantic City Jitney Association, which is providing emergency evacuation services, NY/NJ Port Authority, South Jersey Gas, Long Island Bus/Transit Authority, New York City Sanitation (DSNY), New York City MTA and numerous others throughout the region.
