Terra-Sine Resources Ltd.

Royal Dutch Shell says it has given a tentative go ahead for a liquefied natural gas project in Kitimat, B.C., alongside three Asian Partners.

The Anglo-Dutch energy giant says it will have a 40-per-cent stake in the project, called LNG Canada.

PetroChina, Mitsubishi Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. will each hold a 20-per-cent interest.

Liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is gas that has been chilled into a liquid state, making it easier to transport to overseas markets by tanker.

Demand for the fuel is voracious in Asia, where natural gas fetches a price several times higher than it does in the oversupplied North American market.

North America experiencing a glut of gas

New technology for exploiting previously inaccessible shale formations has contributed to a glut of natural gas in North America, pushing the price down to decade lows.

Natural gas was trading Tuesday up seven cents at 2.50 US per million British Thermal Units.

Shell says LNG Canada will initially have two production units each producing six million tonnes of LNG per year.

The partners will make a final decision on whether to move ahead with the project after conducting engineering work and environmental assessments, as well as consultations with local communities and other stakeholders.

With regulatory approval, start-up could come around the end of the decade.

Shell’s would be only one of several LNG terminals proposed for the northwestern B.C. port.

Calgary-based Encana and U.S. partners Apache Corp. and EOG Resources are considering building their own project.

Another proposal called BC LNG, owned by the Haisla First Nation and Houston-based LNG Partners, expects its first shipment in 2014.

And Talisman Energy Inc., Nexen Inc. and Imperial Oil Ltd. have been weighing potential projects of their own.

And Kitimat is also proposed as the western end of Enbridge’s planned $5.5-billion dollar Northern Gateway Pipeline to carry oilsands crude from Edmonton, something that has been opposed by environmentalists and First Nations groups at ongoing public hearings.

OGP and IAGC members convene twice a year to discuss and promote awareness of HSE and security issues, share lessons learned and develop common guidelines for worldwide geophysical operations.  The first of the 2012 forums was held in Houston, 24-25 April 2012.  ExxonMobil was the host.

OGP Subcommittee topics included the revision of HSE competence assessment and training guidelines for the geophysical industry, OGP Report No.292 and the development of the Geophysical Contractor Management Self-Assessment (GCMSA) tool.  This will help companies assess contractor HSSE management systems.

The agenda also featured guest speakers, who presented on a number of issues facing the geophysical industry including security, social responsibility and leading indicators.

‘Security continues to be an important and challenging issue for the geophysical industry.  Particularly as it begins to work in new areas and with ever changing security risks around the world,’ said OGP HSSE Geophysical Subcommittee Chair Randy Ingram of ExxonMobil.  ‘That’s why discussions are underway to host a joint OGP-IAGC workshop on this topic.

‘And, although not a new concept for our industry, social responsibility is another growing issue we need to address as we move into these new areas,’ he added.

The meeting also provided the opportunity for geophysical contractors to share lessons learned from 19 high potential incidents over the past six months.  According to Randy, the most noteworthy were three separate incidents involving helicopter long-line operations, one of which resulted in a fatal crash.

Attendees additionally discussed the OGP-IAGC Aide Memoir database of industry fatalities. With fatality information dating back to 1968, the Aide Memoir helps identify key risks for the geophysical industry by analysing past incidents.  The database now also records high potential incidents such as those resulting in serious injury or environmental consequence.

Speaking after the meeting, Randy said, ‘This two-day forum is an excellent platform for the geophysical community to come together, share experiences and discuss issues facing the industry.  I would like to thank the IAGC for their assistance in the co-ordination of the event and hosting the informal drinks reception.’

GeoConvention 2012: Vision will pave the way for economic, environmental and energy recovery in Western Canada. Over 100 exhibiting companies and 4,000 conference attendees will convene at the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre May 14 – 18, 2012 to view new technologies, explore new business opportunities and learn from industry experts. The 2012 Convention is the ultimate opportunity to gain insight into your profession, share experiences with others and gain knowledge from industry experts.

Many people at an open house in Whitehorse Wednesday night were unhappy about the possibility of oil and gas exploration in the Whitehorse-Southern Lakes region.

Companies have expressed interest in 12 parcels in what’s known as the Whitehorse trough. The trough extends from Carcross to Carmacks and is thought to contain oil and natural gas reserves.

Elke Huber from Tagish was collecting signatures on a petition opposing oil and gas exploration.

“It will strongly affect the tourism industry, it will strongly affect the environment, the wildlife and the pristine wilderness all Yukoners are sort of proud of.”

Daniel Ashley was eager to make his views known, but said the government’s recent rejection of some main parts in the Peel land use plan makes him skeptical.

“I feel like my voice is a little undermined because I’m not sure I have as much confidence in a review process when I’ve seen the end result of something like the Peel.”

The format of the open house frustrated many of those who turned out. Dozens of people packed a small meeting room at the Transportation Museum for the information session.

There were panels with text and illustrations and a handful of government officials to answer questions but there was no oral presentation to explain what’s happening.

Area resident Peter Percival says the government handled the meeting badly.

“The format in this open house I think makes it very difficult for people to understand exactly they’re trying to present,” he said.

A public meeting on the same topic in Tagish last week did include a verbal presentation by officials but the government’s plans also came under heavy fire from the crowd there.

Some at last night’s open house speculated the format was changed to avoid a similar occurrence in Whitehorse.

There were will be another open house at the Hootalinqua Fire Hall in Whitehorse next Wednesday.

At this point, it’s no secret that global energy demand is rising at exponential rates. Overall, the Energy Information Administration’s latest global forecast predicts that the world’s energy use will jump nearly 53% by 2035 as strong demand from emerging markets such as India and China continues to rise.

And with traditional reserves quickly dwindling, energy and production companies have literally gone to the ends of the earth to find new ways to meet that demand. These unconventional sources are becoming the norm when it comes to production and reserves. Tools such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal deep-sea drilling rigs are now standard equipment, and regions such as Africa’s fertile oceans and America’s shale formations are dotted with activity.

These sorts of unconventional assets require big bucks to fund and are one of major reasons behind the exorbitant CAPEX budgets we have been seeing from the oil majors of late. All this drilling and demand ultimately will benefit the broad oil-services sector.

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CALGARY — After a hotly contested four-week campaign, Alberta voters are  expected to turn out in force Monday for the conclusion of the provincial  election.

The last time Albertans went to the polls in 2008 to choose their provincial  government, voter turnout sank to a record low of 40.6 per cent.

But after a hard-fought race in 2012 that has received national — even  international — attention over the past month, experts are predicting a more  robust display at the polls.

“By every theory you can think of, turnout should be up,” said Harold Jansen,  a political scientist at the University of Lethbridge and an expert in Canadian  voter turnout.

“Voter turnout is also supposed to go up when it’s more competitive — and we  haven’t seen a competitive election like this since 1993.

“I can’t recall the last election when I’ve seen so many people talking about  it and interested in it.”

A spokesman with Elections Alberta said the office would not be able to  provide a tally of voters at advance polls until all the ballots are counted  Monday evening.

But anecdotal accounts from party officials and political observers suggest  big crowds have already turned out to vote in Calgary.

One of the key factors will be how well the various parties are able to get  out their vote — whether it’s simply reminding people to cast a ballot or having  volunteers provide rides to polling stations, Jansen said.

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Washington (Reuters) — The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday in favour of speeding up the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada for the fourth time in two years, but the Nebraska Republican who has championed the project knows the vote may not be the last.

The pipeline, put on hold by President Barack Obama earlier this year, has become an outsized political symbol heading into the November elections as Republicans use it to attack Obama’s economic and energy policies.

“I’ve been through the Keystone rodeo before,” said Representative Lee Terry, while also expressing optimism that this time, a bill he wrote might lead to a deal to advance TransCanada’s $7 billion pipeline.

A large group of House Democrats — 69 of 190 — backed the bill, giving Republicans new hope the Democratic-led Senate and Obama might be convinced to embrace the oil pipeline project.

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Calgary – As the Calgary Stampede celebrates its Centennial theme, We’re Greatest Together, what better place to gather than everybody’s favourite party place – Nashville North. For music fans, those two words evoke an instantaneous buzz of excitement and fun and this year, the lineup has never been better. In 2012, The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth brings some of the best talent from across Canada and the United States to Nashville North, from July 6-15.

“Every year, the lineup for Nashville North gets better and better and this year is no exception,” says Jim Laurendeau, director, Programming for the Calgary Stampede. “With country legends like Pam Tillis, up-and-comers such as Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real and some of the best Canadian country artists, Nashville North promises to be the hottest spot in town during the Centennial Stampede.”

Below is the all-star lineup of headline acts at Nashville North:

Also back by popular demand are many other great local performers, including Shane Chisholm (July 5-10), Marshall Dane (July 6-10), Karen Lee Batten (July 6-10), Stacey McKitrick (July 11-15), Jason Greeley (July 11-15), and Justin Ament (July 11-15).

Today marks 77 days to the start of the 2012 Calgary Stampede and 76 days until our Stampede Kickoff Party!!!

Garth Brooks may have had “friends in low places,” but on Saturday, a lot of his fans were probably wishing they had some highly placed acquaintances.

Some 15,322 tickets to the country superstar’s highly anticipated July 12 show went on sale at 10 a.m. and were snapped up in 58 seconds — the fastest sellout in the Calgary Stampede’s 100-year history.

“It was ridiculous,” said Calgarian Kara Coady.

“We had probably eight computers going. I was on two, my husband was on two, and two of our friends were each on two … It was 10:01 a.m. according to my laptop, and I couldn’t get a single seat.”

Country music fans vented on social media. Indeed, by mid-morning, “Garth Brooks” was trending Canada-wide on Twitter.

Fan frustration was mostly directed at online resale sites. Prices for single tickets on StubHub, for example, ranged from $275 to $4,500 a piece — much higher than their original $62 cost.

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The rest of the country should take heed that Ontario’s renewable-energy plan is going to cost consumers $285 million and up to 41,000 lost jobs over a 20-year period, according to a conservative think-tank.

The culprit is the province’s promotion of alternative energy sources like wind and solar through subsidies and tax breaks, the Fraser Institute said in a report released Thursday.

“It simply costs more to generate electricity using wind or solar power. Consequently, consumers and businesses can all expect to pay significantly more for electricity in the coming years,” co-author Gerry Angevine said.

The institute takes particular issue with government mandates in Ontario, B.C. and Nova Scotia to include a certain amount of renewable energy sources in their overall electricity supply, and cautions other provinces to halt any plans they have to follow suit.

“If other governments choose to emulate Ontario’s energy policies, they too will see higher electricity prices for homeowners and businesses, a need to build costly new electric transmission infrastructure and the likelihood of job losses in the manufacturing sector as companies relocate in search of lower-cost electricity,” Angevine said.

A market-based approach should determine the best and most efficient mix of technologies for electricity generation, the report says.