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August 2009

Ally

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Air Secret Ingredient in new Heavy-Oil Extraction Method

A "fire in the ground" method of extracting heavy oil could change the way deep deposits are tapped, and alter the face of in situ production around the world.

And the secret ingredient is ... air.

Petrobank, a medium-sized Alberta oil firm, is testing a patented method at its Whitesands pilot plant just west of Conklin, a settlement atop the rich oilsands and heavy oil zone which stretches south from Fort McMurray through Lloydminster.

Compressed air is pumped to an oil-bearing layer, which at Whitesands is about 400 metres deep. At the same time, almost one kilometre away, horizontal production wells are drilled and aimed toward the air injection bore holes.

Steel casing with tiny slots is inserted in the horizontal drill holes, and hooked up to wellheads. After a bit of steam is sent down the air lines to melt the tar-like oil, the steam is shut off.

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Ally

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Calgary Model Could Pay City`s Bills for a new Arena - if Stars Align

So how does the city of Edmonton aim to pay for its share of the proposed new downtown arena?

That remains the$64,000--oops, better make that $300-million --question, 17 months after a city leadership committee tabled its report on the project.

With Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz expected to unveil a billion-dollar-plus mixed-used redevelopment in coming weeks on the Baccarat Casino site, anchored by not one but two arenas, the scope of the project has grown sharply.

It now includes everything from new condo and office towers to adjacent casino and hotel projects, along with retail, restaurants, and even student housing.

The mega-development would act as a kick-start for Carma Developers` stalled $500-million, 1,192-unit Aurora condo project, between 105th Avenue and 106th Avenue, and perhaps even extend south across 104th Avenue, to incorporate the block-long surface parking lot east of the Greyhound Bus station.

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Ally

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Alberta Town Tries Tax Break to Fight Downturn

EDMONTON — The town of Bruderheim hopes to spur development in an area hit by the recession by eliminating civic property taxes for three years on new home and business construction.

The town is about 40 kilometres northeast of Edmonton near the Industrial Heartland, where billions of dollars worth of proposed oil upgrader projects have been delayed or cancelled in the last two years.

Officials who once expected property assessments to grow by five to 10 per cent a year now feel values will go up by one per cent at most, chief administrative officer Tim Duhamel said Friday.

"There was a lot of optimism about growth in Bruderheim before the economy went south," he said.

"A lot of the optimism that was around the town has gone down."

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Ally

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A Hiring Boom Amid Economic Slump

Despite rising unemployment in Alberta, there is a hiring blitz on for two of Canada`s biggest industrial projects near Edmonton--a boom that will be followed next year by a slump in demand for tradespeople.

More than 6,000 contracting staff are currently on site at Royal Dutch Shell`s Scotford bitumen upgrader expansion, but that could soon be 7,000.

"Recently we decided to get ahead and do as much as we can before the winter, so we`d like as many as we can to finish this phase," said Shell spokesman Randy Provencal.

The upgrader is scheduled to open late next year, raising production of synthetic crude to 255,000 barrels a day, much of which is sold to the adjacent Shell refinery.

A similar situation is occurring at Keephills 3, the coal-fired expansion beside TransAlta`s Sundance facility near Wabamun Lake that is being constructed by Epcor Utilities under a joint arrangement.

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Uphill Fight for Natural Gas

It`s about time that natural gas producers took the initiative to promote their product and look for new business in downstream consumer markets.

They need to do it, it can be done, but it won`t be easy, because it means taking market share away from things traditionally powered by the two big bruisers of the energy business: coal and oil. Also fighting for the same piece of business are the young and spirited renewables brothers: biomass, solar and wind.

Like wolves dressed in a sheeps clothing, the young renewables have masterfully positioned their offerings in the hearts and minds of policy makers and the public over the past few years. Like oil and coal, the renewables won`t be happy to see natural gas elbowing their way into the combative energy arena with a low-price, high-quality product and renewed vigor to capture market share. The fight is on.

The match was formalized in Canada last week when the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), the Canadian Gas Association (CGA) and the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA) joined forces to promote the cause of getting North American energy consumers to consume more natural gas in powering their day-to-day activities. This collaborative Canadian initiative complements the recently formed American Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) and also aligns with efforts of the Natural Gas Supply Association (AGSA) out of Washington, D.C.

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Ally

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Billion Dollar Makeover for Core

Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz may be media shy, but the billionaire boss of the Rexall drugstore chain clearly knows how to make a splash.

When Katz Group`s real estate arm finally lifts the lid on its long-proposed downtown arena project in a few weeks` time, many are likely to be stunned by the scale of the ambitious$ 1-billion-plus redevelopment scheme.

If it proceeds as planned, the multiuse project would utterly transform the northern quadrant of the city`s gritty downtown core, and help kick-start a stalled adjacent condo project that could one day house 3,000 residents.

"Everything is still fluid, and nothing is set in stone yet, but this is very much about revitalizing a district, not building a stand-alone arena," said a source familiar with the project.

The dramatic makeover would turn the current Baccarat Casino site and an adjacent parking lot at the northwest corner of 101st Street and 104th Avenue into an entertainment mecca for sports, concerts and other events, while driving related casino, hotel, condo, retail, student housing and office developments, the source said.

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Ally

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Home Sales Forecast to Rebound

CALGARY - The speed and magnitude of the resale housing market`s rebound has been unprecedented and that recovery has prompted the Canadian Real Estate Association to revise its forecast for sales and prices for the rest of this year and into 2010.

That revision is significant for Alberta.

"Alberta was among one of the most dramatic revisions in terms of unit sales," said Gregory Klump, chief economist with the association. "It largely reflects something that already happened--namely the second quarter."

The second quarter saw a combination of low interest rates and a sense among consumers the worst of the recession may be over, he said.

For Alberta, the association is now forecasting MLS residential sales to decrease by 2.5 per cent this year to 55,000 units and increase by 10.5 per cent in 2010 to 60,750 units. In its May forecast, the association predicted Alberta sales would drop by 24.7 per cent this year to 42,450 and increase by 13.3 per cent in 2010 to 48,100 units.

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