March 2012 Alberta Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

A city block filled with opportunities for Brookfield





In May, Brookfield Office Properties is set to own buildings of an entire city block in one of the most prominent sites in downtown Calgary.




The company has entered into an agreement to purchase the Bow Parkade, a seven-storey public parking facility located on a half city block, for $90 million.




The parkade is located on 2nd Street S.W. between 6th and 7th Avenues. When the contract closes on May 1, it will mean that Brookfield has secured control of the entire block. Brookfield already owns the eastern half of the block, known as the Herald site, on which it has an existing application to construct a 1.2-million-square-foot premier office tower.






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[Ally]

Calgary office market on fire





CALGARY ` While demand for office space has slowed across most of the country in the first quarter of 2012, it remains "on fire" in Calgary with low supply, according to a report made public Wednesday by Cushman & Wake-field Canada.




The National Office Trends: First Quarter Report said Calgary's central business district saw vacancy drop from 9.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2011 to 3.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2012. Class A space in the core is virtually non-existent, with vacancy at a low 1.1 per cent now, said the commercial real estate firm.






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[Ally]

Alberta oil boom: Opportunity, stress from coast to coast




Congratulations, fellow Canadians, we`re rich. No kidding, it turns out we`re worth trillions. So as rich people, let`s do what is expected of us. Let`s fight over the money.




Last week, Statistics Canada relayed the comforting news that Canadians own more than $20 trillion in total assets. And with only a piddling $14 trillion or so in liabilities, we`re $6.62 trillion or $191,000 per person to the good. Feel better now?




Don`t. Sharing wealth requires way more wisdom than making it in the first place. Which is why you have troubled Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty complaining publicly about the effects of Alberta`s oil boom. McGuinty thinks Alberta`s oil causes Ontario`s problems, because of what it has done to the economy and especially the dollar.





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[Ally]

Natural gas pain is oil's gain as frack crews head to the Bakken




NEW YORK ` Collapsing natural gas prices have yielded an unexpected boon for North Dakota`s shale oil bonanza, easing a shortage of fracking crews that had tempered the biggest U.S. oil boom in a generation.




Energy companies in the Bakken shale patch have boosted activity recently thanks to an exceptionally mild winter and an influx of oil workers trained in the specialized tasks required to prepare wells for production, principally the controversial technique of hydraulic fracturing.




State data released this month showed energy companies in January fracked more wells than they drilled for the first time in five months, suggesting oil output could grow even faster than last year`s 35 per cent surge as a year-long shortage of workers and equipment finally begins to subside.





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[Ally]

Calgary ranks as global financial centre




Calgary is making a named for itself as a global financial hub, making its way onto the list of the world`s most competitive financial centres compiled by Z/Yen Group.




Coming in at 28th, Calgary falls behind Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, but the big news is that it made the cut for the first time. Its ranking also means that four Canadian cities are now in the top 30 globally.





Calgary was also named in the list of centres where the most number of new offices are expected to open, among the likes of Shanghai, Dubai and Singapore. Calgary has clearly been boosted by the rising importance of Canada`s oil sands and the economic development stemming from it.





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[Ally]

Alberta rejects first nations refinery as too risky




The ground under Alberta is stuffed with gooey bitumen that`s good for little more than waterproofing birch-bark canoes ` until it`s refined into valuable products like diesel, which is why the province wants more upgraders and refineries built within its borders.




Yet a proposal by Alberta`s first nations for a $6.6-billion facility, which would boost the province`s refining capacity while helping pull the bands out of poverty, has been rejected by the provincial government.





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[Ally]

Alberta's economic boom to continue: RBC





CALGARY ` Alberta`s economy launched into a remarkable expansion phase last year, with real GDP reaching an estimated 4.2 per cent, `flashing unmistakable signs` that the provincial economy is booming once again, says RBC Economics.




In its latest Provincial Outlook report released today, RBC says the province`s economic momentum is expected to continue and it forecasts real GDP growth of 3.9 per cent in both 2012 and 2013.




`Alberta`s economy is firing on all cylinders, with real GDP growth in 2011 climbing above the four per cent mark, the highest it`s been since 2006. We anticipate that this pace will be largely sustained over the next few years,` said Craig Wright, senior vice-president and chief economist for RBC, in a statement. `Record levels of production and investment by Alberta`s oil industry are catalysts for the strong economic activity and every sign is pointing toward another banner year for this industry in 2012.`






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[Ally]

Alberta economy booming again



CALGARY -- Oil is making Alberta's economic engine run smoothly enough to call the current upswing a boom, says one of Canada's major banks.




A report from RBC Economics says Alberta's economy launched into a "remarkable expansion phase" in 2011, with real GDP reaching an estimated 4.2%, and the momentum expected to continue in 2012-13 at 3.9%.




"We're expecting strong investment in terms of oil production and pipeline," said Paul Ferley, assistant chief economist with RBC.





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[Ally]

Is it time to abandon the oil sands debate?





Canada's natural resources minister told delegates at the International Energy Forum in Kuwait that his country was on the cusp of becoming an "energy superpower." Canada ranks No. 6 in terms of global oil production, but much of its crude exists in the form of oil sands. European leaders are considering a measure that would classify oil sands as an environmental issue, prompting Canada to threaten to take the issue to the World Trade Organization. With the U.S. political system in a deadlock over Canadian crude, the Ottawa government is now working to convince the international community that the global market is in jeopardy if polices "discriminate against oil sands."







Drill-happy critics of the Obama administration are painting the Keystone XL oil pipeline planned from Alberta as a panacea to U.S. economic woes. Because of debates over the planned route through Nebraska, however, the White House has pushed the issue aside for now. The pipeline company behind the project, TransCanada, has opted for a smaller leg in the United States while the Canadian government has thrown its support behind the Northern Gateway pipeline meant for Asian exports.





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[Ally]

Oilsands companies win responsibility awards




CALGARY ` Oilsands producers won five of six categories in the Responsible Canadian Energy Awards handed out Wednesday night in Calgary.




The awards presented by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producershttp://www.calgaryherald.com/busine...ssociation of Petroleum Producers/Topic2.html recognize projects demonstrating leading environmental, social, and health and safety performance.




`This is our means of recognizing leadership among our members in delivering environmental, social and health and safety performance,` said CAPP president Dave Collyer in a news release.






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[Ally]

Obama faces opposition on two fronts by supporting southern leg of Keystone




WASHINGTON ` In supporting Calgary-based TransCanadahttp://http://www.transcanada.com/`s decision to build the southern leg of the Keystone XL oilsands pipeline, President Barack Obama has managed a rare feat ` angering both environmentalists and energy companies at the same time.




Obama will deliver a major speech Thursday endorsing the expedited construction of TransCanada`s proposed pipeline from Cushing, Okla., to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas.






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[Ally]

U.S. energy committee endorses oilsands extraction





A Republican-led U.S. congressional subcommittee discussing oilsands technology Tuesday endorsed fast-growing extraction of Alberta's vast bitumen reserves, as conservative and liberal politicians alike publicly embrace continental fossil fuel development ahead of the presidential election.




The soaring cost of gasoline and a high U.S. unemployment rate provided a backdrop for support from the House energy and commerce subcommittee on energy and power, which hailed Canada's regulatory regime for enabling domestic production growth and slammed U.S. President Barack Obama's energy policies for doing what its chairman called the opposite.






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[Ally]

Edmonton Arena plan includes ground-level plaza




EDMONTON - The downtown arena development will feature a ground-level pedestrian plaza to better tie the project into street life, a city official said Wednesday.




The plaza at the south end of the pedestrian bridge over 104th Avenue was originally intended to be at bridge height to tie into the pedway system, said Rick Daviss, executive director of the sports and entertainment district.




Now people will come down escalators once they`ve crossed the road, he said.





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[Ally]

Province offers Fort McMurray land for development




EDMONTON - After a decade of frustration as a shortage of residential and commercial land forced prices skyward in Fort McMurray, the province announced Wednesday a comprehensive strategy for releasing more Crown land in the region.




`Last year, we made more than a thousand acres of land available for development in Fort McMurray, but this isn`t enough to meet the demand,` said Jeff Johnson, Minister of Infrastructure, in a statement.




Fort McMurray has been seeking `an ongoing tangible plan` for land development that will help stabilize land prices `and help make Fort McMurray affordable,` he said. Currently the average price for a single family home is $725,000.





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[Ally]

Alberta oil should burn in Atlantic Canada: Senator Mike Duffy





Senator Mike Duffy says Atlantic Canada needs access to Alberta oil to combat the high international price of crude and to solidify the country's long-term energy security.







But while the former political commentator from Prince Edward Island says access can be as simple as reversing an existing Ontario pipeline, he warns that environmental opposition may stand in the way.







"Maritimers are paying the world price of oil because they do not have access to lower-price Canadian crude," Duffy said. "Most Maritimers are unaware that the oil we burn in our cars and our heating oil comes from offshore, it's not Canadian oil, some coming all the way from the Middle East.






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[Ally]

Lethbridge becoming more attractive to immigrants





Lethbridge is becoming a popular destination for immigrants from all over the world, and with them comes change for local community groups.





Most of the immigrants who choose to come to Canada still flock to the country's most heavily populated cities: Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. But Calgary is fast becoming a top fourth choice, and many of those who find their way to the Prairies settle in Lethbridge, a network of community groups and service providers heard at a "Newcomers Network" event Wednesday.





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[Ally]

TrasnCanada sticks to timeline despite Obama's commitment to fast-track Keystone




TransCanada Corp.http://http://www.transcanada.com/ confirmed Thursday a U.S. presidential plan to fast-track the southern leg of the company`s proposed Keystone XLhttp://http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/energy-resources/misc/keystone pipeline/topic2.html oil pipeline does nothing to speed up its timetable.




Speaking at the major U.S. oil hub of Cushing, Okla. with TransCanada officials in attendance,




Obama, facing election-year pressure to bolster the U.S. energy industry, said his new plan to expedite the southern leg of Keystone XL was a `common sense` move that would reduce an oil glut that is slowing U.S. refining.






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[Ally]

Obama trumpets decision to proceed with part of Keystone pipeline




WASHINGTON ` It was TransCanada's pipe that formed the photo-opportunity backdrop and it was TransCanada's storage yard. But it most definitely wasn't TransCanada's event.







President Barack Obama on Thursday swooped into oil-rich Oklahoma to trumpet his administration's decision to fast track the southern leg of the Calgary-based company's Keystone XL pipeline, calling it a "common sense" decision that will alleviate a growing oil bottleneck at the state's Cushing hub.







His bigger message, however, was a political one ` directed straight at Republicans who hope to wield Keystone XL as a club against Obama in the fall presidential election.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

U.S. energy committee endorses oilsands extraction





A Republican-led U.S. congressional subcommittee discussing oilsands technology Tuesday endorsed fast-growing extraction of Alberta's vast bitumen reserves, as conservative and liberal politicians alike publicly embrace continental fossil fuel development ahead of the presidential election.




The soaring cost of gasoline and a high U.S. unemployment rate provided a backdrop for support from the House energy and commerce subcommittee on energy and power, which hailed Canada's regulatory regime for enabling domestic production growth and slammed U.S. President Barack Obama's energy policies for doing what its chairman called the opposite.






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[Ally]

Trans Mountain oil pipeline overbooked for April





CALGARY ` Kinder Morgan Energy Partners said on Thursday its Trans Mountain oil pipeline system to Canada`s West Coast from Alberta is overbooked again for April, but to a lesser extent than has been the case over the past four months.




Kinder Morgan said the 300,000 barrel-a-day pipeline was overnominated by 61 per cent for next month, meaning shippers will be able to deliver just 39 per cent of hoped-for volumes.




That compares with a limit of 30.6 per cent for March.






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