$27M from Alberta government goes to research in health, energy, environment, agriculture and astrophysics
An investment of $27 million from the Alberta government will significantly boost research capacity and lead to innovations across the sciences at the University of Alberta. The provincial government announced recently that a four-year investment through its Research Capacity Program will be used to upgrade or create new facilities and infrastructure for 11 research projects.…
It was responsible for nearly 26,500 direct jobs and more than 36,100 indirect jobs in 2017
By Ven Venkatachalam and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre British Columbia has been producing oil and natural gas since 1952. As of 2018, B.C. produced 32 per cent of Canada’s natural gas and two per cent of Canada’s conventional daily oil production. The government collects royalties from oil and gas development, supporting economic prosperity in…
The dip came as a new COVID-19 strain sparked fears of renewed lockdowns and demand destruction
World crude oil markets crashed on Friday by more than 10 per cent. For the first time since late September, West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude, tumbled below $70 a barrel, while the global benchmark, Brent, slumped to less than $75 a barrel. This crash wasn’t anticipated. The relief didn’t just come from the co-ordinated…
$2.1B in salaries and wages were generated as the result of oil and gas spending in 2017
By Ven Venkatachalam and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre A headline screamed “The end of the Oil Age” in the Economist in 2003. Fast forward 18 years and that still doesn’t make sense in many ways. The demand for oil is increasing across the globe. Even U.S. President Joe Biden is asking the Organization of…
The Wet’suwet’en are trying to preserve our planet in the face of the oil industry trying to amass profit
A major issue is getting surprisingly little coverage in the Canadian media. While we looked away to watch the impact of the climate crisis on farmland in southern British Columbia, 50 heavily armed RCMP constables raided a peaceful blockade in Wet’suwet’en territory in the north of the province. The police used helicopters and canine units…
U.S. "commitment" to tackle climate change crumbles in the face of climate poverty
With the possibility of co-ordinated moves by major crude-oil consuming nations, the markets took a hit last week. On Friday, oil prices were down four to six per cent. Strong demand growth and a tight leash on global supplies have driven the oil markets in recent months. New COVID-19 lockdowns in parts of the world…
The world is learning the hard way that the global economy still relies on fossil fuels
With the UN-sponsored Climate Change Conference (COP26) climate talks in Glasgow over, it is important to review some of the agreements and implications that have resulted from this process and assess the impact on Canada’s energy resources sector. Putting the rhetoric in context One can take seriously the undeniable threat posed by climate change while…
Energy sector created more than 20,000 jobs and nearly $7 billion in GDP in 2017 alone
By Ven Venkatachalam and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre Next year will mark 30 years of offshore oil and natural gas production in Atlantic Canada. In that time, Atlantic Canada has been the primary source of human capital for the oil and gas industry in other parts of Canada, while being a significant recipient of…
Most likely course of action is a release of oil from emergency reserves
U.S. President Joe Biden must act – and act quickly – to rein in the crude oil markets. Pressure is coming from all sides, including from his Democratic Party. Last week, 11 Democratic senators, including several known for their concerns on climate change, urged Biden in a letter to act quickly. “As the United States…
Nuclear fusion could generate millions of jobs globally
Nuclear fusion has been a science-fiction fantasy for a long time, the holy grail of energy production. But it’s rapidly moving closer to reality. The process involves combining multiple atomic nuclei to generate energy, just as the sun does. That’s the opposite of nuclear fission, in which atoms are split. Canadian and British innovators are…
An investment of $27 million from the Alberta government will significantly boost research capacity and lead to innovations across the sciences at the University of Alberta. The provincial government announced recently that a four-year investment through its Research Capacity Program will be used to upgrade or create new facilities and infrastructure for 11 research projects.…
