Oil sands tailings technology

A Syncrude tailings pond. Photo by
the Pembina Institute.

Tailings are a big deal for oil sand mines. They take up huge amounts of space and are a massive ugly target for environmentalist critics. This Rigzone article discusses the state of affairs on the matter.

Recent Long Lake performance better than expected

The Long Lake site.
Photo from
Global Forest Watch Canada

Much  maligned Long Lake, a property operated by Nexen, has apparently had some promising performance from its latest few pads.

Enbridge has pipeline failure, spills 1400 barrels near Elk Point, Alberta

A map of the pipeline route
and spill location.
From seankheraj.com

On Monday, Enbridge had a 1,450 barrel leak from its Athabasca Pipeline near Elk Point about 120 miles east of Edmonton.

DINOSAURS!

Jason Young, Dinosaur Hunter.
Image by Syncrude via
the Calgary Herald

A story I missed over the past while, there have been some more dinosaur finds at Syncrude! :O

Ric McIver says oil companies should pay to twin Highway 63

Ric McIver, former mayoral candidate and alderman and current MLA and Minster of Transport, says he would welcome oil sands companies chipping in to twin Highway 63 from Edmonton to Fort McMurray, sometimes referred to as the highway of death. I think it's good of McIver to remind everyone why it was such a terrific idea not to elect him as mayor.

SWM creates oil sands ETF

Sustainable Wealth Management, an investment company, has introduced an oil sands exchange traded fund (ETF). They appear from their website to be Canadian. The fund will hold about 18 securities and charge 50 basis points a year as management fees.

Koch brothers to divest oil sands assets, are evil

The Kochs

Koch Industries, the conglomerate owned by the shadowy billionaire libertarian Koch brothers, has put stakes in some of its oil sands assets up for sale. The properties are in Cold Lake, Mackay, Fire-bag, Muskwa, Namur and Pelican Lake. 

Adani is third Indian company to weigh bid for ConocoPhillips assets

A private company, Adani resources, has expressed an interest in bidding on some of the oil sands assets ConocoPhillips is looking to sell. They join compatriot companies ONGC and Oil India, both of which have also been looking at the same properties recently.

BlackPearl applies for big Blackrod oil sands project, aren't real pirates

The logo the company should
have used but, inexplicably,
didn't.

BlackPearl, a smallish Calgary heavy oil and oil sands company, has applied for an 80,000 barrels per day project in its Blackrod area. The first phase aims to produce 20,000 barrels per day and start production in around 2016 at a cost of $700 to $800 million.

ONGC might bid on ConocoPhillips assets

Hot on the heels of their compatriots, ONGC, another Indian government owned oil company, is looking to invest in the oil sands assets of ConocoPhillips (COP). This time they say they have $5 billion to spend, much more than the $100 to $200 million Oil India had suggested a week ago. 

Oil price drop's effect on the oil sands

From the article.

This Financial Post article discusses the effect of the recent drop in oil prices on oil production in Canada and oil sands production specifically. Prices have been driven by news of slowing growth in China, a weak US jobs report, economic uncertainty in Europe and an easing of tensions in the middle east (other than Syria, of course, which doesn't export much oil anyway). It claims some oil sands projects are now uneconomic.

Oilsands Quest to be removed from NYSE

Oilsands Quest is a troubled oil sands company whose main asset straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. They were aiming to become the first oil sands company operating in Saskatchewan. They've been under creditor protection for some time, however, and now are being removed from the New York Stock Exchange because they can't meet the exchange's requirements.