The Globe and Mail - Inside Energy

Devon Energy sails away from Equatorial Guinea

Norval Scott — Tue, 8 Apr 2008 13:26 EDT

Unusual news from Africa today. Devon Energy – a mid-size U.S. independent, that has a large Canadian subsidiary – has sold off its assets in Equatorial Guinea as part of a divestiture strategy, getting $2.2 billion (U.S.) for them. So far, so normal. But, there are two weird things about - Follow link to read full post

How to kick oil dependency

Shawn McCarthy — Thu, 3 Apr 2008 15:42 EDT

Robert Zubrin is an author of science fiction novels and a proponent of a manned mission to Mars, but he is seized with a more earthly passion: breaking the hold that the OPEC oil cartel has over the United States and other oil-dependent countries. Mr. Zubrin offers up a simple answer that he says would - Follow link to read full post

The Kremlin reconsiders

Shawn McCarthy — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:07 EDT

Russia is a real energy superpower, with the world's largest natural gas reserves and second only to Saudi Arabia in oil production and the willingness to use its energy riches for political advantage. But its awesome potential as an energy producer is frustrated by punitive taxation that discourages - Follow link to read full post

The value of a loonie

Norval Scott — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:29 EDT

One of the cris de coeur heard from Canada's oil patch last year was that while companies were enjoying the benefits of higher oil and gas prices, a lot of their profits were being eaten up by the strong Canadian dollar. While it's probably too strong to describe the loonie as a petro-currency, there - Follow link to read full post

How much crude does the U.S. want?

Norval Scott — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:46 EDT

Nymex crude futures saw their biggest one-day price drop Wednesday since 1991, falling nearly $5 (U.S.) to close at $104.48 a barrel. While that's down from the $112 seen recently, it's still exceptionally high in historical terms (given that before this year, the record oil price high, adjusted for - Follow link to read full post

Transalta 1, Luminus 0

Norval Scott — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:50 EDT

So far in 2008, the Canadian oil patch has seen a surprising number of shareholder/board disputes. Last week, First Calgary Petroleum Ltd. revealed that a consortium of Russian shareholders are trying to oust its chief executive, while Compton Petroleum agreed last month to undertake a strategic review - Follow link to read full post

Good luck with Harper government

Shawn McCarthy — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:47 EDT

It’s gotten nowhere with the National Energy Board, so now the union representing Canada’s energy workers has petitioned the federal cabinet in its battle against oil sands-export pipelines. Call it informed speculation, but Inside Energy isn’t expecting the Communications, Energy - Follow link to read full post

Chad and crude prices

Norval Scott — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:27 EDT

One of the more interesting side notes in crude’s run-up to its current exorbitant levels is the extent to which the market has been influenced by incidents in countries that, in previous years, wouldn’t have possibly affected the global oil futures price. One of those countries is Chad - Follow link to read full post

BP's new faith in Canada

Norval Scott — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:36 EDT

BP PLC has taken another step towards re-establishing itself as a major Canadian player, as it has struck a deal with Irving Oil Ltd. that could see the British company take a stake in the Eider Rock refinery project in Saint John.Under the deal, BP will contribute $40-million towards the next engineering - Follow link to read full post

Skunks at the oil boom party

Shawn McCarthy — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:05 EDT

Talk about playing the role of smelly rodent at a garden party! Forget about crude prices hitting $110, ignore the recent surge in natural gas prices that have topped $10, never mind that oil companies have been posting record profits in recent quarters. The skunks at John S. Herold Inc. and Harrison - Follow link to read full post