Oil industry outlines cleanup strategy for Arctic spill
NATHAN VANDERKLIPPE, Globe and Mail, Jun. 09, 2011
As the oil and gas industry works to convince Canada’s energy regulator that it can safely drill in the Arctic’s deep waters, it is proposing some creative – and controversial – methods to clean up spills in sea ice: using fires set from helicopters to burn oil and even the propeller blades of icebreakers to disperse it.
Danish commandoes wade into Greenpeace Arctic oil protest
John Vidal, guardian.co.uk, May 24, 2011
Armed forces called in to prevent environmentalists interfering with Cairn Energy's exploration of Arctic waters
A battle for the Earth’s last remaining frontier
by Philip Radford, Grist, 10 May 2011
There are clear signs that a new Arctic oil rush has begun. Earlier this month, Shell submitted plans to the U.S. government for new drilling in the icy waters off Alaska's north coast, and now a Scottish company has won permission to take a similar gamble near Greenland. Tomorrow, Hillary Clinton will fly to the picturesque town of Nuuk in Greenland to discuss how spill response equipment might work in one of the world's most extreme and beautiful environments. I can save her the trip -- it won't.
B.C. launches royalty break to encourage development
Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun, February 18, 2011
The provincial government has launched another $120-million round of tax breaks for natural-gas producers to encourage them to build extraction infrastructure, Energy Minister Steve Thomson announced Thursday.
Russia Embraces Risky Offshore Arctic Drilling
By ANDREW E. KRAMER and CLIFFORD KRAUSS, New York Times, February 15, 2011
MOSCOW — The Arctic Ocean is a forbidding place for oil drillers. But that is not stopping Russia from jumping in — or Western oil companies from eagerly following.
West Coast senators push Pacific shore drilling ban
Richard Simon, Los Angeles Times, January 25, 2011
Democratic senators from the California, Oregon and Washington state launched a new drive Tuesday to ban drilling off the Pacific coast but face long odds of getting the bill past the House’s new Republican majority, especially at a time of high gasoline prices.
U.S. panel urges major offshore drilling reform
SHAWN McCARTHY, Globe and Mail, Jan. 11, 2011
A presidential panel on BP PLC’s (BP-N46.840.811.76%) Gulf of Mexico blowout is urging a major overhaul of the industry and government’s approach to offshore drilling both in the Gulf and in Arctic waters.
Critics urge B.C. to confirm offshore oil ban
CBC News, December 10, 2010
Critics are applauding news that offshore drilling is not a priority for the B.C. government —but they are also urging the province to confirm a federal moratorium will stay in place.
West Coast oil exploration not on B.C. agenda
CBC News, December 9, 2010
B.C.'s new energy minister says he has no plans to open up the West Coast to oil and gas exploration, as this drillship is doing off the coast of Louisiana in 2006. B.C.'s new energy minister says he has no plans to open up the West Coast to oil and gas exploration, as this drillship is doing off the coast of Louisiana in 2006. (Alex Brandon/Associated Press)
Imperial wants extension for Arctic drilling
SHAWN McCARTHY, Globe and Mail, Nov. 11, 2010
Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO-T38.35-0.32-0.83%) wants more time to fulfill its ambitious drilling commitments in the far north, noting that two years have been lost while the National Energy Board struggles with rules for Arctic drilling.
Ottawa powerless to halt offshore drilling alone
Andrew Mayeda, National Post, Nov. 3, 2010
OTTAWA — Canada’s natural resources minister has been warned by officials in his department that the federal government would be powerless to unilaterally halt offshore drilling projects in areas where regulatory oversight is shared with the provinces, Postmedia News has learned.
Exploration for natural gas causes consternation in Quebec
Les Perreaux, Globe and Mail, August 30, 2010
In most places west of Manitoba, the arrival of yet another oil or gas drilling rig is cause for little notice or concern. In Quebec, a half dozen gas wells and the potential of hundreds more may be about to set off a new kind of identity crisis.
Tradeoffs in offshore drilling
By Carrie Tait, Financial Post, August 18, 2010
CALGARY -- Canada’s offshore drilling rules must not be so stringent that the industry is hampered and must find a balance between environmental restrictions and economic benefits, a Senate committee said Wednesday.
Quebec seeking offshore deal
By JONATHAN MONTPETIT, Halifax Chronicle Herald, July 30, 2010
MONTREAL — Negotiations have been launched between the federal government and Quebec in an attempt to strike an offshore drilling deal similar to those that have enriched Atlantic provinces.
Enviro groups stunned that govt ignoring 27K wells
By JEFF DONN and MITCH WEISS, Associated Press, July 8, 2010
Enviro groups stunned that govt ignoring 27K wells
Gulf oil spill: A hole in the world
Naomi Klein, The Guardian, June 19, 2010
The Deepwater Horizon disaster is not just an industrial accident – it is a violent wound inflicted on the Earth itself. In this special report from the Gulf coast, a leading author and activist shows how it lays bare the hubris at the heart of capitalism
One killed in gas line explosion
From Staff Reports, Cleburne Times-Review, June 8, 2010
One person was killed and eight others were sent to hospitals on Monday in a natural gas explosion that generated a towering flame that could be seen from miles around.
Door kept ajar on drilling
By Judith Lavoie, Times Colonist, June 4, 2010
Despite the spectre of environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico -- where oil is spewing from a destroyed BP well -- the federal and provincial governments aren't closing the door on oil drilling off B.C.'s coast or supertankers plying the province's tricky northern waters.
Feds watered down regulations governing East Coast offshore drilling
By Andrew Mayeda, Vancouver Sun, June 3, 2010
OTTAWA — The Harper government has watered down regulations governing oil drilling off Canada's East Coast so that oil companies don't need a backup plan to drill a relief well in the event of a blowout.
BP Ready for Spill 10 Times Gulf Disaster, Plan Says
Bloomberg News, San Francisco Chronicle, May 31, 2010
May 31 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc said in permit applications for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico that it was prepared to handle an oil spill more than ten times larger than the one now spewing crude into the waters off the southern United States.
No moratorium on offshore oil exploration in Canada's Arctic
ANDREW MAYEDA, Vancouver Sun, May 28, 2010
The federal government is moving ahead with plans to grant new offshore oil-exploration licences in Canada's Arctic, despite the U.S. government's expanding freeze on offshore drilling after the Gulf Coast spill.
The Northwest Passage: crude oil's next toilet?
By L. D. CROSS, The Hill Times, May 17, 2010
Whether it is the Northwest Passage or, the Canadian Arctic Passage, an oil spill on the scale of the Gulf of Mexico disaster would permanently contaminate the top of the world.
Offshore drilling in Canada 'fraught with peril': critics
By HARRIS MACLEOD, The Hill Times, May 17, 2010
House Natural Resources Committee begins hearings into offshore drilling, after massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
