- Joined
- Sep 25, 2007
- Messages
- 201
Hi all,
An article from The Edmonton Journal. Excerpts:
Feel it? Suddenly, there`s a buzz in the air. Alberta`s big, bad oilsands are back in vogue. Oh, don`t get too excited -- or aggravated, depending on how you feel about North America`s biggest, messiest industrial project.
The oilsands boom isn`t coming back anytime soon. At least, not in its original, chaotic form.
No one is predicting a sudden gusher of overlapping, poorly planned megaprojects, a brand new influx of tens of thousands of foreign temporary workers, or a rapid rebound to $147-US-a-barrel oil prices.
In fact, another spike in prices (however unlikely) is the last thing anyone wants. That includes OPEC, which sees the current $75 to $80 price range as pretty close to optimal.
The last boom, as you`ll recall, ignited torrid inflation, chronic labour and material shortages, huge cost overruns, and a deluge of criticism from all quarters, from the enviro lobby to former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed.
In its wake, it left a string of cancelled or half-built projects, an army of unemployed workers and engineers, a meltdown in real estate markets, half-empty office towers in Calgary, and an ugly hole in the provincial budget.
Since those wounds are still fresh, any talk of an uptick is still fairly guarded.
Nonetheless, signs of positive momentum are building. Deals are being done, some projects are being restarted, and the financing taps are opening up.
Add it all up, and the picture is one of renewed growth for the oilsands. But this time around, if execs like Suncor CEO Rick George can be believed, it will be carefully stage-managed to avoid the pitfalls of the last boom.
Let`s hope he`s right.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Mo...9557/story.html
Keith
An article from The Edmonton Journal. Excerpts:
Feel it? Suddenly, there`s a buzz in the air. Alberta`s big, bad oilsands are back in vogue. Oh, don`t get too excited -- or aggravated, depending on how you feel about North America`s biggest, messiest industrial project.
The oilsands boom isn`t coming back anytime soon. At least, not in its original, chaotic form.
No one is predicting a sudden gusher of overlapping, poorly planned megaprojects, a brand new influx of tens of thousands of foreign temporary workers, or a rapid rebound to $147-US-a-barrel oil prices.
In fact, another spike in prices (however unlikely) is the last thing anyone wants. That includes OPEC, which sees the current $75 to $80 price range as pretty close to optimal.
The last boom, as you`ll recall, ignited torrid inflation, chronic labour and material shortages, huge cost overruns, and a deluge of criticism from all quarters, from the enviro lobby to former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed.
In its wake, it left a string of cancelled or half-built projects, an army of unemployed workers and engineers, a meltdown in real estate markets, half-empty office towers in Calgary, and an ugly hole in the provincial budget.
Since those wounds are still fresh, any talk of an uptick is still fairly guarded.
Nonetheless, signs of positive momentum are building. Deals are being done, some projects are being restarted, and the financing taps are opening up.
Add it all up, and the picture is one of renewed growth for the oilsands. But this time around, if execs like Suncor CEO Rick George can be believed, it will be carefully stage-managed to avoid the pitfalls of the last boom.
Let`s hope he`s right.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Mo...9557/story.html
Keith
