Breaking free
The high cost of capital and expensive resource plays make it difficult for many juniors to swim ahead of the school
The days of three guys joining forces, launching an exploreco with a market cap of about $30 million and drilling some wells may be coming to an end. Or at least their prospects for success today are slimmer than they were certainly a decade ago when accretive income trusts provided a ready exit strategy.
Women in Industry
The glass ceiling may still be in place in Canada's oil and gas industry. Women, however, do not see the ceiling as a barrier, but as a challenge. Illustrated below is a comprehensive survey of 500 women in the oil and gas industry.
Producer of the Year
Bonavista combines what was best about income trusts with what is best about corporations to create a dividend-paying powerhouse
Keep it low-key. Don’t stand out in the crowd too much. And because success is a team effort at Bonavista Energy Corporation, bring in your president and chief operating officer to focus the discussion on the company and its people—these are just some of the things Keith MacPhail, Bonavista’s chairman and chief executive officer, seems to have considered before sitting down to discuss his company’s selection as Oilweek’s 2011 Producer of the Year.
Running On Fumes
In another initiative to increase demand and reap the rewards of low natural gas prices, operators are turning to gas to power their drilling activities
Natural gas prices remain below C$4 per thousand cubic feet. Crude oil is hanging in around the US$80 pera barrel mark. And diesel fuel remains around US$4 pera gallon. Natural gas demand remains weak in North America as the United States struggles to avoid a double-dip recession, suggesting that gas prices will stay right where they are for at least the next few years. And most of us fully expect crude oil to climb off the price mat sooner rather than later—after all, plus-$100-plus oil is only a hurricane or a Middle East uprising away.
Baby Steps
As the Yukon’s mining business stands on the threshold of another boom, moves are underway to develop the territory’s natural gas potential
In the vast, under populated Yukon Territories, a 125-year-old mining industry that traces its origins back to the fabled Klondike gold rush is stirring again, driven by record gold prices and other high metals prices.
Calgary Rising
A cow town no more, Canada's oil and gas capital sets its sights on Houston as petroleum capital of the world
Could Calgary become the centre of the petroleum world, finally shedding the century-old moniker of “Cow Town”? Many people think it’s not only possible, but inevitable.
Engineered Response
With a looming shortage of professionals, Canada’s engineering fraternity is formulating ways to fill the gaps
As the Alberta economy shifts into semi-boom mode again, thanks to accelerated oilsands development and unconventional oil and gas expansion, there will have to be more engineers to design the plants and the infrastructure needed to accommodate that growth-and that worries executives with the provincial association that represents engineers.
