XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, ab.politics   
   From: tw1161331@tweaknews.eu   
      
   Go elsewhere to poison the land and air in your quest for profit.  We've had   
   enough of foreign oil companies in this country.   
   Saudi Arabia seems to have a whole lot of it.  But your costs will be a   
   helluva lot higher than in dumb ol' Canada, eh?   
   ______________________________________________________   
   February 23, 2015 - Globe and Mail   
      
      
   Shell pulls plug on long-delayed Alberta oil sands mine   
      
      
   European oil major said it is withdrawing its application for its 200,000   
   barrel-a-day Pierre River mine north of Fort McMurray   
      
   Royal Dutch Shell PLC has scrapped plans for a long-delayed oil sands mine,   
   becoming the latest company to pull the plug on a major Alberta expansion as   
   crude prices hover near multiyear lows.   
      
   The global oil giant said on Monday it is withdrawing an application with   
   federal regulators to build its Pierre River mine north of Fort McMurray,   
   Alta., effectively killing a 200,000 barrel-a-day project that had been   
   dormant for years.   
      
   The decision underscores challenges faced by even the most well-funded and   
   experienced players in Alberta's energy sector, which has been hammered by the   
   sharp plunge in benchmark oil prices since last summer. West Texas   
   Intermediate oil on Monday fell 2.7 per cent to $49.81 (U.S.) a barrel, down   
   from more than $100 last June and well under the break-even threshold analysts   
   say is needed to justify brand new oil sands expansions.   
      
   Shell joins Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Cenovus Energy Inc. and others   
   who have slammed the brakes on growth projects as they seek to protect   
   dwindling cash flows and investor dividends in the face of the eight-month   
   price rout.   
      
   "The Pierre River mine remains a very long-term opportunity for us, but it's   
   not currently a priority," Lorraine Mitchelmore, president of Shell's Canadian   
   unit, said in a statement announcing the move.   
      
   "Our current focus is on making our heavy oil business as economically and   
   environmentally competitive as possible."   
      
   The collapse in oil prices has forced major budget revisions and led to   
   thousands of layoffs at energy producers and their suppliers, prompting fears   
   that energy-rich Alberta is poised to dip into recession.   
      
   Shell is abandoning Pierre River after the Anglo-Dutch company last month cut   
   as many as 300 jobs from its Albian Sands bitumen project, citing broader   
   efforts to claw back costs across the company. That project is a joint venture   
   with Chevron Corp. and Marathon Oil Corp.   
      
   Shell applied to build Pierre River in 2007 and initially planned to start   
   production in 2010, according to regulatory documents. However, the company   
   halted work on the proposal last year to reassess the development timeline. It   
   said cancelling the project would result in "very limited" employment impacts.   
      
   Shell said it has regulatory approval to potentially more than double its oil   
   sands output from today's level of 255,000 barrels a day. It said it would   
   hold on to the Pierre River leases and may apply to build the project in the   
   future.   
      
   But new projects are increasingly falling under the knife. This year, energy   
   companies in Western Canada are forecast to cut an estimated $23-billion   
   (Canadian) from corporate budgets, according to the Canadian Association of   
   Petroleum Producers. In the oil sands, spending is projected to fall by about   
   a quarter to $25-billion, from $33-billion last year, CAPP said.   
      
   Oil's steep decline has crimped growth prospects of much smaller oil sands   
   firms the hardest. Laricina Energy Ltd., a private company that counts the   
   Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) as its largest shareholder, last   
   week shut down operations at an oil sands pilot project and halted work on   
   another, for example.   
      
   The upstart company scrapped plans last year to float its shares in a public   
   offering and instead put itself up for sale. It faces a cash crunch after   
   defaulting on a $150-million loan. Discussions with its lender, the CPPIB, are   
   ongoing, Laricina said.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)