November 2009

[Ally]

Modular House `EcoFabulous`

The EcoFabulous home may not yet have a buyer, but it has plenty of admirers, including the author of a new book titled Prefabulous and Sustainable.

The book is meant to dispel myths about prefab homes and show how beautiful and "green" they can be, says writer Sheri Koones,

Designed and built in Vancouver, the EcoFabulous home is one of 25 modular homes Koones features in her book, which is to be published next spring.

The house is one of only two from Canada out of more than 200 she considered. The other Canadian home is in Georgina, Ont.

The designer of the EcoFabulous home is Vancouver architect Kanau (Kon) Uyeyama.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Pipeline to West Coast gains backing

Commercial support is building for a new pipeline to carry oil sands crude on its way to Asia, as Canada`s energy industry seeks diversification from the U.S. market and an escape valve from potentially punitive climate-change regulations.

For years, two major West Coast oil pipeline projects have languished without enough momentum to build the multibillion-dollar infrastructure required to take bitumen from the Fort McMurray, Alta., region to tidewater.

In 2005, when Enbridge Inc. (ENB-T44.10-0.12-0.27%) sought shippers for its Northern Gateway project, an 1,170-kilometre pipeline capable of carrying 525,000 barrels per day to the British Columbia coast, support was too low and the proposed project lost traction.

By early next year, however, Enbridge expects to announce for the first time that it has secured "solid" commercial backing for Gateway, marking a major step forward in the country`s plans to diversify its oil exports.

That comes amid a shifting of the landscape, as industry executives, politicians and economists increasingly promote the idea that it is risky to rely solely on the United States to buy Canadian crude, especially as the oil sands grow in importance and demand for oil stagnates south of the border.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Arena expected to pump Property Values

A new arena in downtown Edmonton could add tens of millions to downtown property values, says University of Alberta economist Brad Humphreys, an expert in the economics of arena construction.

Many economists, Humphrey among them, have for years made the argument that arenas contribute little or nothing to local economies. But in a new working paper on the Columbus, Ohio, arena district--which is often held up as a model for Edmonton`s proposed downtown arena district-- Humphreys and his fellow researcher Xia Feng found that pro sports facilities can result in important benefits to the local economy. The key is to ensure they are properly built and integrated into both an entertainment district and the overall community.

"A new state-of-the art facility integrated in a comprehensive urban redevelopment program and located in the heart of a large city might be expected to generate increases in residential property values near hundreds of millions of dollars within a mile of that facility, if the location, planning, construction, and development is carried out carefully," the study states.

The economic benefit doesn`t come from any increased wages or spending as a result of a thriving arena district, but arises out of the arena`s intangibles. That includes the pride and good feeling associated with the district, which makes it desirable for

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Flow of Jobs, Royalties seen as Alberta stakes CO2 `trunk line`

EDMONTON — Thousands of jobs, $15 billion in additional royalties from oil produced from depleted reservoirs and world-class expertise in carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technologies were touted as the prize for the province, which Tuesday agreed to pay$495 million over 15 years toward the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line.

The 240-kilometre line would eventually carry up to 40,000 tonnes a day of liquefied carbon dioxide, making it the world`s largest-capacity project.

"Our goal is to become a leader in this technology, which will be useful in other jurisdictions around the world where emissions are higher than Alberta`s," Premier Ed Stelmach said after signing a letter of intent with project sponsors Enhance Energy and North West Upgrading.

He said the jobs will come from retrofitting of the Redwater Agrium fertilizer plant to capture a stream of pure CO2, "and from the North West Upgrading plant when it is built," as well as added work in oilfields all along the pipeline route.

Stelmach expects the province to be a world leader in carbon dioxide management, and show the world that Alberta has a green solution.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Alberta Productivity Lagging

Alberta`s survival as major global player depends on significant productivity improvements, especially in the energy sector, the Edmonton Economic Development Corp. annual economic outlook luncheon heard Tuesday.

The province has gone from a low-cost jurisdiction to the highest in North America, and that has to change, a high-profile panel from the economics, business and political fields agreed.

"This is likely to be the first recovery led, not by North America or Europe, but by Asia, and it will be driven by energy and materials," said Leo de Bever, CEO of Alberta Investment Management Corp. (AIMCo).

"Alberta will be right in the middle of it, but we have to do something about productivity."

The bumper stickers after the last boom that read "please God, give me another boom . . . `` were ignored, he said. "We got our boom, but we didn`t do any better than the last time. We are really a high-cost jurisdiction, particularly in the energy sector."

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Alberta Jobless numbers soar

EDMONTON - An additional 14,400 Albertans started receiving employment insurance benefits in September — a 25 per cent rise that pushed the total number of recipients to 71,900, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

The increase comes after two months of slight declines and means the number of recipients in the province is up 53,700 from October 2008 when Alberta employment peaked, the federal agency said.

In Edmonton, 14,920 workers received EI benefits in September — up more than 11,000 or almost 290 per cent over the last 12 months.

Calgary posted an even steeper increase, with the number of beneficiaries in September hitting 18,830, up 375 per cent in a year.

Statistics Canada said the large Alberta centres showing the highest year-over-year increases were Grande Prairie, Calgary, Medicine Hat, Red Deer and Edmonton.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

World Oil demand growth to Outpace supply in 2010: Poll

LONDON/NEW YORK -- Growing world oil use will likely outpace the rate of new supplies in 2010, eroding the huge stockpiles of crude which have mounted around the world since the start of the global economic crisis.

According to a Reuters poll of ten top oil-tracking analysts and organizations, oil demand is predicted to rise by 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) next year to 85.9 million bpd.

At the same time, the rise in production from outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and output of natural gas liquids (NGLs) from OPEC members is seen growing by just 800,000 bpd in total.

"The key question for prices is supply," Barclays Capital analyst Costanzo Jacazio said.

"2010 is really a bridging year -- if the economies continue to perform as well as they have been doing during the early stages of the recovery, then I think by 2011 we`ll be seeing the demand numbers at or above where they were in 2008."

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Yedlin: Report waters down truth about Oilsands

It seems a week doesn`t go by without a study or a statement regarding the evils of Canada`s oilsands. This week`s version is called Watered Down, and it deals with, you guessed it, water usage in the oilsands.

The study, a collaborative effort among seven environmental groups, makes a number of assertions designed to be more alarmist than informative.

And as many of these studies tend to be, this one carries with it the sin of omission on everything from the way it chooses to present water consumption by oilsands players to suggesting the lack of federal government involvement in a regulatory context.

"It`s a position piece putting forward the perception the feds are not involved, but that`s not true," said Preston McEachern, section head with Alberta Environment overseeing science, research and innovation in the oilsands.

But the troubling aspects go far beyond the assumption that the federal government should take a larger role in what goes on in northern Alberta.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

$13.5 Million budget shortfall looms for Calgary

CALGARY - A day after agreeing on a tax hike of just under five per cent next year, city council already finds itself staring at a $13.5-million hole in 2011.

The city has a year to tackle the predicted shortfall, while continuing cost-saving strategies such as looking at whether to fill job vacancies.

"The budget is always about looking ahead. We know we`re going into 2011 with a shortfall, we have to watch our spending," said Ald. Gord Lowe, chairman of the finance committee.

Some are questioning council`s ability to spend less. Next year`s tax increase will add $54 to the average residential property tax bill.

A Canadian Federation of Independent Business report released Tuesday found Alberta municipalities are increasing their spending at 1.6 times the rate of population and inflation growth. Calgary came in at 1.4 per cent.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Gas puts Cash in Coffers for Alberta as Natural Gas revenue lags

The Alberta government made more money on oil, but less on natural gas in its fiscal second quarter, prompting it to revisit its commodity price expectations for the year.

In its second-quarter update, the province said it stands to take in about $5.6 billion from non-renewable resource revenue in the current fiscal year, down about $346 million from its original budget estimates due to lower natural gas prices, but up a whopping $1.7 billion from the first quarter due to higher bitumen and oil prices.

Consequently, the province raised its full-year oil price estimate to$67.51 US per barrel for the fiscal year--compared to a previous estimate of $55.50 --and slashed its natural gas forecast to $3.25 Cdn per gigajoule from a previous forecast of $3.75 at the end of the first quarter and $5.50 when the budget was announced.

Where the original estimates were considered optimistic, Finance Minister Iris Evans defended the new estimates from being too conservative given that oil prices have been hovering near $80 US and gas is back above $5. Both oil and natural gas markets were closed Thursday for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

"The fluctuations have been wild in gas. There`s been no economist that`s been able to explain it adequately," she told reporters in Edmonton.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Oil Junior doubles Bakken spending

Fast-growing junior oil and gas explorer Painted Pony Petroleum Ltd. is spurring its activity in the Saskatchewan Bakken tight oil play as it almost doubles its capital spending plan for 2010 to $90 million.

The company, whose share price has gone up four times from the start of the year to $5.90, noted Thursday that production in the third quarter grew to 1,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 26 per cent over the second quarter and 79 per cent from the same period of 2008.

It registered a net loss of $2 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, but despite lower oil prices, cash flow was steady at $4.5 million compared with $4.8 million a year earlier.

"On an economic basis right now, a barrel of oil is probably worth four or five times a boe of gas," said president and chief executive Pat Ward, who estimates the debt-free company will spend just $50 million this year due to lower commodity prices after $73 million in 2008.

"We`re going to start spending a bit more money on our gas up in B.C., but we`re going to focus approximately 75 per cent of our budget on light oil just because of the rate of return."

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Tolko will close High Level saw mill

EDMONTON — Citing "the worst market conditions" ever, Tolko Industries Ltd. announced Thursday it will close its High Level sawmill indefinitely.

The Vernon-based company said it has notified employees and contractors at its lumber division plant in the town about 730 kilometres north of Edmonton.

The mill will operate until Dec. 18th, when it`s expected to exhaust its current log inventory. Its planer will continue to operate until mid-January before also shutting down, Tolko said.

"While significant operational improvements have been made in a number of areas, and the efforts of our employees and contractors are recognized, the reality is that we continue to be in the worst market conditions our industry has every seen," said Mike Harkies, vice-president and general manager of the company`s solid wood and kraft paper division.

"The current cost structure at High Level simply makes the continued operation of that mill not viable."

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Finning sells more giant trucks to Alberta Oilsands

EDMONTON — Shell and its two partners in the Albian Sands project are spending up to $60 million this month for some very large toys--seven giant yellow Caterpillar 797B mining trucks and nine D11 track-type tractors that resemble huge bulldozers.

Finning International announced the sale Thursday, and the behemoths will be on their way in just a couple of weeks.

"They are for the end of the year, and we`ll be shipping up the parts immediately for assembly on-site north of Fort McMurray," said Finning spokesman Mauk Breukels. "These are the largest trucks and tractors we make, and this is really positive news for Finning.

"They will be added to the existing fleet at Albian, which is largely Caterpillar."

Albian owns more than 200 Caterpillar trucks and tractors.

Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Alberta`s deficit shrinks by $2.6 Billion

CALGARY - Stronger investment income, oil royalties and corporate income tax revenues have buoyed the Alberta government`s economic picture, reducing the province`s projected deficit to $4.3 billion.

In its fiscal update in August, the government forecasted the 2009-10 shortfall to rise to $6.9 billion from its initial budget projection of a $4.7-billion deficit.

The improved outlook, however, won`t change government plans to cut roughly $2 billion from next year`s budget. The province has already trimmed $430 million from the books this year, attributing savings to hiring freezes and reduced spending on travel, organzining conferences and hiring consultants.

However, a detailed list of the cuts wasn`t immediately available Thursday.

"While it is heartening to see some improvement in the province`s finances, we`re still forecasting a significant deficit," Finance Minister Iris Evans said in a statement, as the government released its second-quarter fiscal update.

Read the full article here.