Transcanada News

On July 20, the tanker Cabo de Hornos delivered an estimated 450,000 barrels of crude oil to the Irving Oil refinery’s Canaport storage facilities in Saint John, N.B.What made Cabo de Hornos’s delivery different was that it was the first time crude oil had arrived in Saint John by ship from Alberta. It came via the Trans Mountain pipeline to the Westbridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby, B.C., and then through the Panama Canal.By the end of April next year, a second tanker will arrive at Canaport carrying 350,000 to one million barrels of Western Canadian crude oil. In this case, the oil will have come via pipeline from Alberta to a crude oil exporting terminal in Texas or Louisiana.For most of the Saint John refinery’s 50 years of operation…

Malaysia's state-owned oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd said on Thursday it is buying a 25 percent stake in a Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project, nearly a year after cancelling its own planned terminal.The company, known as Petronas, scrapped plans to build a $36 billion ($28 billion) LNG export terminal in British Columbia last year over concerns of a glut in the market that led to depressed fuel prices.But surprisingly strong demand from China, South Korea and India has erased those concerns…

U.S. energy firms are scrambling to finish a slew of pipelines that will unleash rich reserves of shale gas in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio as the nation prepares to become one of the world’s top natural gas exporters. The pipelines are expected to boost output from shale fields in the three states by giving producers access to new domestic and international markets. Those states could supply about a third of all U.S. natural gas once the pipeline expansion is complete, up from about 25 percent now, according to projections from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

President Donald Trump will host Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, the White House said on Thursday, a meeting in which trade and a major crude oil pipeline are likely to be on the agenda. The meeting will be the first for the two men since Trump won last November's election. "President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau look forward to a constructive conversation on strengthening the relationship between our two nations," the White House said in a statement. Canada sends 75 percent of its exports to the United States and is keen to avoid becoming the target of protectionist measures. Trump wants to renegotiate the trilateral NAFTA trade pact with Canada and Mexico, which he says has been disastrous for American workers.

The bullish view for Suncor Energy Inc (SU.TO), Cenovus Energy Inc (CVE.TO) and other Canadian energy producers calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by next month to approve a major pipeline expansion to the west coast, boosting sales of land-locked oil sands crude to Asia. But a growing number of shipping brokers and physical oil traders warn that any new influx of oil will hit a bottleneck in Vancouver, because of the port's inability to accept the megaships that dominate oil trade globally. This bottleneck marks one of the more under appreciated hurdles facing Canadian oil sands crude being shipped from its busiest port of Vancouver, these shipping brokers say. Middle Eastern producers already ship oil ship to Asia far more cheaply, thanks to the bigger vessels they employ. And U.S.

The two-year oil price crash has hurt a Canadian government program that funds research on oil spill cleanups, resulting in fewer applicants than expected, a senior federal official said. As a result, the government will expand the scope of its Oil Spill Response Science Program and open a second call for applications this month, Marc Wickham, Natural Resources Canada's director of energy science and technology programs, said in an interview late last week. The program funds research that improves cleanup methods for marine oil spills. Those eligible include production, pipeline and shipping companies in the energy sector. Wickham spoke with Reuters after it obtained details of the program's amendment through an access-to-information request.

Canada, fearful of talk by the U.S. presidential candidates to reopen the North American Free Trade Agreement, could use the opportunity to push for a better deal on worker mobility, dispute resolutions and other issues, Canadian negotiators of the original pact said. Republican Donald Trump calls NAFTA the worst trade deal signed by the United States and Democrat Hillary Clinton has signaled a change of position on the 1994 pact she supported when it became law under her husband, former president Bill Clinton. The agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico is often used for political grist in U.S. election campaigns but altering it is a major concern for export-oriented Canada.

In a sign the massive Alberta wildfire is taking a toll on oil transport, Canadian crude exports to the United States dropped 12 percent last week, while another blend of Canadian sweet crude oil rallied as concerns grow about supply. Overall, trading in Canadian crude was quiet, as the second half of the month is generally inactive. Hot and dry weather and strong winds were expected to push the wildfire burning near Fort McMurray, Alberta eastward on Wednesday, continuing to threaten facilities and work camps in Canada's prized oil sands. With the fire projected to grow further, producers are starting to scramble for needed oil supply.

The State of Alaska has finalized a deal with TransCanada to buy out the pipeline company's share in the proposed Alaska liquefied natural gas export project for nearly $65 million. Alaska has completed the buyout of TransCanada’s interest in the Alaska LNG project, a $65 million expense that gives Alaska the same stake in the $55 billion effort as ExxonMobil, BP and ConocoPhillips. Gov. Bill Walker hailed the move as “historic," calling the gas line project the best “get-well card” for a state facing a $3.5 billion deficit. Kenai Peninsula Borough Special Oil and Gas Assistant Larry Persily says the action doesn’t change the project schedule or cost, reports Radiokenai.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instructed his natural resources minister to "modernize" Canada's independent pipeline regulator, said a letter released on Friday that gave details on the newly elected leader's environmental plans. Trudeau asked Natural Resources Minister James Carr to ensure the Calgary-based National Energy Board (NEB) has a balanced representation from across the country, as well as sufficient expertise in environmental science, community development and indigenous traditional knowledge. The Liberal prime minister on Friday published all of the mandate letters sent to his cabinet ministers, which instructed several of them to restore environmental legislation that was changed by the previous Conservative government.

Canada will push ahead with a moratorium on oil tanker traffic along the northern coast of British Columbia, effectively slamming the door on a controversial pipeline project that was already facing massive development hurdles. In a letter released on Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instructed Transport Minister Marc Garneau to work with numerous other ministries to "formalize" the ban on oil tanker traffic, a Liberal campaign promise ahead of the federal elections last month.

TransCanada Corp said on Friday a consortium led by Malaysian national oil company Petronas has decided to proceed with plans to build a terminal in northern British Columbia to export Canadian natural gas to Asia. TransCanada said it plans to start construction this year of the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line, to connect the Montney field near Fort St. John, British Columbia, to the PNW LNG terminal at Lelu Island, near Prince Rupert. The final decision on the line will be confirmed by the partners of PNW LNG after receiving approvals from the British Columbia and Canadian governments, TransCanada said. TransCanada said it planned to put the 900-km (560-mile) into service by 2019-20.

The Canadian government has approved TransCanada Corp's proposed C$1.7 billion ($1.38 billion) North Montney Mainline natural gas pipeline that would connect natural gas fields in northern British Columbia with a Pacific Coast export terminal. The North Montney line would feed into a second new pipeline, the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line, that would serve an $11 billion liquefied natural gas export terminal, called the Pacific NorthWest LNG project, proposed by state-owned Malaysian energy company Petronas. The federal natural resources department announced the North Montney approval late on Wednesday. In April, the Canadian regulator…

Fugro has been awarded a large geotechnical and geophysical (G&G) programme by ExxonMobil Alaska LNG LLC (AKLNG - a consortium of ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, British Petroleum, TransCanada and the State of Alaska). The 2015 G&G programme follows successful completion of a similar but smaller programme carried out by Fugro in 2014. The geotechnical scope of work includes drilling and sampling of borings for the onshore liquefaction facilities, marine terminal and offshore pipelines. It also includes installation of monitoring wells, seismograph and in situ measurement of soil properties. The geological and earthquake engineering scope will include assessment of geohazards, source characterisation, probabilistic seismic hazard and site response analyses.

Canadian oil storage and transport company Gibson Energy Inc said on Monday it is building 900,000 barrels of crude oil storage at its terminal in Hardisty, Alberta, after receiving sufficient support from shippers. The company will build a 500,000 barrel tank backed by a long-term contract with Teck Resources Ltd, a partner in the Fort Hills oil sands project and a new customer for Gibson Energy, and another 400,000 tank. The new storage is expected to be in service by mid-2017. RBC Capital Markets strategist Robert Kwan said against the backdrop of weak benchmark crude prices, Gibson Energy's ability to sign long-term contracts with customers to underpin of new storage should be viewed as a positive.

The Alaska LNG project marks another milestone with today’s announcement by the United States Department of Energy that it has conditionally authorized the Alaska LNG Project LLC to export liquefied natural gas to non-Free Trade Agreement countries. The application to export up to 20 million metric tons per year of liquefied natural gas from Alaska for a 30-year period was submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy last July. Authorization to export to nations with existing free trade agreements with the U.S. was previously received in November 2014. Today’s announcement conditionally further expands the authorization to include non-Free Trade Agreement countries as well. “We are very pleased with the progress this represents,” said Steve Butt, Alaska LNG senior project manager.

The Alaska LNG project marks another significant milestone with today’s announcement by the United States Department of Energy that it has conditionally authorized the Alaska LNG Project LLC to export liquefied natural gas to non-Free Trade Agreement countries. The application to export up to 20 million metric tons per year of liquefied natural gas from Alaska for a 30-year period was submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy last July. Authorization to export to nations with existing free trade agreements with the U.S. was previously received in November 2014. Today’s announcement conditionally further expands the authorization to include non-Free Trade Agreement countries as well.

Canada's Quebec province could start exporting crude from oil sands and also liquefied natural gas to Asia and Europe from 2017-2018, as buyers search for alternative suppliers to Russia, Quebec's energy minister said. The standoff between Russia and the West over Ukraine has increased Europe's quest for alternative suppliers of oil and gas and Canada's exports to Europe have already started to pick up in the last few months. In September, oil sands giant Suncor exported its first-ever cargo of Western Canadian crude to Europe…

President Barack Obama's sharpest criticism yet of Keystone XL this weekend included a controversial contention that the huge pipeline would be used to pump Canadian oil sands crude to global markets, not to U.S. refiners. TransCanada Corp., the pipeline giant that has been waiting six years for U.S. approval to build the $8 billion line, strongly denies it and says it is constructing the 1,179-mile (1,900-km) conduit only to serve import-dependant Gulf Coast refiners, weaning them away from supplies of heavy crude from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The truth, experts say, lies somewhere in between. The 830,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) pipeline helping link Canada's oil sands to the Gulf Coast was conceived six years ago to supply U.S. customers. Since then, however, the U.S.

Republicans take full control of the U.S. Congress this week with an agenda of trying to force approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline and push back on President Barack Obama's sweeping policy shifts on Cuba and immigration. After years of battles over the budget and other issues, further clashes loom as Republicans who already control the House of Representatives take over the Senate majority on Tuesday after wins against Obama's Democrats in November's midterm elections. Angry over the president's moves last year to bypass Congress on issues such as immigration, Republicans have promised to fight him on a range of issues. Obama has vowed to use his veto pen if Republicans pass legislation he opposes…

Nebraska's Supreme Court ruled against a challenge to the Keystone XL oil pipeline's route through the state on Friday, clearing the way for the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress to try to force President Barack Obama to approve the project. The 1,179-mile (1,900-km) pipeline would send up to 830,000 barrels per day of oil sands crude from Hardisty, Alberta, across the U.S. border to Steele City, Nebraska, where it would connect with the project's already-built Gulf Coast leg. July 2008 - TransCanada Corp announces plans to expand its existing 590,000 bpd Keystone oil pipeline system to the Gulf Coast. September 2008 - TransCanada Corp files an application with the U.S. State Department for a presidential permit allowing construction of the project.

Data showing the heating of Earth in 2104 to the highest level on record will do little to stop Republicans in the U.S. Congress from fighting President Barack Obama's use of executive powers to slow climate change. Republicans, who won control of the Senate in November's elections, campaigned on dismantling Obama's plans to slow the country's emissions. More broadly, they plan to target Obama's recent pledge of $3 billion to a global climate fund that led some to hope the world would reach an agreement to fight global warming in Paris next year. After two U.S. agencies released new climate reports on Friday, the Senate's leading global warming skeptic said human activity was not leading the planet to the brink of devastation.

The Canadian government signed an order on Monday blocking the United States from applying controversial "Buy America" purchasing rules on the demolition and reconstruction of a ferry terminal that is located on Canada's Pacific Coast but operated by Alaska's Department of Transportation. The U.S. federal rules are designed to protect U.S. companies from foreign competition in transportation infrastructure projects. The state of Alaska has refused to waive the provisions for the $15 million rebuild of the Prince Rupert, British Columbia, ferry terminal although the project is solidly in Canadian territory. Canada is fighting back by invoking rarely used anti-sanction laws to prevent bidders on the project from agreeing to use only U.S.-made iron and steel.