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Alberta's energy market raises questions Published: June 26, 2009 at 8:34 AM
The government in the southwestern Canadian province of Alberta changed its gas royalty laws to encourage productivity, but volatility may prove unattractive. Mel Knight, the energy minister in the provincial government, said Alberta would extend royalty rates in order to encourage gas productivity and maintain static employment levels.
Knight's decision is the fifth time the provincial government has modified its rules in less than two years in a move that some analysts say could push investors away from an uncertain energy sector, the National Post newspaper reports.
Alberta trails other Canadian provinces in terms of investment potential, and Knight said fluidity in the royalty structures for the oil and gas sector was a reactionary effort."We will monitor the programs that we have in place," he said. "We'll see what effect it has had on the industry (and) how it works for them."
But Laura Lau, who manages energy funds with Toronto's Sentry Select Capital Corp., said predictability, not fluidity, creates attractive investment climates."You need a stable regime, and we don't have a stable fiscal regime. No other regime has changed so often," she said. "Not even Libya has changed five times."© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Alberta Gas Subsidizes Stock Market
Alberta today announces over a billion dollars is going to the troubled gas industry to increase drilling. There was over a billion dollars given to the oil industry to increase drilling and, nothing came of that. Likewise there will be nothing coming from the investment in gas.
Very recently bulk LNG has docked on the East coast of the US. LNG arriving by boats is a lot cheaper than gas shipped by pipelines. In the right circumstance it can render gas pipelines obsolete. This is a new trend that is expected to increase very rapidly.
Russia is looking for new customers as Europe looks elsewhere for a supplier.
In addition to this horizontal drilling coupled with carbon dioxide injection is freeing up huge amounts of natural gas here and in the other shale formations.
This is a market glut in gas that is not going to go away any time soon. Why then do they pour over a billion dollars into it? Every cent they put into Gas now will go directly into company profits and the stock market.
Still on Alberta Energy: Trans Canada has got the go ahead for the Texas pipeline for crude. This is a good deal for us all. What I find strange is Trans Canada have been able to sell 1.3 billion dollars in shares in a few days. This, at after the Alberta Government says it will have to borrow 8 billion.
I have to ask; Did AIMCo buy a huge slot of Trans-Canada share offerings on the pipeline?
Very recently bulk LNG has docked on the East coast of the US. LNG arriving by boats is a lot cheaper than gas shipped by pipelines. In the right circumstance it can render gas pipelines obsolete. This is a new trend that is expected to increase very rapidly.
Russia is looking for new customers as Europe looks elsewhere for a supplier.
In addition to this horizontal drilling coupled with carbon dioxide injection is freeing up huge amounts of natural gas here and in the other shale formations.
This is a market glut in gas that is not going to go away any time soon. Why then do they pour over a billion dollars into it? Every cent they put into Gas now will go directly into company profits and the stock market.
Still on Alberta Energy: Trans Canada has got the go ahead for the Texas pipeline for crude. This is a good deal for us all. What I find strange is Trans Canada have been able to sell 1.3 billion dollars in shares in a few days. This, at after the Alberta Government says it will have to borrow 8 billion.
I have to ask; Did AIMCo buy a huge slot of Trans-Canada share offerings on the pipeline?
Alberta's water is now privitized.
Alberta is celebrating the finish of the water privatization in Alberta. Whether or not it becomes a commodity they say. Like Health Care it is better in the hands of private enterprise than in the hands of Government. So says the Alberta Conservatives.
For over a generation, Conservatives have been after the Feds to change the NAFTA agreement to include water as a commodity. That change means water can be exported into the US. It also means that people in Alberta will be paying the same for water as is charged in California. If they get a majority in Ottawa, it will be a done deal.
Prices for water have increased in Alberta on all fronts. Check your utility bills. Towns and cities on the new program can charge what ever they want as it is now. Soon enough you will be paying rent on the pipelines. This will provide them the revenue increases which will probably go as everything else; to the insiders. Then you will be paying either still more rent on the pipelines or, you will be paying for the water. Either way, tough times or not, the Conservatives are going to rip coin for your pockets still again.
Every cent they pull from your pockets is used to further reduce oil royalty. That is what being a Conservative is all about.
Get a little smart and vote for another party to turn this province around! The Wildrose is not such a party; they are more extreme than the present Conservatives.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Blue Cross cuts coverage for ill patient!
By Paul BegalaCNN Contributor
Editor's note: Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist and CNN political contributor, was a political consultant for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992 and was counselor to Clinton in the White House. He is an affiliated professor at Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute and an adviser to the Service Employees International Union, which supports President Obama's health care plan.
Paul Begala says health care isn't getting attention it deserves -- and Obama administration is partly to blame.
(CNN) -- You probably have never heard of Robin Beaton, and that's what's wrong with the debate over health care reform.
Beaton, a retired nurse from Waxahachie, Texas, had health insurance -- or so she thought. She paid her premiums faithfully every month, but when she was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, her health insurance company, Blue Cross, dumped her.
The insurance company said the fact that she had seen a dermatologist for acne, who mistakenly entered a notation on her chart that suggested her simple acne was a precancerous condition, allowed Blue Cross to leave her in the lurch.
Beaton testified before a House subcommittee this week. So did other Americans who thought they had insurance but got the shaft. As Karen Tumulty of Time magazine (who has been the journalistic conscience of health care coverage) wrote, other witnesses included:
"Peggy Raddatz, whose brother Otto Raddatz lost his insurance coverage right before he was scheduled to receive an expensive stem-cell transplant to treat his lymphoma. Why? Because Fortis Insurance Company discovered his doctor had found gall stones and an aneurysm on a CT scan -- conditions that had nothing to do with his cancer, that never bothered him and that he wasn't even aware of. And Jennifer Wittney Horton of Los Angeles, California, whose coverage was canceled because she had been taking a drug for irregular menstruation. Now, she can't get coverage anywhere else. 'Since my rescission, I have had to take jobs that I do not want, and put my career goals on hold to ensure that I can find health insurance,' she told the subcommittee."
The subcommittee's chairman, Democrat Bart Stupak of Michigan, called the hearing to highlight the obnoxious and unethical practice called rescission. His researchers produced performance reviews of insurance company bureaucrats who were praised and rewarded for kicking people off their coverage.
Then Stupak asked three health insurance executives the big question: Will your company pledge to end the practice of rescission except in cases of intentional fraud?
All three health insurance executives said no.
It was as dramatic as congressional testimony gets. Yet it got no airtime on the networks, nor, as far as I can tell, on cable news, although CNN.com did run a story. Time's Tumulty was all over it, as was Lisa Girion of The Lost Angeles Times. But the story did not make The New York Times.
Nor The Washington Post, which found space on the front page the morning after the hearing for a story on the cancellation of Fourth of July fireworks in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, but not a story on the cancellation of health insurance for deathly ill Americans who've paid their premiums.
Stupak, and the Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, Henry Waxman, D-California, did their job. Why didn't the media do its? Why were the outrages uncovered by Stupak and Waxman un-covered by most of the media?
Maybe because the Obama White House drew the spotlight away from health care. They'd diverted the media to cover Obama's proposed reforms of the financial regulatory system.
On the last day of the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign, we had the media A-Team traveling with us. So I made it my business to sit next to David Gergen, then with U.S. News & World Report but a former top aide to Presidents Nixon, Ford and Reagan (at that point -- little did I know he would soon be working for President Clinton). I had never seen a communications shop as effective as Reagan's, and I wasn't going to miss an opportunity to learn from a master. Gergen told me an anecdote I still remember vividly.
In the opening months of the Reagan presidency, it was the economy, stupid. America was mired in a recession, and President Reagan wanted to focus the nation's attention on his economic plan. But Secretary of State Al Haig had other ideas. The State Department had nothing to do with the economy, and Haig had ambitious plans. So, Gergen told me, Haig got a bunch of good press, advocating for intercepting Cuban gun runners (if memory serves).
You would think a staunch anti-Communist such as Reagan would have been happy. But, no. Reagan's chief of staff, James Baker, upbraided Haig for diverting media attention away from the primary goal: passing the president's economic plan.
I never forgot Gergen's story -- especially when the Clinton White House wandered off message as it tried to pursue fundamental reform of the health care system.
The economic plan eclipsed health care for much of Clinton's first year. As did NAFTA. And the crime bill, which included the Brady Bill and other gun control measures. And don't forget gays in the military. And a foreign policy crisis in Somalia -- and another in Haiti. And another in Russia.
Clinton gave his health care address to the Congress on September 23, 1993. October was supposed to be "Health Care Month" in the White House, but so many other issues got in the way that he had just one public event focused on health care in the entire month -- just one.
I understand that Obama's White House team has to juggle a lot of issues; I've been there. And I'm sure the Obama financial reforms have merit. But if the president wants to pass his ambitious health care reform, he's going to have to put other, worthy, ideas on the back burner and shine the media spotlight on the plight of people like Robin Beaton.
Editor's note: Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist and CNN political contributor, was a political consultant for Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992 and was counselor to Clinton in the White House. He is an affiliated professor at Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute and an adviser to the Service Employees International Union, which supports President Obama's health care plan.
Paul Begala says health care isn't getting attention it deserves -- and Obama administration is partly to blame.
(CNN) -- You probably have never heard of Robin Beaton, and that's what's wrong with the debate over health care reform.
Beaton, a retired nurse from Waxahachie, Texas, had health insurance -- or so she thought. She paid her premiums faithfully every month, but when she was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, her health insurance company, Blue Cross, dumped her.
The insurance company said the fact that she had seen a dermatologist for acne, who mistakenly entered a notation on her chart that suggested her simple acne was a precancerous condition, allowed Blue Cross to leave her in the lurch.
Beaton testified before a House subcommittee this week. So did other Americans who thought they had insurance but got the shaft. As Karen Tumulty of Time magazine (who has been the journalistic conscience of health care coverage) wrote, other witnesses included:
"Peggy Raddatz, whose brother Otto Raddatz lost his insurance coverage right before he was scheduled to receive an expensive stem-cell transplant to treat his lymphoma. Why? Because Fortis Insurance Company discovered his doctor had found gall stones and an aneurysm on a CT scan -- conditions that had nothing to do with his cancer, that never bothered him and that he wasn't even aware of. And Jennifer Wittney Horton of Los Angeles, California, whose coverage was canceled because she had been taking a drug for irregular menstruation. Now, she can't get coverage anywhere else. 'Since my rescission, I have had to take jobs that I do not want, and put my career goals on hold to ensure that I can find health insurance,' she told the subcommittee."
The subcommittee's chairman, Democrat Bart Stupak of Michigan, called the hearing to highlight the obnoxious and unethical practice called rescission. His researchers produced performance reviews of insurance company bureaucrats who were praised and rewarded for kicking people off their coverage.
Then Stupak asked three health insurance executives the big question: Will your company pledge to end the practice of rescission except in cases of intentional fraud?
All three health insurance executives said no.
It was as dramatic as congressional testimony gets. Yet it got no airtime on the networks, nor, as far as I can tell, on cable news, although CNN.com did run a story. Time's Tumulty was all over it, as was Lisa Girion of The Lost Angeles Times. But the story did not make The New York Times.
Nor The Washington Post, which found space on the front page the morning after the hearing for a story on the cancellation of Fourth of July fireworks in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, but not a story on the cancellation of health insurance for deathly ill Americans who've paid their premiums.
Stupak, and the Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, Henry Waxman, D-California, did their job. Why didn't the media do its? Why were the outrages uncovered by Stupak and Waxman un-covered by most of the media?
Maybe because the Obama White House drew the spotlight away from health care. They'd diverted the media to cover Obama's proposed reforms of the financial regulatory system.
On the last day of the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign, we had the media A-Team traveling with us. So I made it my business to sit next to David Gergen, then with U.S. News & World Report but a former top aide to Presidents Nixon, Ford and Reagan (at that point -- little did I know he would soon be working for President Clinton). I had never seen a communications shop as effective as Reagan's, and I wasn't going to miss an opportunity to learn from a master. Gergen told me an anecdote I still remember vividly.
In the opening months of the Reagan presidency, it was the economy, stupid. America was mired in a recession, and President Reagan wanted to focus the nation's attention on his economic plan. But Secretary of State Al Haig had other ideas. The State Department had nothing to do with the economy, and Haig had ambitious plans. So, Gergen told me, Haig got a bunch of good press, advocating for intercepting Cuban gun runners (if memory serves).
You would think a staunch anti-Communist such as Reagan would have been happy. But, no. Reagan's chief of staff, James Baker, upbraided Haig for diverting media attention away from the primary goal: passing the president's economic plan.
I never forgot Gergen's story -- especially when the Clinton White House wandered off message as it tried to pursue fundamental reform of the health care system.
The economic plan eclipsed health care for much of Clinton's first year. As did NAFTA. And the crime bill, which included the Brady Bill and other gun control measures. And don't forget gays in the military. And a foreign policy crisis in Somalia -- and another in Haiti. And another in Russia.
Clinton gave his health care address to the Congress on September 23, 1993. October was supposed to be "Health Care Month" in the White House, but so many other issues got in the way that he had just one public event focused on health care in the entire month -- just one.
I understand that Obama's White House team has to juggle a lot of issues; I've been there. And I'm sure the Obama financial reforms have merit. But if the president wants to pass his ambitious health care reform, he's going to have to put other, worthy, ideas on the back burner and shine the media spotlight on the plight of people like Robin Beaton.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Alberta Health Care-Taken into a US system.
Mr. Liepert tells us health care is a business when asked why he is cutting services to make room for private insurance coverage. Increases in the Blue Cross rates are still another step (in his words) to make the rates more reflective of private health coverage.
You can read out future by watching the US debate on health care. The US politic refers to the Canadian Health care system as being "the Soviet System". Mr. Obama struggling to put the ground work down for universal coverage in the US is defensive when he tells the US the Alberta Health care is dysfunctional producing long line ups of waiting.
He takes no effort in explaining to the population that this is brought about by budget manipulations. Basically; create a problem through short funding and present the cure as privatization.
What Mr. Obama didn't have to say is in the US people loose all their health care coverage when they loose their jobs. What he didn't say is in the US the hospitals are quick to have to sign and notarize a lien on your property before you get access to treatment.
Public hospitals in the US are for "Indigent People who have no insurance and no chattel (house to mortgage)."
Ron Liepert is not the author of these destructive Conservative policies. He is the point man delivering them for the Conservative organization of which Harper is a part of.
You can read out future by watching the US debate on health care. The US politic refers to the Canadian Health care system as being "the Soviet System". Mr. Obama struggling to put the ground work down for universal coverage in the US is defensive when he tells the US the Alberta Health care is dysfunctional producing long line ups of waiting.
He takes no effort in explaining to the population that this is brought about by budget manipulations. Basically; create a problem through short funding and present the cure as privatization.
What Mr. Obama didn't have to say is in the US people loose all their health care coverage when they loose their jobs. What he didn't say is in the US the hospitals are quick to have to sign and notarize a lien on your property before you get access to treatment.
Public hospitals in the US are for "Indigent People who have no insurance and no chattel (house to mortgage)."
Ron Liepert is not the author of these destructive Conservative policies. He is the point man delivering them for the Conservative organization of which Harper is a part of.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Who pays for Alberta's 8 billion dollar transmission?
We all know that we, the consumers in Alberta will pay for the lines. But, I'm asking how many times over do we have to pay for them?
There are 2 million households in Alberta. AESO is telling us our power bills will go up 8 dollars per month to pay for the the new DC lines.
That is 16 million dollars per month going to the power companies and to the people who build and maintain the power lines. I would like to know how this 8.00 is split between the two.
192 million dollars per year out of our pockets. Over 10 years, 1.92 billion dollars.
According to these figures it will be over 40 years at 8.00 per month to pay this off but, by that time we will be paying forever!
Consider that last year TransAlta utilities had a bumper year with huge profits. They explained these profits as being the product of the high electric rates being paid in Western Canada.
This province cannot afford any more corporate welfare. We certainly cannot afford the Conservatives!
There are 2 million households in Alberta. AESO is telling us our power bills will go up 8 dollars per month to pay for the the new DC lines.
That is 16 million dollars per month going to the power companies and to the people who build and maintain the power lines. I would like to know how this 8.00 is split between the two.
192 million dollars per year out of our pockets. Over 10 years, 1.92 billion dollars.
According to these figures it will be over 40 years at 8.00 per month to pay this off but, by that time we will be paying forever!
Consider that last year TransAlta utilities had a bumper year with huge profits. They explained these profits as being the product of the high electric rates being paid in Western Canada.
This province cannot afford any more corporate welfare. We certainly cannot afford the Conservatives!
Alberta's new 8 billion dollar DC power line
Alberta is promoting their new 8 billion dollar DC power line. It is worth some discussion that is not coming out of Government.
First off, the cost of the power line is no where near 8 billion dollars! The towers are smaller, and not nearly so high as the AC towers. On the plus side DC does away with most of the "noise" and "radiation" assocated with high tension power lines which are mostly AC current. It would be my personal choice for transmission.
In order to put power onto a DC transmission line it first must be converted to DC. This, is expensive and wheter or not the cost is in the domain of the power companies and should be treated as an investment is for the public to decide.
When the DC power is taken off the line into a city grid as an example, it must be converd back to AC. Again, expensive and, who should pay?
The conversion is done by very large transducers; the larger version of that apparatus that tunes your television and a great numer of other applications.
Power will have to be converted to AC again to export it to the US; still another expence which appears will be carried by the Alberta consumers.
This Government has not told the truth about anything since they got elected the first time! Surly even the hard core Conservatives must be weary of being duped.
First off, the cost of the power line is no where near 8 billion dollars! The towers are smaller, and not nearly so high as the AC towers. On the plus side DC does away with most of the "noise" and "radiation" assocated with high tension power lines which are mostly AC current. It would be my personal choice for transmission.
In order to put power onto a DC transmission line it first must be converted to DC. This, is expensive and wheter or not the cost is in the domain of the power companies and should be treated as an investment is for the public to decide.
When the DC power is taken off the line into a city grid as an example, it must be converd back to AC. Again, expensive and, who should pay?
The conversion is done by very large transducers; the larger version of that apparatus that tunes your television and a great numer of other applications.
Power will have to be converted to AC again to export it to the US; still another expence which appears will be carried by the Alberta consumers.
This Government has not told the truth about anything since they got elected the first time! Surly even the hard core Conservatives must be weary of being duped.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Alberta Vote!
If you want to get rid of these guys you must vote. Yes! It is possible to get them out of Government.
The purpose of is to allow voters to register for the first time, or to change existing registration information.
You will need an Alberta Driver's Licence or an Alberta Identification Card for each individual aged 16 or over that you wish to register.
Your registration should take less than five minutes to complete.
If you would like additional information, please use the Contact Us link on the left to reach Elections Alberta staff.
The purpose of is to allow voters to register for the first time, or to change existing registration information.
You will need an Alberta Driver's Licence or an Alberta Identification Card for each individual aged 16 or over that you wish to register.
Your registration should take less than five minutes to complete.
If you would like additional information, please use the Contact Us link on the left to reach Elections Alberta staff.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Alberta on the verge of broke!
Yes, it is a sign of our economic health in this province.
First, we seen the trial balloon on Alberta Bonds. Governments issue bonds to raise money usually when they are broke. If this Government was in the least interested in putting money into Alberta pockets, they would increase the royalty to the same level that BC and Saskatchewan are. Instead we remain 35% below them. Over 20 Billion dollars of revenue that should have been in Alberta coffers has gone to the oil and gas companies!
Short of cash they hit on the poor and frail first. Cut rent assistance's.
The rents have not come down in Alberta. The only thing that has changed is a lot of people have gone home to other parts of Canada.
Short of cash they put in a new level of sin taxes.
Short of cash they increased the Blue Cross rates.
Short of cash the use the opportunity to activate some of the long sitting lists on what not to cover through Alberta Health care. Those of you out there that think this is a senior problem, think again. It is the first step into your pockets as well.
The list goes on. The bottom line is the Conservatives has driven the province into the ground through financial mismanagement. We make more on gambling than we do on resources.
Short on cash they bleed the Heritage Trust fund; the Sustainabilty fund and I think even the pensions will be used to finance opeations before this show is over.
Even the usually politically blind and deaf conservatives should be shaking their heads now.
Dig in! The worse is yet to come!
First, we seen the trial balloon on Alberta Bonds. Governments issue bonds to raise money usually when they are broke. If this Government was in the least interested in putting money into Alberta pockets, they would increase the royalty to the same level that BC and Saskatchewan are. Instead we remain 35% below them. Over 20 Billion dollars of revenue that should have been in Alberta coffers has gone to the oil and gas companies!
Short of cash they hit on the poor and frail first. Cut rent assistance's.
The rents have not come down in Alberta. The only thing that has changed is a lot of people have gone home to other parts of Canada.
Short of cash they put in a new level of sin taxes.
Short of cash they increased the Blue Cross rates.
Short of cash the use the opportunity to activate some of the long sitting lists on what not to cover through Alberta Health care. Those of you out there that think this is a senior problem, think again. It is the first step into your pockets as well.
The list goes on. The bottom line is the Conservatives has driven the province into the ground through financial mismanagement. We make more on gambling than we do on resources.
Short on cash they bleed the Heritage Trust fund; the Sustainabilty fund and I think even the pensions will be used to finance opeations before this show is over.
Even the usually politically blind and deaf conservatives should be shaking their heads now.
Dig in! The worse is yet to come!
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Alberta Bonds - Stay clear of the house of cards.
CCWhy would you put more money into the hands of a group of people who have lied their way into every election and have sold this province out from under you for only a few pennies on a dollar of value? Surly you can find a more honest group to invest your money with!
Alberta has the lowest royalty rates in the world, bar none! This means Albertans are getting less for their resource than any other country on earth!
In order to keep this province functioning they have to dig into gambling and habits for revenue. If there happens to be a plus balance at the end of the year, that is attributed to windfall profits. Such Crap!
Alberta Royalty is further reduced with "trade in kind" as buy bitumen from the tar sands at the going bitumen rates then, sell it to the up graders (probably an arm of the same company) at cut rates so the up graders can show quick profit.
The difference is what the taxpayer will again be shorted even more on royalty! Couple this with the new legislation in place that says the Alberta Government does not have to disclose the royalty charged mean they either have no idea what the bottom line will be or it is so shameful they want to keep it a secret.
Carbon sequestration starting out with 2 billion of taxpayer dollars. I have come to see capture and trade as being an ever larger scam for companies to move money between jurisdictions without paying taxes. I would think there is a lot of inventive book keeping when this is over!
Consider - carbon is put down a hole, any place. Then it is used as a solvent to extract crude from the same hole or is transported to another conventional site . It comes back up the hole with the oil.
Companies can take credits for sequestering and claim new production because of new technology and market it as green, conventional with a lower carbon footprint.
I don't think it is a good idea to invest in anything this crew comes up with they are simply lining their own pockets. I sure as hell don't think playing the carbon sequester game in stocks is a worth while endeavor. In Montana for instance, they plan on putting the carbon down into a natural dome, underground. Then they plan on building a pipe line to move the carbon from this dome to the oil shale project with a view of using it the same as Saskatchewan does.
It is only a matter of time until we hear of workers being overcome by carbon dioxide while drilling for oil.
Alberta has the lowest royalty rates in the world, bar none! This means Albertans are getting less for their resource than any other country on earth!
In order to keep this province functioning they have to dig into gambling and habits for revenue. If there happens to be a plus balance at the end of the year, that is attributed to windfall profits. Such Crap!
Alberta Royalty is further reduced with "trade in kind" as buy bitumen from the tar sands at the going bitumen rates then, sell it to the up graders (probably an arm of the same company) at cut rates so the up graders can show quick profit.
The difference is what the taxpayer will again be shorted even more on royalty! Couple this with the new legislation in place that says the Alberta Government does not have to disclose the royalty charged mean they either have no idea what the bottom line will be or it is so shameful they want to keep it a secret.
Carbon sequestration starting out with 2 billion of taxpayer dollars. I have come to see capture and trade as being an ever larger scam for companies to move money between jurisdictions without paying taxes. I would think there is a lot of inventive book keeping when this is over!
Consider - carbon is put down a hole, any place. Then it is used as a solvent to extract crude from the same hole or is transported to another conventional site . It comes back up the hole with the oil.
Companies can take credits for sequestering and claim new production because of new technology and market it as green, conventional with a lower carbon footprint.
I don't think it is a good idea to invest in anything this crew comes up with they are simply lining their own pockets. I sure as hell don't think playing the carbon sequester game in stocks is a worth while endeavor. In Montana for instance, they plan on putting the carbon down into a natural dome, underground. Then they plan on building a pipe line to move the carbon from this dome to the oil shale project with a view of using it the same as Saskatchewan does.
It is only a matter of time until we hear of workers being overcome by carbon dioxide while drilling for oil.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Alberta using the same standard as Sask for determining CCS
Mr. Knight answers the letter explaining Alberta using carbon Dioxide to recover oil from mature fields is the same as done in Weyburn Saskatchewan. Weyburn being run by Encana and they are developing the technology at depths of 1500 meters which is above the minimum requirements to keep the carbon dioxide critical (liquid).
Weyburn crude is actually thinned by the Carbon Dioxide making it easier to recover and process. The thinning is carbon dioxide absorbed into the oil, being returned to the surface.
It will be interesting to see if Mr. Knight is as forth coming when the testing is done as in how much of the carbon dioxide that is put down the hole is returned to the atmosphere dissolved in the oil.
Alberta's carbon cap and trade system is going to be for Alberta only, not trade outside the province. That means this Government can balance any number of books and ledgers with carbon credits. Along with payments in kind taken on royalty, it is turning into a system where Alberta will receive whatever the oil companies and the Conservatives feel is necessary to keep this province above destitution.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Alberta -- The Details - For Sale!
After a rash of rude suggestions I am prompted to tender this site for sale and with it comes the necessary agreements on my part.
Sales price is stricly cost recovery at Canadian $ 142,623.56
Sales price is stricly cost recovery at Canadian $ 142,623.56
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Albertans Entitled to lower Natural Gas Prices-Will they get it?
The Conservatives claim they want market pressure to rule the prices when they stand to make a profit. When it goes the other way, they tend to shy away under an umbrella of excuses in order to keep their profits. What will they do this time?
In Alberta, with the Conservatives in power it is always the Alberta Consumer who ends up paying the losses.
Exerts from the full article in Financial Post:
“ When Peter Tertzakian stands on a soapbox at the Calgary Petroleum Club -- as he did last week -- and warns senior Canadian oil executives to stop being in denial about natural-gas prices ever recovering to the levels they think they need to get back to work in Alberta, they tend to listen.
His message in the presentation: Low natural-gas prices are here to stay. Either you change or you will be out of business.”
Further, Mr. Tertzakian points out the Natural Gas Prices will not go above 5 or 6 dollars and never again reach the double digits that today’s residential prices are charged at.
Albertans have every right to expect a 50% reduction in their home and business heating bills!
If the reduction is not forthcoming, it is time to replace your elected officials both provincial and municipal!
In Alberta, with the Conservatives in power it is always the Alberta Consumer who ends up paying the losses.
Exerts from the full article in Financial Post:
“ When Peter Tertzakian stands on a soapbox at the Calgary Petroleum Club -- as he did last week -- and warns senior Canadian oil executives to stop being in denial about natural-gas prices ever recovering to the levels they think they need to get back to work in Alberta, they tend to listen.
His message in the presentation: Low natural-gas prices are here to stay. Either you change or you will be out of business.”
Further, Mr. Tertzakian points out the Natural Gas Prices will not go above 5 or 6 dollars and never again reach the double digits that today’s residential prices are charged at.
Albertans have every right to expect a 50% reduction in their home and business heating bills!
If the reduction is not forthcoming, it is time to replace your elected officials both provincial and municipal!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Alberta Conservatives throw in the towel!
The Alberta Conservatives have been on something that can only be called a rampage over the past several years. Worshiping at the shrine of Conservative Doctrine they have reached out to privatize everything they can lay hands to.
With so much fresh information out there on their rip and burn programs they are thinking they cannot possibly be elected again so, get the job done now!
Our health system is pretty much privatized now, hospitals being owned by individuals and companies other than Government. Now, they are pushing Albertans into Insurance Heaven! Mazankowski must be rubbing his hands!
The Capital Health Authority at the request of the Government drew up a long list of services to be delisted from coverage under Alberta Health Care. Now, that list is being put in two or three items at a time putting pressure onto Albertans to reach for Blue Cross Coverage.
This was the desired response of the Government. Now, they are raising the Blue Cross premiums to better reflect what is being paid for in the private sector. This is blatant! There is no "private sector" health insurance in Alberta at this time and only US owned companies are in that business.
The billions poured into the Mazankowski heart centre to date to build and keep an empty building will come to fruit in the Conservative world. Makes sense now to turn it all over to still another insider for 1/100 th of the cost in the name of "private is a better way"
The Conservatives tell us the Canada Health Act is simply a Liberal tool to continue to beat up and control provinces indicating that Harper's crew will not pay any attention to it.
For you out there who did not think it was worth while to vote or that your vote would not make any difference; look now at the ugly face of conservatism.
Enter now the US dominated private health care insurance companies
There does not seem to be any laws in place to stop the pillage. The Auditor General has been told to butt out of their business and they take glee in standing in front of the cameras lying.
Time to take up arms my friends! Go get them!
With so much fresh information out there on their rip and burn programs they are thinking they cannot possibly be elected again so, get the job done now!
Our health system is pretty much privatized now, hospitals being owned by individuals and companies other than Government. Now, they are pushing Albertans into Insurance Heaven! Mazankowski must be rubbing his hands!
The Capital Health Authority at the request of the Government drew up a long list of services to be delisted from coverage under Alberta Health Care. Now, that list is being put in two or three items at a time putting pressure onto Albertans to reach for Blue Cross Coverage.
This was the desired response of the Government. Now, they are raising the Blue Cross premiums to better reflect what is being paid for in the private sector. This is blatant! There is no "private sector" health insurance in Alberta at this time and only US owned companies are in that business.
The billions poured into the Mazankowski heart centre to date to build and keep an empty building will come to fruit in the Conservative world. Makes sense now to turn it all over to still another insider for 1/100 th of the cost in the name of "private is a better way"
The Conservatives tell us the Canada Health Act is simply a Liberal tool to continue to beat up and control provinces indicating that Harper's crew will not pay any attention to it.
For you out there who did not think it was worth while to vote or that your vote would not make any difference; look now at the ugly face of conservatism.
Enter now the US dominated private health care insurance companies
There does not seem to be any laws in place to stop the pillage. The Auditor General has been told to butt out of their business and they take glee in standing in front of the cameras lying.
Time to take up arms my friends! Go get them!
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Alberta Budget- Where the real losses are!
Using the Government surplus figures as a basis and, taking the exchange rates 2006-07 as nominal 10% and 2008-2009 as nominal 25%, I have developed the following alternate table.
I am using the BC Saskatchewan royalty rates of 30% for a low comparison.
These figures then represent the inside lowest possible royalty figures.
Past surpluses -Royalty % - Sask and BC royalty
2000-01 — $6.57 billion- at 25% US - 30% - Should have been 8.54 Loss 1.97 Billion
2001-02 — $1.08 billion - at 25% US - 30% - Should have been 1.40 Loss .32 Billion
2002-03 — $2.13 billion at 25% US - 30% - Should have been 2.56 Loss .43 Billion
2003-04 — $4.14 billion at 25% US - 30% - Should have been 4.97 Loss .83
2004-05 — $5.18 billion at 19% US - 30% - Should have been 8.18 Loss 3.0 Billion
2005-06 — $8.55 billion at 19% US - 30% - Should have been 13.5 Loss 4.95 Billion (10% Exchange)
2006-07 — $8.51 billion at 19% Canadian 30% - Should have been 14.29 Loss 5.78 Billion
2007-08 — $4.58 billion at 19% Canadian 30% - Should have been 8.15 Loss 3.57
Projected deficits
2009-10 — $4.7 billion at 19% Canadian dollar - Should be surplus of 3.9 Billion
2010-11 — $2.4 billion at 19% Canadian dollar - Should be surplus of 5.89
2011-12 — $1.8 billion - Should be surplus of 11.44
That is a total Loss of 20.02 billion dollars swept away on a Conservative platform. One that says there can be no extra cash in Government, it must go to the companies.
They call it being Great Conservatives. I call it gross fiscal mismanagement.
Albertans will have no change until they get this crew out of office!
I am using the BC Saskatchewan royalty rates of 30% for a low comparison.
These figures then represent the inside lowest possible royalty figures.
Past surpluses -Royalty % - Sask and BC royalty
2000-01 — $6.57 billion- at 25% US - 30% - Should have been 8.54 Loss 1.97 Billion
2001-02 — $1.08 billion - at 25% US - 30% - Should have been 1.40 Loss .32 Billion
2002-03 — $2.13 billion at 25% US - 30% - Should have been 2.56 Loss .43 Billion
2003-04 — $4.14 billion at 25% US - 30% - Should have been 4.97 Loss .83
2004-05 — $5.18 billion at 19% US - 30% - Should have been 8.18 Loss 3.0 Billion
2005-06 — $8.55 billion at 19% US - 30% - Should have been 13.5 Loss 4.95 Billion (10% Exchange)
2006-07 — $8.51 billion at 19% Canadian 30% - Should have been 14.29 Loss 5.78 Billion
2007-08 — $4.58 billion at 19% Canadian 30% - Should have been 8.15 Loss 3.57
Projected deficits
2009-10 — $4.7 billion at 19% Canadian dollar - Should be surplus of 3.9 Billion
2010-11 — $2.4 billion at 19% Canadian dollar - Should be surplus of 5.89
2011-12 — $1.8 billion - Should be surplus of 11.44
That is a total Loss of 20.02 billion dollars swept away on a Conservative platform. One that says there can be no extra cash in Government, it must go to the companies.
They call it being Great Conservatives. I call it gross fiscal mismanagement.
Albertans will have no change until they get this crew out of office!
Friday, April 03, 2009
Carbon Capture - What we are looking for.
A static source is essential for carbon capture. There presently is no such source available in the processes at the tar sands. In coal, cement and the other industries where a single source and high volume is available it is possible to create a burning platform that can be controlled.
How it works, generally:
The fuel is put into a special container to burn. The nitrogen is pulled off the air mix. The remainder in the container is heated to a high temperature and oxygen is injected. A burst flash is created. Because the "air " is off, nearly pure carbon dioxide is produced.
This is pumped off and stored to be put down pipelines etc. The heat generated in the process is used to make the steam to run the turbines etc. Consider; the priorities are actually reversed. Instead of making steam your process is making carbon dioxide and the steam is incidental to it.
Plants will have to be completely re built or new plants built. This isn't about picking stuff out of a smokestack and it is very expensive! And, we will pay.
How it works, generally:
The fuel is put into a special container to burn. The nitrogen is pulled off the air mix. The remainder in the container is heated to a high temperature and oxygen is injected. A burst flash is created. Because the "air " is off, nearly pure carbon dioxide is produced.
This is pumped off and stored to be put down pipelines etc. The heat generated in the process is used to make the steam to run the turbines etc. Consider; the priorities are actually reversed. Instead of making steam your process is making carbon dioxide and the steam is incidental to it.
Plants will have to be completely re built or new plants built. This isn't about picking stuff out of a smokestack and it is very expensive! And, we will pay.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Carbon Capture (CCS) Funding by Feds
Projects receiving federal funding:
Heartland Area Redwater Project — The Alberta Research Council and ARC Energy Trust, leading this Edmonton-area project, will try to demonstrate carbon capture and storage on a commercial scale of several million tonnes per year. (Good!)
Integrated Carbon Capture and Enhanced Oil Recovery (A subsidy-Oil Recovery from marginal depths)— Lead by Enhance Energy, the project northeast of Edmonton, involves the capture of CO2 emissions from industrial sites.
Fort Nelson Exploratory Project — (
Good - Deep enough) Spectra Energy Transmission hopes its existing gas processing plant in Fort Nelson, B.C. will be able to inject large volumes of sour gas more than two kilometres underground. (Deep enough; Good. 2 km=6500 feet; 2600 feet is the minimum)
Pioneer Project — Proposed for the Keephills thermal electric power generation plant, TransAlta hopes the plant will perform several functions including capture of chilled ammonia, which could then be used in enhanced oil recovery and stored in saline aquifers.
Belle Plaine Integrated Polygeneration CCS Project — TransCanada's plan involves building a $5-billion electricity power plant in Belle Plaine, Sask. (Excellent! This is where it is at!) At the time of this edit, Trans Canada has withdrawn their plan to build the plant leaving only the projects in place to scarf oil and return the CO2 to the surface.
CO2 Injection in Heavy Oil Reservoirs (All are subsidies-Heavy Oil Recovery is not Carbon Sequestration! What they put down hole will come back up.) — Husky Energy Inc., at its oil upgrader and ethanol plant in Lloydminster, Sask., wants to develop new methods for enhanced heavy oil recovery.
Alberta Saline Aquifer Project/Genesee Post-(Excellent - This is what they should all look like!) Combustion Demonstration Plant — EPCOR's Genesee project involves a demonstration facility that would capture CO2 from a coal-fired power plant in Alberta, and transport it to the Saline Aquifer Project for storage.
Heartland Area Redwater Project — The Alberta Research Council and ARC Energy Trust, leading this Edmonton-area project, will try to demonstrate carbon capture and storage on a commercial scale of several million tonnes per year. (Good!)
Integrated Carbon Capture and Enhanced Oil Recovery (A subsidy-Oil Recovery from marginal depths)— Lead by Enhance Energy, the project northeast of Edmonton, involves the capture of CO2 emissions from industrial sites.
Fort Nelson Exploratory Project — (
Good - Deep enough) Spectra Energy Transmission hopes its existing gas processing plant in Fort Nelson, B.C. will be able to inject large volumes of sour gas more than two kilometres underground. (Deep enough; Good. 2 km=6500 feet; 2600 feet is the minimum)
Pioneer Project — Proposed for the Keephills thermal electric power generation plant, TransAlta hopes the plant will perform several functions including capture of chilled ammonia, which could then be used in enhanced oil recovery and stored in saline aquifers.
Belle Plaine Integrated Polygeneration CCS Project — TransCanada's plan involves building a $5-billion electricity power plant in Belle Plaine, Sask. (Excellent! This is where it is at!) At the time of this edit, Trans Canada has withdrawn their plan to build the plant leaving only the projects in place to scarf oil and return the CO2 to the surface.
CO2 Injection in Heavy Oil Reservoirs (All are subsidies-Heavy Oil Recovery is not Carbon Sequestration! What they put down hole will come back up.) — Husky Energy Inc., at its oil upgrader and ethanol plant in Lloydminster, Sask., wants to develop new methods for enhanced heavy oil recovery.
Alberta Saline Aquifer Project/Genesee Post-(Excellent - This is what they should all look like!) Combustion Demonstration Plant — EPCOR's Genesee project involves a demonstration facility that would capture CO2 from a coal-fired power plant in Alberta, and transport it to the Saline Aquifer Project for storage.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Alberta and Canada cheat on Carbon Sequester
All the carbon dioxide that goes down hole is not sequestered! The original plan was to put the carbon into the deep saline water aquifer which is housed between and upper and lower level of bedrock.
Now, they are using the bulk of the planned carbon dioxide as an effective solvent most of which will come gushing out of the well ahead of the first recovered oil and the remainder for the better part will be absorbed into the oil to be released later. Effervescent oil easy to pump.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Alberta schools P3
In the world of Alberta Finance, there is no firm price contracts. All projects are let "cost plus" and cost over runs are never challanged, just coverd with more money. True costs of the programs are never made public. A really good investment for these companies.
Quote:
Lenders including Sun Life Assurance Company, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Canada Life, Bank of Ireland, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, National Australia Bank, The Toronto-Dominion Bank and The Bank of Montreal.
On September 10, 2008, the Government of Alberta signed an agreement with BBPP Alberta Schools Limited to design, build, finance and maintain 18 state-of-the-art schools in the province through a Design-Build-Finance-Maintain public-private partnership. The schools are scheduled to open in September 2010 and provide space for more than 12,000 students, and will cost the Province $643 million. According to the Government of Alberta, this public-private partnership resulted in a savings of $118 million to the Province compared to the cost of providing the same work through traditional delivery methods. This agreement represents the largest ever Canadian schools P3 transaction and Alberta's largest social infrastructure P3.
Total debt aggregated approximately $460 million, including approximately $335 million in long-term lending, and a $125 million short-term tranche to remain in place until completion of construction. The financing, which was arranged by CIT Financial Ltd. (as agent) included both banks and institutional lenders, including Sun Life Assurance Company, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Canada Life, Bank of Ireland, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, National Australia Bank, The Toronto-Dominion Bank and The Bank of Montreal.
Babcock & Brown's London listed infrastructure fund, Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships is investing 75% of the project's equity, with GVest, an affiliate of Graham Construction, providing the remaining 25%. The construction contractor for the project is a joint venture of Graham Construction and Bird Construction, and the renewal and maintenance contractor is Honeywell.
The lenders were advised by a team from Fasken Martineau that included Brian Kelsall, Ella Plotkin, Jon Holmstrom, Tom Barlow and Marc Lefler in the Toronto office, and Richard Peters and Sheldon Good in Calgary.
Quote:
Lenders including Sun Life Assurance Company, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Canada Life, Bank of Ireland, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, National Australia Bank, The Toronto-Dominion Bank and The Bank of Montreal.
On September 10, 2008, the Government of Alberta signed an agreement with BBPP Alberta Schools Limited to design, build, finance and maintain 18 state-of-the-art schools in the province through a Design-Build-Finance-Maintain public-private partnership. The schools are scheduled to open in September 2010 and provide space for more than 12,000 students, and will cost the Province $643 million. According to the Government of Alberta, this public-private partnership resulted in a savings of $118 million to the Province compared to the cost of providing the same work through traditional delivery methods. This agreement represents the largest ever Canadian schools P3 transaction and Alberta's largest social infrastructure P3.
Total debt aggregated approximately $460 million, including approximately $335 million in long-term lending, and a $125 million short-term tranche to remain in place until completion of construction. The financing, which was arranged by CIT Financial Ltd. (as agent) included both banks and institutional lenders, including Sun Life Assurance Company, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Canada Life, Bank of Ireland, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, National Australia Bank, The Toronto-Dominion Bank and The Bank of Montreal.
Babcock & Brown's London listed infrastructure fund, Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships is investing 75% of the project's equity, with GVest, an affiliate of Graham Construction, providing the remaining 25%. The construction contractor for the project is a joint venture of Graham Construction and Bird Construction, and the renewal and maintenance contractor is Honeywell.
The lenders were advised by a team from Fasken Martineau that included Brian Kelsall, Ella Plotkin, Jon Holmstrom, Tom Barlow and Marc Lefler in the Toronto office, and Richard Peters and Sheldon Good in Calgary.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Alberta or Iranian Oil in the future?
What a joke! What an absolute waste of money by our disaster called Premier Stelmach. Last week US President Obama made a video for Iranians to see and mull over. In his video Obama spoke of renewed peace and co-operation between Iran and the United States.
Think: Uncle Sam wants Iranian oil and NOT Alberta's dirty oil.
I'm selling all my tar sands related stock and buying into those companies that will likely get contracts (soon!) in Iran. It's too bad that Klein and Stelmach gave away for dirt cheap all the natural gas in Alberta, because that's all we'll have left of what Obama wants.
Alberta's Conservative governments have totally ruined the future of our province. Big mouth Tories bragged to the world how much "oil" will have and how stinking rich we are, but guess what happened? People took a second look at what's happening here and they didn't like what they saw.
Thanks Klein for shooting your mouth off... and now because of all the stupid decisions made by Conservatives the future of our province is nowhere near as bright as people think it is.
Am I being negative? No, I'm being honest. Thanks Conservatives for the massive bust that is now following a useless mini-boom. In reality, Albertans only have themselves to blame for voting Conservative. We never learn do we???
Good insight; shared from a friend.
Think: Uncle Sam wants Iranian oil and NOT Alberta's dirty oil.
I'm selling all my tar sands related stock and buying into those companies that will likely get contracts (soon!) in Iran. It's too bad that Klein and Stelmach gave away for dirt cheap all the natural gas in Alberta, because that's all we'll have left of what Obama wants.
Alberta's Conservative governments have totally ruined the future of our province. Big mouth Tories bragged to the world how much "oil" will have and how stinking rich we are, but guess what happened? People took a second look at what's happening here and they didn't like what they saw.
Thanks Klein for shooting your mouth off... and now because of all the stupid decisions made by Conservatives the future of our province is nowhere near as bright as people think it is.
Am I being negative? No, I'm being honest. Thanks Conservatives for the massive bust that is now following a useless mini-boom. In reality, Albertans only have themselves to blame for voting Conservative. We never learn do we???
Good insight; shared from a friend.
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