Proposed U.S. tax reform bad for Canadian oil industry, report says: Ryan Rumbolt
Jack Mintz, director of the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy released a report Tuesday that said President Donald Trump’s tax-reform proposal and the blueprint put forward by the House of Representatives would make new investments in the U.S. oil industry more attractive. Both models would see corporate income tax rates lowered, bringing the U.S.’s marginal effective tax and royalty rate closed to rates in Canada – something Mintz said would have “a very significant impact” on Canada’s oil industry. “Overall our industry will probably not be competitive anymore once you take into account both regulations and carbon policies, relative to United States, if these plans go ahead.” - CBC News
Regulatory process could kill 14,000 jobs: Larry Shaw
On behalf of Ignite Fredericton, the community’s economic development agency, and its Natural Resources Taskforce, I am deeply concerned with the bureaucracy and red tape of Canada’s environmental assessment approval process through the National Energy Board. We are at risk of losing one of the largest economic impact projects in Canada at this time. Here are some numbers for New Brunswick: Construction and development alone would create 3,700 new jobs in the province, with $65-billion in added GDP. Oil pumped through the pipeline would add permanent wealth to New Brunswick, and the project would add $850-million in provincial revenues. Pipelines are safer than transporting oil through the province by rail. And the pipeline will connect continental oil to key refineries like Saint John and to world markets. If we lose this project, it will be due to the unpredictable regulatory process and lack of political will to balance the conversation with facts. - The Telegraph Journal
Lost pipeline not easily replaceable: Telegraph-Journal
Despite the fact that opponents to the construction of TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline continue to affirm that the economic spin-off of the proposed pipeline could be replaced by other types of work, the reality is that industry will continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels. Now, the jobs that would have been created by Energy East might never exist. So long as industry, domestic life and transportation remain heavily reliant on fossil fuels, it is foolish for any country with substantial fuel deposits to not exploit them. - The Telegraph Journal
Company defends Rachel Notley’s support for the oilsands after Brian Jean attacks NDP: David Thurton
After leadership candidate Brian Jean criticized Premier Notley for her climate plans, and a desire to shut down the oilsands at the Oil Sands Trade Show & Conference in Fort McMurray, President of Japan Canada Oil Sands Ltd. Satoshi Abe said he supports the carbon tax. “I think, not only for us, but all energy companies know that we have to address the concerns of climate change,” Abe said Wednesday. “I would like the government to take the leadership on that.” - CBC News
Why investor indifference and constrained output may turn out to be just the recipe for higher oil prices: Peter Tertzakian
The outlook for 2018 oil prices is dull. A majority of pundits have now corralled their one-year forecasts into a narrow, “lower-for-longer” price band, with little disagreement. A humdrum, fifty-dollar-a-barrel price outlook for next year is part of a recipe to stifle investment, mute production growth and burn off inventories. On a positive note, that’s what’s ultimately needed to cook up higher oil prices. A few keystrokes on a Bloomberg terminal will get you a list of 24 recent oil price forecasts from institutional experts. On their own, none of them is worth more than a barrel of coffee, or a cup of oil (the latter is cheaper). The important information in the collective forecasts is the lack of variability. - Edmonton Journal
United States
U.S. plunges $20-million into emerging energy tech: Alan Shields
This second round of funding through the Office of Technology Transition’s Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) will support 54 projects across 12 National Laboratories involving more than 30 private-sector partners. Projects selected for the TCF will receive at least an equal amount of non-federal funds to match the federal investment. “Accelerating the transition of energy technologies from the laboratory bench to the marketplace is an important component of increasing America’s economic prosperity and energy security,” said Secretary Perry. - Energy Voice
Australia
Paris pledge calls for 10 Liddells to be closed, says energy regulator: Ben Potter
Coal-fired generation equal to 10 Liddell power stations will have to be closed by 2036 for Australia to meet its Paris climate agreement pledge, the Australian Energy Market Operator says. AEMO's network development plan released last December said that for Australia to meet the pledge the Turnbull government made at the Paris climate talks in December 2015, 15.5 gigawatts of coal-fired generation would have to close between now and 2036. That is equal to more than 10 times the effective output of Liddell, a 45-year-old power station in the Hunter Valley in NSW that AGL Energy, its owner, wants to close in 2022 in order to build more flexible wind, solar, gas peaking and demand response capacity. - Australian Financial Review