The push and pull of conflicting factions may be providing some relief to consumers
Last week ended on a calmer note for crude oil markets and major oil-producing countries. Crude oil prices fell slightly as the week ended, finally hovering a little below the recent highs. Forecasts of a warm U.S. winter put some brakes on the price rally that carried the crude markets beyond $86 a barrel early…
According to Natural Resources Canada, at the end of 2018 Canada had 73 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven natural gas reserves
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre In 2009, the eastern European country of Ukraine endured a twin lesson in geopolitics and energy security: Russia cut off its natural gas supply in mid-winter. Russia’s public reason was that it was engaged in a pricing dispute with Ukraine. In reality, it was an attempt…
Movement to reduce global emissions toward net-zero is still too slow
With the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow scheduled to open on Oct. 31, global powerhouses are coming up with their annual energy outlooks earlier than the customary November. With climate issues coming to the forefront at the COP26 summit, most of these reports and analyses are meant to help world leaders make decisions. But…
Decision to open the taps and let the markets surge comes just before UN Climate Change Conference
Rapid moves with long-term ramifications are being made on the global energy chessboard. Early last week, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies in OPEC+ opted to stick to their original plan and gradually open the crude oil taps. After their Oct. 4 ministerial meeting, OPEC+ said it had “reconfirmed the production adjustment…
A global energy crunch could help propel prices above US$100 a barrel
All eyes are focused on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies in OPEC+ as they meet today. With crude oil prices touching US$80 a barrel and prospects of hitting US$100 this winter looming large, markets are on edge. The market trajectory is virtually impossible to delineate. A global energy crunch could help…
Underpinning it all, like the safety net to a secure supply, will be fossil fuels
The kingdom of Queen Elizabeth I was humming along quite nicely when, around the mid-1500s, Her Majesty caught wind of an environmental crisis in the offing. The forests were disappearing. Wood was the first energy source and had been so for millenniums. But kilns of industry and hearths of homes had been eating up the…
The bull run is on
Is Brent crude oil heading toward US$80 a barrel? If the market signals and the pundits are to be trusted, the bull run is on. Oil prices headed to a third straight week of gains on Friday. Brent futures rose 84 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to settle at US$78.09 a barrel, while U.S. West…
Wind and solar farms replacing the 84% of global energy from fossil fuels is technically impossible
In a previous column I pointed out that since switching coal-fuelled power plants to natural gas cuts CO2 emissions in half, exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to displace coal benefits our economy and reduces global emissions. And that since converting gasoline and diesel-fuelled vehicles and ships to natural gas cuts emissions by 25 per cent,…
Rationality can prevail, clean, abundant natural gas can be used for decades, energy ‘transition’ or not
An estimated $55-billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project to take natural gas from northeastern British Columbia to its northwest coast at Pearse Island recently received the blessing and financial and political backing of the Nisga’a First Nation. The First Nation is on the proposed pipeline route and is the site of planned liquefaction terminal. This…
The reality is, Canadians have a significant stake in the United States oil and gas industry
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre One critical problem for political and business leaders is getting people to think outside their local box. While many people might prefer a local restaurant or coffee shop to a national chain, international trade is the very reason a Canadian restaurant can offer inexpensive vegetables in…