EXPROPRIATE BIG OIL DON'T SUBSIDIZE THEM

Enbridge CEO says federal tax credit needed to boost carbon capture

Enbridge CEO of Monaco.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

Carbon sequestration should be one of the energy sector’s biggest priorities, says the CEO of pipeline giant Enbridge Inc. But Canada needs a tax credit for the technology if it is to attract the vital investment dollars needed to boost the number of emissions. Reducing projects in the country.

Monaco made the comments at Enbridge Investor Day on Tuesday, as Ottawa continues work on the Carbon Capture, Use and Storage (CCUS) investment tax credit promised in its 2021 budget. The federal government finished consultations on December 2, and says it intends to make the tax credit available starting in 2022. , hoping to reduce Canada’s carbon emissions by at least 15 megatons per year.

Calgary-based Enbridge also raised its quarterly dividend to 86 cents a share on Tuesday, up from 83.5 cents, and said it plans to buy back up to $1.5 billion of its stock.

In addition, the company announced the approval of $1.1 billion in new capital projects, including a $500 million expansion of the Valley Crossing pipeline in Texas. It will also spend $300 million on expanding the Dawn pipeline to Parkway, Ontario.

Near Down Center to the petrochemical industry In Sarnia, Ontario, it positions it as a natural hydrogen hub and CCUS, said Mr. Monaco.

Carbon capture projects are facilities that push carbon dioxide emissions deeper into the Earth to keep them out of the atmosphere. Besides injecting carbon trapped underground to boost oil production, the technology can be used in other key industrial sectors, including power generation and manufacturing.

Mr Monaco said technology would “be a necessity” when it came to achieving emissions reduction targets, adding that he expected to see a “very sharp increase” in technology soon.

Power regulator rejects Enbridge’s proposal to contract Mainline

Enbridge considers alternatives to Mainline pipeline after regulator’s decision

The US first implemented the CCUS tax credit in 2008, which was reorganized in 2018. Mr. Monaco said this put the US at the forefront of the sector, but said Canada was behind in developing a similar tax credit.

“We need that to really attract private capital to move forward with CCUS,” he said. “I see this as one of the biggest priorities in terms of energy overall.”

Enbridge last week agreed to partner with Edmonton-based Capital Power Corp on a CCUS project for the energy company’s Genesee Generating Station in Warburg, Alta, that aims to capture up to three million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

Enbridge Vice President Bill Yardley told investors that while Alberta is home to Canada’s most pressing carbon capture opportunity, his company’s appetite for CCUS projects extends across the continent.

He added that Enbridge is evaluating various carbon sequestration projects on the US Gulf Coast.

As for what the sector might look like in the coming years, Mr. Yardley said, given that CCUS’s business model aims to avoid costs while increasing carbon emissions taxes, projects will need to be cost-effective, from their financing to their design.

Enbridge’s focus on carbon capture plays a role in its opportunities in the hydrogen sector – a fuel that has experienced a renaissance in recent years.

Hydrogen emits no pollution when burned as a fuel, making it an attractive opportunity for companies and countries targeting net zero emissions. Hydrogen production using natural gas is a heavy polluter, but emissions from this process can be reduced or eliminated.

With growing demand for the fuel, Mr. Yardley told investors: “Hydrogen blending and a new autonomous hydrogen pipeline and storage present a multibillion-dollar opportunity for us just this decade.”

Enbridge has 10 to 15 hydrogen projects on the go, including several pilot projects to blend hydrogen with natural gas for home and commercial heating.

The company is also evaluating how long-range pipelines can transport hydrogen more efficiently, and ways to route some pipeline assets to carbon dioxide and ammonia (which can be converted to hydrogen at their destination).

In its forecast, Enbridge reaffirmed its full-year 2021 guidance range for EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of $13.9 billion to $14.3 billion, and distributable cash flow per share of $4.70 to $5.00.

For 2022, the company said it expects an EBITDA of $15.0 billion to $15.6 billion, and distributable cash flow per share of $5.20 to $5.50.

While fluid pipelines are expected to make up the vast majority of Enbridge’s asset portfolio through 2022, at 58 per cent, Mr Monaco said renewables were likely “to become a larger part of the pie”.

“There is a lot of abundance in renewables,” he said, adding that he expects Enbridge to spend about $1 billion annually on them.

However, he said Enbridge won’t set a fixed number for renewables growth “because the second you do that, you start to feel the need to invest in order to hit a random target.”

Reported by the Canadian Press

Feds expected to release details of carbon capture tax credit soon, says Cenovus

The Canadian Press - Dec 8, 2021  | Story: 354083

Photo: The Canadian Press

Cenovus CEO Alex Pourbaix speaks at a news conference in Calgary on January 30, 2020.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Cenovus Energy Inc. says Ottawa's forthcoming release of details about its proposed tax credit for carbon capture, utilization and storage projects (CCUS) should be followed by "significant government support" so the industry can widely adopt the technology.

The Calgary-based oil producer has been involved in ongoing discussions with Ottawa over the tax credit, which was announced in this year's federal budget. On Wednesday, Rhona DelFrari, the company's chief sustainability officer, said the talks have been going well.

"Everyone is in a very collaborative mood," DelFrari told reporters following Cenovus' annual investor day event. "We continue to have a lot of ongoing dialogue with them as the government works toward its investment tax credit that they intend to provide more detail about soon."

CCUS is a technology that captures greenhouse gas emissions from industrial sources and stores them deep in the ground to prevent them from being released into the atmosphere.

Proponents say vastly scaling up CCUS across the oil and gas industry will be necessary if Canada is to have a shot at meeting its climate targets. However, some environmentalists are critical of the technology that does nothing to curb overall production of fossil fuel products.

In its five-year plan released Wednesday, Cenovus includes smaller, near-term CCUS projects in the works at its Lloydminster Upgrader, Minnedosa Ethanol Plant, and Elmworth gas plant.

Longer-term, Cenovus is part of the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero Alliance, a group of Canadian oilsands producers whose vision of getting the industry to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is anchored by a proposed major CCUS transportation line that would capture CO2 from oilsands facilities and transport it to a storage facility near Cold Lake, Alta.

Cenovus itself has set a target to reduce emissions by 35 per cent by 2035 from 2019 levels.

However, Cenovus chief executive Alex Pourbaix said he reminds people all the time that CCUS technology is still in its infancy.

"Right now, on its own, CCUS is not an economic technology on its own. It is a pretty significant incremental cost to any energy producer," Pourbaix said.

"Anywhere you have seen CCUS undertaken at scale, it is almost inevitably undertaken with significant government collaboration and support."

Cenovus declined to see what specifically the company wants to see in a CCUS tax credit, but DelFrari said that projects in other parts of the world that have been successful have been anywhere from two-thirds to three-quarters supported by government.

The company has also been encouraging Ottawa to make enhanced oil recovery projects eligible for the tax credit, something the government had originally ruled out. Enhanced oil recovery, or EOR, is a process that can significantly enhance a site's oil production through the process of injecting carbon dioxide underground to extract additional oil from older wells.

"We would be very big proponents and would encourage the government, as these consultations around the investor tax credit go on, to really consider having an open mind about the inclusion of EOR," Pourbaix said.

Cenovus announced a capital spending budget Wednesday between $2.6 billion and $3 billion for next year, up from its guidance for between $2.3 billion and $2.7 billion this year.

The company also said it plans to allocate about 50 per cent of its excess cash flow in 2022 to shareholder returns. Remaining excess cash flow will be put toward the goal of reducing the company's net debt to below $8 billion.

Cenovus said capital spending on its upstream assets next year is expected to be between $1.7 billion and $2 billion, including $1.35 billion to $1.55 billion for its oilsands operations.

Downstream capital investments in 2022 are expected to total between $850 million and $950 million, including $200 million to $250 million for its Superior Refinery rebuild project, which Cenovus expects will be largely offset by insurance.

In its guidance for 2022, the company says it expects total production of between 780,000 and 820,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and downstream throughput between 530,000 and 580,000 barrels per day.

Cenovus said its capital programs and current base dividend are sustainable at a West Texas Intermediate crude price of US$45 per barrel. WTI closed at US$72.05 on Tuesday.

Cenovus Energy plans $2.6B-$3B capital

spending budget for 2022


Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press

CALGARY -- Cenovus Energy Inc. has increased its capital spending budget for next year, against the backdrop of a global commodity boom that has pushed Canadian oil production to all-time record levels.

As part of its annual investor day Wednesday, the Calgary-based energy company announced a capital spending budget between $2.6 billion and $3 billion for next year. It said it will also reduce emissions by 35 per cent by the end of 2035, with the long-term goal of getting to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Cenovus' capital spending plan is up from its guidance for between $2.3 billion and $2.7 billion this year.

The company also said it plans to allocate about 50 per cent of its excess cash flow in 2022 to shareholder returns. Remaining excess cash flow will be put toward the goal of reducing the company's net debt to below $8 billion.

"Building on our upstream production strength in 2021 and the continued optimization of our business, I am confident in our ability to grow free funds flow and deliver sustainable, increased returns to our shareholders," said Cenovus chief executive Alex Pourbaix in a news release.

Capital spending in Canada's oil and gas sector has so far remained subdued this year, in spite of oil prices that are at seven-year highs.

According to Statistics Canada, oil and gas capital spending over the first three quarters of 2021 was $8.5 billion, 32 per cent below the same period during 2019 pre-pandemic.

The industry also spent less than a third of what it did during the same period of 2014. That year, capital investment in the Canadian oilpatch hit an all-time record high of $81 billion.

However, companies are using existing assets to ramp up production to meet global demand. Alberta oil production in October was 119 million barrels, an all-time monthly record, according to Statistics Canada.

Cenovus said capital spending on its upstream assets next year is expected to be between $1.7 billion and $2 billion, including $1.35 billion to $1.55 billion for its oilsands operations.

Downstream capital investments in 2022 are expected to total between $850 million and $950 million, including $200 million to $250 million for its Superior Refinery rebuild project, which Cenovus expects will be largely offset by insurance.

In its guidance for 2022, the company says it expects total production of between 780,000 and 820,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and downstream throughput between 530,000 and 580,000 barrels per day.

Cenovus said its capital programs and current base dividend are sustainable at a West Texas Intermediate crude price of US$45 per barrel. WTI closed at US$72.05 on Tuesday.

How much Suncor and its peers need to spend to hit net-zero

Jeff Lagerquist
Mon., December 6, 2021

Decarbonizing Canada's oil patch will cause a material hit to the free cash flows of producers, but it won't be a "death blow," according to analysts at Scotiabank who worked up rough cost estimates for six of the largest companies.

The bank looked at the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero initiative, a partnership between Suncor (SU.TO)(SU), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO)(CNQ), Cenovus (CVE.TO)(CVE), Imperial Oil (IMO.TO)(IMO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO), and ConocoPhillips (COP) to use carbon capture and other technologies to cut greenhouse gas emissions from operations to net-zero by 2050.

The companies collectively account for 95 per cent of oil sands production. Those firms estimate it will cost $75 billion over 30 years, or roughly $2.5 billion per year, to eliminate the 68 megatonnes of greenhouse gases they emit annually today.

With no company guidance available, Scotiabank based its own cost estimates on the proportion of oil sands production, and applied metrics for greenhouse gas intensity. Canadian Natural Resources and Suncor are projected to spend the most, at $765 million and $760 million per year, respectively, followed by Cenovus at $470 million, Imperial at $380 million, MEG at $65 million, and ConocoPhillips at $60 million.

The figures represent the largest increase in capital spending compared to expected levels in 2022 at Imperial, Canadian Natural, and MEG, at 23.5 per cent, 16.7 per cent and 16.3 per cent, respectively. These numbers assume all costs are borne by industry.

In July, Ottawa formally committed to reducing its greenhouse gas output by 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. The government plans to hit net-zero emissions by 2050.

"Discussions continue between industry and the government on [the] level of financial support," analyst Jason Bouvier wrote in the report released on Friday.

"Although difficult to predict when the governments will provide clarity, we expect it sometime over the next year (hopefully in the early part of 2022). In our view, this clarity is required before industry will start spending meaningful capital."

Bouvier estimates a roughly 70 basis point drop in debt-adjusted free cash flow (DAFCF) yields for the oil sands producers, once the costs to decarbonize are included. That assumes $65 U.S. benchmark crude (CL=F), and 50 per cent government funding of projects.

"DAFCF will remain attractive, even with added decarbonization spending," Bouvier wrote. "Decarbonization costs have a material impact on free cash flow, but we still expect free cash flow to be available for shareholder returns."

Oil prices climbed on Monday, after booking the longest stretch of weekly declines since 2018 last week. Both West Texas Intermediate and European Brent crude have climbed more than 40 per cent year-to-date.

That strength will come in handy as companies ramp up spending to shrink their carbon footprints, according to Deloitte's 2022 oil and gas industry outlook.

"High oil prices are allowing companies to fund their net-zero commitments," the report's authors wrote. "After European oil and gas companies led in net-zero pledges in 2020, many U.S. oil and gas companies, Canadian oil sands producers, and a few national oil companies have joined the net-zero group in 2021."

Deloitte says higher commodity prices have enabled investment in "riskier and expensive green solutions, such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage."

Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist.

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SEE LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for CCS 

THE 1% TREMBLE AND THREATEN
Oil executives take to conference stage to rebut harsh portrayal on climate

by Reuters
Wednesday, 8 December 2021

Executives of the oil and gas industry offer a full-throated defense, describing government opposition to new projects as harming society

* World failing to recognize key role of oil, gas -energy execs

* Too rapid embrace of renewables disrupts price, supply -execs

By Sabrina Valle and Liz Hampton

HOUSTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Oil and gas will remain the dominant fuel source for decades to come, the industry's top executives declared on Wednesday, making their case not to be under valued as governments seek to reduce fossil fuels to address climate worries.

Executives offered a full-throated defense of the industry, describing government opposition to new projects as harming society and using this week's World Petroleum Congress in Houston to rebut the industry's harsh portrayal at the UN COP26 climate conference.

Any effort to bar new development "is misguided" and likely to hurt poorer nations, said OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo. Oil and gas also "can be part of the solution to tackling climate change."

Jim Teague, co-chief executive of energy pipeline operator Enterprise Products Partners, hit at talk of reimposing a ban on U.S. oil exports. Such proposals ignore there are "people that want a better quality of life, and they don't really give a damn about climate change," said Teague.

Carbon emissions and developing cleaner fuels were prominent on the agenda, however. Exxon Mobil Corp and Pioneer Natural Resources pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions from their shale output. Peru also laid out its plan to hold an auction for renewable energy projects.

Oil refiners that supply motor fuels also are moving to develop more biodiesel from plant and animal byproducts. Future refineries "will be more modular," said Ethan Phillips, a partner with consultancy Bain & Co.

Executives largely steered clear of discussions of emissions from the use of their products, called Scope 3. ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance described the largest U.S. independent oil producer's approach as focusing on the emissions "we create as a business."

Several executives, including those who have sharply cut spending on new fossil fuel projects, lamented the lack of investment in new oil and gas projects.

They pointed to the soaring prices in Europe and Asia for gas and power as evidence of how a too-rapid embrace of solar, wind and other renewables can harm consumers and disrupt energy supplies.

Developing countries cannot afford to allow the energy transition to raise energy prices, said Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras executive Roberto Ardenghy.

"We have to be careful not to create energy inequality," he cautioned. "We have to be pragmatic."

Industry advocates said energy consumers can make their own decisions on fuels and how to cut carbon emissions.

"For consumers, it is ultimately about choice," said Frank J. Macchiarola, an official with trade group the American Petroleum Institute.

(Reporting by Sabrina Valle, Marianna Parraga, Erwin Seba and Liz Hampton in Houston; editing by Richard Pullin and Marguerita Choy)

Fossil-Fuel CEOs Strike Back With Warning on Energy Transition

Kevin Crowley and Lucia Kassai, Bloomberg News

The silhouettes of pumpjacks are seen above oil wells in the Bakken Formation near Dickinson, North Dakota. , Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Buoyed by high oil prices, the bosses of the biggest explorers this week laid out a vision for the energy transition that hinges on more fossil-fuel investment rather than less.

The World Petroleum Congress in Houston, an industry showcase, saw last-minute cancellations due to the omicron variant, but it didn’t stop a steady stream of senior executives hammering on the same point: the world will need us for years to come, so let’s invest and produce, or risk more economically damaging price spikes or even social unrest.

“A halt in investment in oil and gas is misguided,” OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said in recorded presentation to the gathering on Wednesday. Almost $12 trillion in spending is needed between now an 2025 to ensure adequate crude and gas supplies, without which the world will see “long-term scars on energy security, affecting not only producers but also consumers.”

Volatile commodity prices and growing inflation anxiety are recasting the narrative around climate change, just weeks after world leaders hashed out a lackluster deal at the the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. 

Natural gas shortages in Europe and Asia, surging fuel prices in the U.S. and concerns over power-grid reliability are forcing governments to confront difficult choices around transitioning to low-carbon energy sources.  

The contradiction is all too apparent in the U.S., where President Joe Biden asked OPEC and its allies to increase crude production just months after enacting a wave of anti-oil policies at home including canceling the Keystone XL pipeline and floating a fracking ban. 

The Biden administration’s plea to OPEC “reveals a fundamental truth that should inform any rationale conversation about the future of energy,” said Chevron CEO Mike Wirth. “Oil and gas continue to play a central role in meeting the world’s energy needs and we play an essential role in delivering them in a lower carbon way.”

$75 Crude

Wirth also called for more “optimism” around the transition away from fossil fuels. “Optimism is the spark of innovation, the catalyst of risk,” he said.

The industry has ample cause for optimism. Even after whipsaw price swings in recent weeks amid omicron’s spread and supply-shortage concerns, international oil prices are up 45% this year at about $75 a barrel. Big Oil is making the most free cash flow since crude traded for more than $100 a barrel seven years ago while the U.S. shale industry is reaping record profits. 

Signs posted outside the convention center in downtown Houston claimed for the city the mantle of “energy transition capital of the world.” But a paramount concern for management teams assembled inside was whether the industry is investing enough in new drilling to meet demand and stabilize prices. 

“Investment is the greatest challenge the oil industry faces today,” said John Hess, CEO at Hess Corp. “Oil and gas are going to be needed for the next 10 to 20 years and lot of it is going to be needed.”

Grim Warning

Saudi Aramco’s CEO warned of “chaos” unless governments stopped discouraging fossil-fuel investments. The Riyadh-based International Energy Forum called on companies to raise spending to $523 billion a year by the end of this decade to forestall an uncontrolled surge in energy prices and economic unrest.

That message is unlikely to go down well with policymakers and environmentalists pushing for a stricter limits on emissions worldwide. But it’s also the new reality as the Northern Hemisphere heads into winter facing the specter of an energy squeeze and record price hikes. 

Focusing purely on supply-side actors won’t arrest climate change, Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO Darren Woods said in his opening speech to the conference’s 5,000 attendees.  

“Narrowly focusing and taking action on one aspect of the challenge could potentially lead to significant unintended consequences,” Woods said. “The best intentions poorly executed can do more harm than good.”

Emission Targets

American companies including Exxon and Chevron are much more focused on cleaning up their own emissions, so-called Scope 1 and 2, rather than those emanating from the use of their products. In contrast to most of their European peers, the U.S. drillers see those Scope 3 emissions, which represent the largest part of oil and gas pollution, as the responsibility of consumers. 

“This is a massive, massive challenge,” said Mark Little, CEO of Calgary-based Suncor Energy Inc.. “And everybody’s trying to solve that on the supply side and the demonization of the producers, but at what point are we going to have the real conversation?”

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

Saudi Aramco warns of 'social unrest'             

if  ffossil fuels ditched too quickly

Global upstream investment had fallen 50 per cent below

historical norms

Author of the article:
Financial Times
Myles McCormick
Publishing date:Dec 08, 2021 • 

Amin Nasser, chief executive officer of Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Aramco). 

The chief executive of Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, has called on global leaders to continue investing in fossil fuels in the years ahead or run the risk of spiralling inflation and social unrest that would force them to jettison emissions targets.

Speaking at the World Petroleum Congress in Houston, Texas, Amin Nasser said there was an assumption that the world could switch to cleaner fuels “virtually overnight”, but that this was “deeply flawed”.

“I understand that publicly admitting that oil and gas will play an essential and significant role during the transition and beyond will be hard for some,” Nasser told delegates at the WPC, one of the biggest gatherings of oil and gas executives in the world.

“But admitting this reality will be far easier than dealing with energy insecurity, rampant inflation and social unrest as the prices become intolerably high and seeing net zero commitments by countries start to unravel.”

Nasser’s comments come amid growing investor and social pressure for fossil fuel companies to make their operations greener. The International Energy Agency said this year that energy groups must stop all new oil and gas exploration projects if the world is to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

“The world is facing an ever more chaotic energy transition centred on highly unrealistic scenarios and assumptions about the future of energy,” Nasser said.

Higher fuel prices — which have risen sharply as global economies bounce back from the pandemic — have left governments scrambling as they try to balance pledges to decarbonize with efforts to keep down costs at the petrol pump.

In the U.S., President Joe Biden, who has vowed to lead a shift away from oil, last month announced the country would unleash 50 million barrels of crude from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of a push to bring down prices at the pump.

The oil and gas industry has seized on the rise in prices to stress the dangers to energy security and affordability of switching too rapidly from traditional fuel sources, and the risks of under-investment in fossil fuels was a common theme at the Houston event.

Jeff Miller, chief executive of the oilfield services group Halliburton, told delegates that there had been “significant under-investment” in the sector over the past seven years, which he pinned both on climate pressure and lack of capital availability driven by the industry’s poor returns.

Global upstream investment had fallen 50 per cent below historical norms, he said, with investment in west Africa down as much as 75 per cent.

“We are in fact going into a period of scarcity and I think for the first time in a long time we’ll see a buyer looking for a barrel of oil as opposed to a barrel of oil looking for a buyer,” Miller added.

Nasser said the majority of “key stakeholders” in industry and politics agreed on the risks of under-investment, but were unwilling to say so openly.

“They say so in private,” he said. “They should say the same in public.”

Separately, Aramco announced on Monday a deal to raise US$15.5 billion by selling a minority stake in a newly-formed gas pipeline venture to a consortium of investors led by BlackRock and the investment management arm of the General Organization for Social Insurance, a Saudi government body.

The transaction marks Aramco’s second major pipeline deal this year as it tries to monetize assets to generate cash for the government, its main shareholder.

© 2021 The Financial Times Ltd

UCP THE HANDMAIDEN OF BIG OIL

Alberta reduced pollution payments for top-emitting oil sands site for 3 years: docs

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.'s Horizon site, about 70 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Alta. From 2018 to 2020, the Alberta government lowered CNRL's costs for another site, in Peace River, to comply with provincial emissions requirements, Reuters reported Wednesday. (CNRL)

By Rod Nickel Reuters
Posted December 7, 2021 11:51 pm

For three straight years, Alberta’s government granted Canada’s most emissions-intense oil sands facility reductions in payments that polluters are required to make for generating higher emissions than most of the industry, a government document shows.

From 2018 to 2020, Alberta lowered Canadian Natural Resources Ltd’s (CNRL) costs for its oil-producing Peace River site to comply with provincial emissions requirements. Peace River’s per-barrel emissions are triple that of the already-high oil sands average.

CNRL, Canada’s biggest oil producer, which made C$2.1 billion ($1.66 billion) adjusted profit in the third quarter, is one of six companies to receive financial relief under Alberta’s compliance cost containment program, which launched in 2018.

READ MORE: Oil industry group says climate pledges risk making Canada an outlier with competitors

Alberta requires high-emitting facilities that pollute more than the industry benchmark to comply, either by buying emissions credits or offsets from better-performing facilities, or by paying into a government fund at the going rate for carbon emissions, currently C$40 per tonne.

The province’s cost containment program, however, eases the financial pain for facilities whose compliance costs are greater than 3% of their sales or more than 10% of their profits, to prevent “economic hardship.”

Alberta’s Environment Department provided, at the request of Reuters, a list of companies that benefited from the program. Spokesman Tom McMillan said it would not disclose the amounts of the cost relief the companies received, calling them “commercially sensitive.”

Greenfire Oil and Gas Limited and Athabasca Oil Corp , which run the second- and eighth-most emissions-intense Alberta oil sands sites, according to government records, also received cost reductions.

Alberta’s government also lowered CNRL’s compliance cost for its Hays gas plant in 2018 and 2019.

CNRL did not respond when asked the financial value of the carbon cost relief it received.

“As we advance technologies to reduce our carbon footprint at all of our facilities, we will continue providing local jobs and economic benefits,” CNRL said in a statement.

Countries that produce fossil fuels face the challenge of cutting emissions without damaging their economies. But Alberta’s policies are “particularly egregious” for prolonging the life of high-emitting facilities, said Dale Marshall, national climate manager at Environmental Defence.

READ MORE: Canada’s oil demand will fall by 2030, IEA report forecasts

Emissions-intense, outdated oil facilities continue to operate despite government attempts to curb emissions.

Environment Minister Jason Nixon defended Alberta’s efforts.

“It is a made-for-Alberta system that works with, not against, our key industries.”

Canada is the world’s fourth-largest oil producer and the oil and gas sector is also the country’s biggest emitter. That makes it a critical challenge for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as he aims to cut Canada’s national greenhouse gas emissions by 40-45% by 2030 from 2005 levels.

Reductions to carbon cost obligations like CNRL’s come in two ways. First, the Alberta government can allow such facilities to buy more carbon credits and offsets to meet their obligations than the 60% limit in place for other facilities. This saves companies money since credits and offsets are typically cheaper to acquire than paying the carbon price.

Secondly, the government can increase a facility’s allowable emissions per year. CNRL, whose C$65 billion market cap is the highest of any Canadian oil and gas producer, received both forms of relief annually from 2018-2020, the document shows.

“There’s always this tension around concern for jobs, but in this case, it’s really questionable to me whether removing (the cost relief program) would actually lead to job loss” given the sector’s strong free cash flows and dividends, said Sara Hastings-Simon, director of the University of Calgary’s sustainable energy development program.

A natural gas plant owned by Keyera Corp, West Fraser Mills pulp facility, and an Enerkem biofuels plant also received relief. None of the companies, other than CNRL, responded to requests for comment. ($1 = 1.2652 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg Editing by Matthew Lewis)

UCP WON'T GET US THERE

Varcoe: A $61B prize for Alberta in the energy transition race

Chris Varcoe, Calgary Herald

 Provided by Calgary Herald Chevron and ExxonMobil booths are seen at the World Petroleum Congress, in Houston, Texas, U.S. December 6, 2021.

A sign near the 2021 World Petroleum Congress boldly declares: “Welcome to Houston — Energy Transition Capital of the World.”

The Texas city is hosting the international gathering this week, bringing together more than 5,000 government leaders, CEOs and industry observers to talk about the future as the energy world tilts on its axis.

Earlier this year, the Greater Houston Partnership released a report that says if the region takes decisive action to lead the low-carbon transition, the region could gain up to 560,000 jobs. If it doesn’t, Houston could lose up to 370,000 positions by 2050.

“We see this an opportunity and an obligation,” said Bob Harvey, president of the Houston business organization.

“The energy industry model that has served Houston’s economy — and that of other energy-focused regions — so well over the last few decades must adapt and change.”

This all sounds familiar for Calgary, another oil and gas city that will be home to the World Petroleum Congress in 2023.

Consider what’s at stake in this transformation for Alberta: $61 billion.

A new study released Tuesday by the economic development organizations for Calgary and Edmonton estimates the global energy transition could create an additional 170,000 jobs in cleantech and contribute more than $60 billion to the province’s economy by 2050.

However, sticking to a business-as-usual approach only generates 20,000 new jobs and $4 billion in economic activity.

“A low-carbon transformation of Alberta’s industries and economy will not be without its challenges,” the report states.

“However, Alberta stands to gain a strong market advantage by developing key clean transition technologies at home. Alberta has considerable technology strengths, energy infrastructure and assets to capitalize on, which also gives the province a unique position in the race to 
net-zero.”

A race to net-zero.

Those are important words to consider because this is a contest to adopt technology, build new infrastructure, attract investment and create jobs.

If the province isn’t ready for such reinvention, it’s going to be left behind.

Alberta will need to attract more than $2 billion annually in new investments by the end of this decade, topping $5.5 billion by 2040, to capitalize on the opportunities ahead, the study says.

That’s up considerably from less than $1 billion in spending that’s now taking place.

The report identifies six sectors with the greatest potential to pull in foreign investment and create employment: electrification, energy efficiency, agriculture technology, hydrogen, digitization, and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).

The province has a solid foundation to build upon.

Alberta is home to more than 900 cleantech firms, 462 companies based in Calgary and 429 in the Edmonton region. Together, they directly employ almost 15,000 people, while 137,000 people work (directly and indirectly) in the broader cleantech realm, according to the report.

Aside from being home to the oilsands, the province has large natural gas supplies, extensive energy infrastructure and a skilled workforce, with the most engineers per capita in Canada.

Calgary, like Houston, sees risks facing the conventional oil and gas business as the global drive to low-carbon energy gains momentum, ESG considerations move to the fore and divestment pressures mount.

“We recognize the world is looking for lower-emitting sources of energy and we want to be well-positioned — we are well-positioned — for that,” said Energy Minister Sonya Savage, who is in Houston to speak at the gathering.

“But there continues to be a demand-pull for oil and gas.”

© Provided by Calgary Herald Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage.

Alberta has to move on both tracks.

Six of the province’s largest oilsands producers are already working together to attain net-zero emissions by 2050

TC Energy and Pembina Pipeline are developing plans for a world-scale carbon transportation and sequestration system. Dow Inc. is looking to build the world’s first net-zero carbon emissions ethylene cracker and derivatives complex at its petrochemical operations at Fort Saskatchewan.

Just last week, pipeline giant Enbridge agreed to collaborate with Capital Power on a proposed CCUS development near the Genesee Generating Station west of Edmonton. The project is expected to capture up to three million tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.

The carbon capture development “will be one of the biggest projects in the world” of its kind, Enbridge CEO Al Monaco said Tuesday.

“To hit any of the targets out there, CCUS is going to be a necessity. So I think we’re going to see a very steep ramp-up — an exponential ramp-up — in CCUS investment,” he said at the company’s annual investor day event.

“I would put the United States maybe slightly ahead, just given where they are with their incentive package … and that will likely rise. Canada, though, I would say is close behind.”

SEE LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for CCS 

Policy certainty will be critical as Canada jockeys with countries such as Norway, the United States or Saudi Arabia to attract investment in the energy transition space.

Calgary Economic Development interim president Brad Parry said access to data and the decision-makers in the Canadian oil and gas sector can help the city become the “epicentre” of the energy transition.

New projects are already lifting off.

Enbridge said Tuesday it will spend $200 million on six new solar self-powering facilities across its North American pipeline network.

The Calgary-based company also earmarked another $100 million for a floating offshore wind project, situated off France’s southern coast.

“What is really important strategically is getting the pace of transition right,” Monaco added. “That means you’ve got to be aligned with policy and economic signals — not too far ahead, but you can’t be behind.”

There will be plenty of places in the running to become the Energy Transition Capital of the World.

In this race, Calgary, Edmonton — and all of Alberta — have to be ready to compete.

Chris Varcoe is a Calgary Herald columnist.

cvarcoe@postmedia.com

NASA's IXPE X-ray telescope will study neutron stars, pulsars, black holes

By Paul Brinkmann

SCIENCE NEWS
DEC. 8, 2021 

An illustration depicts NASA's IXPE satellite pointed at a nebula in space with three identical X-ray optics imagers at top, sensors at bottom and solar arrays. Image courtesy of NASA

ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- NASA intends to learn more about stars, neutron stars, black holes, nebulae and other space objects by launching a new X-ray telescope satellite, the IXPE, from Florida early Thursday.

The $214 million IXPE satellite, or X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, will orbit the Earth as the first satellite dedicated to measuring the polarization of X-rays from a variety of cosmic sources, according to NASA.

Such X-rays are invisible waves similar to visible light that can help scientists understand how space objects behave.

Black holes and magnetars -- small collapsed stars that are more magnetic than any other stars in the galaxy -- will be a particular target of the IXPE mission.

NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is prepared for launch at Ball Aerospace in Colorado. Photo courtesy of Ball Aerospace

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NASA intends to use IXPE to measure the scope of magnetic fields from such objects, and to test how the objects produce such waves, Martin Weisskopf, principal scientist on the mission, said during a press conference Tuesday at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"It's a new toolkit for astronomy and astrophysics, and I can't wait to see it work," said Weisskopf, who also is a NASA chief scientist for X-ray astronomy.

The astronomy community expects to learn unexpected things about stars, pulsars and black holes, he said.

An illustration depicts NASA's IXPE satellite in space with three identical X-ray optics imagers at top, sensors at bottom and solar arrays. Image courtesy of NASA

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"We expect that we'll measure something that no theorist will be able to tell us why we measured it, and that's great. We'll have to modify our expectations," Weisskopf said.

Colorado-based Ball Aerospace built IXPE to expand once it reaches orbit around the Earth, said Makenzie Lystrup, vice president and general manager of civil space at the company.

The observatory has three telescopes to collect X-rays, with sensors connected by a boom and solar arrays for power.

"The mirrors and the instruments have to be about 13 feet apart, but you can't fit that inside a spacecraft [nosecone] and so we built it so ... it compresses down to about only 12 inches during launch," Lystrup said.

SpaceX plans to launch IXPE as early as 1 a.m. EST Thursday, using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, from Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

The launch will be the company's fifth for NASA's Launch Services Program, following the launch of NASA's DART asteroid deflection mission Nov. 24.

The booster for the launch will be used for a fifth time, following recoveries after NASA's Crew-1 and Crew-2 astronaut missions, SiriusXM satellite SXM-8 launch and CRS-23 cargo launch to the International Space Station.

An Afghan village shrivels in worst drought in decades

By MSTYSLAV CHERNOV

PHOTO ESSAY 1 of 13

A boy pushes a wheelbarrow with canisters and his younger brother, on their way to collect water from a stagnant pool, about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from their home in Kamar Kalagh village outside Herat, Afghanistan, Friday, Nov. 26, 2021. Afghanistan’s drought, its worst in decades, is now entering its second year, exacerbated by climate change. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

KAMAR KALAGH, Afghanistan (AP) — Hajji Wali Jan brought a half-dozen plastic containers to the well in Kamar Kalagh on a recent Friday — one of the handful of days each week he and those who live on his side of this Afghan village ae allowed to use the water source.

When it was finally his turn, the 66-year-old filled one container, then a second. The stream of water from the spigot got thinner. He started on another container — but the thread of water tapered away and then stopped before the vessel was full.

The well was done for the day.

Afghanistan’s drought, its worst in decades, is now entering its second year, exacerbated by climate change. The dry spell has hit 25 of the country’s 34 provinces, and this year’s wheat harvest is estimated to be down 20% from the year before.

Along with fighting, the drought has contributed to driving more than 700,000 people from their homes this year, and the onset of winter will only increase the potential for disaster.

“This cumulative drought impact on already debilitated communities can be yet another tipping point to catastrophe,” the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization’s Afghanistan office said in a tweet Tuesday. “If left unattended, agriculture might collapse.”

U.N. experts blamed a late 2020 La Nina event, which can change weather patterns across the globe, for causing lower rain and snowfall in early 2021 in Afghanistan, and they predict that it will continue into 2022.

Afghanistan has long seen regular droughts. But in a 2019 report, the FAO warned that climate change could make them more frequent and more intense. The past year’s drought came on the heels of one in 2018 that at the time was the worst seen in Afghanistan in years.

In the midst of the drought, Afghanistan’s economy collapsed in the wake of the August takeover by the Taliban that resulted in a shut-off of international funds to the government and the freezing of billions of the country’s assets held abroad.

Jobs and livelihoods have disappeared, leaving families desperate for ways to find food. The FAO said last month that 18.8 million Afghans are unable to feed themselves every day, and by the end of the year that number will be 23 million, or nearly 60% of the population.

Already hit hard by the drought of 2018, small villages like Kamar Kalagh are shriveling away, unable to squeeze out enough water to survive.

A collection of mud brick homes in the mountains outside the western city of Herat, Kamar Kalagh is home to about 150 families who used to live off of their livestock, particularly camels and goats, and the salaries of men who worked as porters at the Islam Qala border crossing with Iran.

That work has largely dried up as well, and now the village’s main income is from selling sand.

Ajab Gul and his two young sons dug sand from the riverbed and stuffed it into bags on a recent day. A full day’s work will earn them the equivalent of about $2.

“The grass used to grow up to here,” Gul said, holding his hand up to his nose. “When a camel walked through it, you’d just see his head. That was 20 years ago.”

Now there’s no grass and almost no livestock.

Two years ago, the village’s main well ran dry, so the residents pooled the money to pay for it to be dug deeper. For a while, it worked. But soon it grew weak again. The villagers began a rationing system: Half could draw water one day, the other half the next.

Even rationing is no longer enough. The water from the well is only enough for about 10 families a day, Wali Jan said.

When Wali Jan couldn’t fill his canisters, he sent two of his grandsons to an alternative source. They turned the chore into a game: The older boy, about 9, pushed the wheelbarrow, with his younger brother riding alongside the canisters, laughing.

They went up the hill, down the other side, through another dry riverbed — about 3 kilometers (2 miles) in all. Plodding along in hand-me-down tennis shoes too big for his feet, the older boy tripped, and the wheelbarrow tumbled over. Still, they made it to a pool of stagnant water in the riverbed, its surface covered in green algae. They filled the canisters.

When they got back to the village, their grandfather met them. He unwound his turban and tied one end of the long scarf around a handle on the front of the wheelbarrow to help the boys get it up the last slope to his family’s home.

The elderly and the very young are nearly the only males remaining in the village. Most of the working-age men have left to find jobs, elsewhere in Afghanistan, in Iran, Pakistan or Turkey.

“You don’t find anyone outside during the day anymore,” said Samar Gul, another man in his 60s. “There’s only women and children inside the houses.”

Jimmy Lai among three Hong Kong activists convicted over Tiananmen vigil


Media tycoon Jimmy Lai is among dozens of activists behind bars over a strict national security law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong (AFP/STR)

Holmes CHAN
Wed, December 8, 2021

Jailed Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was among three democracy campaigners convicted on Thursday for taking part in a banned Tiananmen vigil as the prosecution of multiple activists came to a conclusion.

Lai, the 74-year-old owner of the now-shuttered pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, was found guilty of unlawful assembly charges alongside former journalist Gwyneth Ho and prominent rights lawyer Chow Hang-tung.

Authorities had charged more than two dozen pro-democracy politicians and activists over a vigil last year, which commemorated the victims of Beijing's deadly Tiananmen crackdown in 1989 despite a police ban.

The trio were the only ones to contest their charges in court, meaning they were the last to receive their verdict.

They argued they went to light candles in a personal capacity and had not "incited" others to join an outlawed rally.

At one point, Chow, a trained barrister who represented herself in court, likened her actions to "tank man" -- the figure who famously stood in front of a Chinese tank during the Tiananmen crackdown and became an icon.

But District Court judge Amanda Woodcock dismissed those arguments as "frankly nonsensical" and convicted them of charges including inciting and taking part in an unauthorised assembly.

"The reality was, any intention to come out and participate in the candlelight vigil in Victoria Park that night was an act of defiance and protest against the police," Woodcock ruled.

Amnesty International described the verdicts as the latest "attack on the rights to freedom of expression and assembly" in Hong Kong and said authorities had criminalised a "peaceful, socially distanced vigil".

- Ongoing crackdown -

The convictions come as authorities crack down on dissent in Hong Kong and remould the once outspoken finance hub in the mainland's authoritarian image after huge and often violent democracy protests two years ago.

In practical terms, the latest verdicts make minimal difference to the convicted.

Lai, Chow and Ho are among dozens of activists already behind bars facing separate prosecutions under a strict national security law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong last year.

But their prosecution illustrates how much the gap has narrowed between Hong Kong and the mainland, where authorities have long sought to scrub memories and official records of Tiananmen.

For three decades, Hong Kong's annual June 4 candlelight vigil would attract tens of thousands of people, which -- with its slogans for democracy and ending one-party rule in China -- became a symbol for the political freedoms enjoyed in the city.

But Hong Kong authorities have banned the last two vigils citing both the coronavirus pandemic and security fears.

This year, Beijing made it clear it will no longer tolerate Tiananmen commemorations in Hong Kong or Macau, the only two places within China where public remembrance could take place.

Multiple organisers of the annual vigil -- including Chow -- were charged with the national security crime of subversion while a June 4 museum they ran was closed by authorities and its exhibits carted away.

Unlawful assembly prosecutions have been brought against activists who took part in both the 2020 and 2021 banned Tiananmen vigils.

Previously, 16 politicians and activists -- including prominent campaigner Joshua Wong -- were sentenced to six to 10 months in jail over their roles in the vigil, with a few granted suspended sentences.

Lai, Chow and Ho and the remaining activists who pleaded guilty -- most of whom are also in custody -- will be sentenced on Monday.

hol/jta/qan/reb

Record number of journalists jailed in 2021: CPJ

The number of journalists jailed around the world hit a new record in 2021, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday, with China and Myanmar having put a quarter of the 293 media workers behind bars.

© Ed JONES The New York-based CPJ counted 24 journalists killed around the world this year

In its annual report, the CPJ listed 50 journalists imprisoned in China, 26 in Burma, 25 in Egypt, 23 in Vietnam and 19 in Belarus.

Adding those jailed in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Russia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, the CPJ said a total of 293 journalists were in prison worldwide as of December 1 -- up from 280 the year before.

"This is the sixth year in a row that CPJ has documented record numbers of journalists imprisoned around the world," said Joel Simon, executive director of the group.

"Imprisoning journalists for reporting the news is the hallmark of an authoritarian regime," he said in a statement.

For 40 years, the CPJ has denounced journalists being murdered, imprisoned, censored, physically hurt and threatened.

"It's distressing to see many countries on the list year after year, but it is especially horrifying that Myanmar and Ethiopia have so brutally slammed the door on press freedom."

The association also counted 24 journalists killed around the world this year.

Mexico "remained the Western hemisphere's deadliest country for journalists, with three murdered for their reporting and the motives for six other killings under investigation," the CPJ said.

India was also high on the list, with four journalists killed this year.

The CPJ said the number of journalists behind bars reflects "increasing intolerance for independent reporting around the world."

The report noted restrictive environments for journalists around the world, including laws used to target reporters in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, the coup in Myanmar, the war in northern Ethiopia and the crackdown on the opposition in Belarus.

nr/dax/jh/dva

EU seeks to clarify status of delivery app workers


The proposal by the EU executive is an effort to sort out once and for all the employment status of millions of drivers and delivery people (AFP/Philippe LOPEZ)

Alex PIGMAN
Wed, December 8, 2021

The EU will propose a set of criteria on Thursday to determine whether a gig worker in Europe using platforms like Uber, Bolt or Deliveroo should be considered an employee.

The proposal by the EU executive is an effort to sort out once and for all the employment status of millions of drivers and delivery people that the major platforms insist are self-employed.

The debate has clogged up courts across Europe for almost a decade, with judges handing out more than a hundred decisions across the bloc's 27 member states, with hundreds more still pending.

Those decisions can vary markedly, with Belgium on Wednesday denying a small group of Deliveroo workers the designation of employees, while Uber lost in court in non-EU Britain over its service in London.

The potential for an EU-wide redesignation of platform workers sent the share prices of Deliveroo and other platforms plummeting in recent days over fears that their business model was under threat.

"For too long platform companies have made huge profits by dodging their most basic obligations as employers at the expense of workers while peddling the lie that they provide choice to workers," said Ludovic Voet, the head of ETUC, a confederation of EU trade unions.

"The commission's proposal should finally give workers real certainty about their employment status," he added.

According to early leaks of the EU plan, if two of the five criteria are fulfilled, Uber and others could no longer think of themselves exclusively as tech platforms, but would be forced to behave as bricks and mortar firms with labour laws to obey.

Reports said the criteria include whether an app determines pay levels for workers, makes demands on appearance such as the use of uniforms and equipment or restricts a worker's ability to refuse jobs.

The designation would however be rebuttable by the platforms, with companies given a chance to prove the self-employment status of their workers with national laws the final arbiter.

- 'Dire consequences' -

The European Union has very little power over work-related policy in the EU member states and right now platforms face a wide array of national rules on their professional ties to workers.

In Spain, all workers who deliver food must be recognised as employees by the apps they use to work, a situation that pushed Deliveroo to abandon the market.

In other countries, courts have ordered apps to enter collective bargaining agreements even if the workers remain self-employed, a model that some platforms, including Uber, would prefer.

The tech companies lobbied hard against any EU-wide reclassification, citing a survey by Copenhagen Economics that 250,000 people would be forced out of delivery work if the decision applied for all.

They also worry that the criteria will be too vague, with different interpretations bringing on even more court cases instead of legal certainty.

This would have "dire consequences for platform workers themselves, restaurants and the wider EU economy," said Delivery Platforms Europe in a statement.

The commission's proposal will be negotiated with the European Parliament and among the EU's 27 member states in a process that could see significant changes to the project.

arp/dc/rl