This article appears in the April 2009 issue of Alberta Oil magazine.

New gas mega-wells threaten to strain contractor fleet

The graphic compares natural gas production from a conventional sandstone reservoir to fracced, unconventional production.

This article appears in the December 2008 issue of Oilweek.

I’d rather you didn’t mention the company by name. In fact, better not mention my name, either, because the story is a disaster. We don’t want (the information) out yet.

This article appears in the September 2008 issue of Oilweek magazine.

“Alberta became the Bolivarian province of Alberta when you decided to take more royalties from the oil companies,” Luis Vierma told a scowling crowd from Calgary’s petroleum community last June. “This made Venezuelans very happy.” The reference, of course, was to Simon Bolivar – the 19th century revolutionary whose leadership helped to liberate much of South America from the Spanish monarchy. The speaker was the E&P vice president of a national oil company – specifically, that of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

This article appears in the August 2008 issue of Oilweek.

A symbol of unrivalled wisdom and power, China’s dragon is a long, scaly, snake-like creature with the paws of a tiger and the claws of an eagle. This chimera is an emblem of ancient imperial power. Indeed, the dynastic emperors were known as dragons.

Canadian Oil Sands Trust (COSWF.PK) owns the biggest single share of Syncrude (37%), and the firm’s CEO is also Syncrude’s chairman. Oilsands Review asked Marcel Coutu about operating and environmental issues at the oil sands giant. His edited comments follow.

OSR: Developing new technology has been part of the business from the beginning. To what extent is that still the case?

The following are notes on geopolitics as Canadian crude pushes toward the Gulf Coast.

This article appears in the June 2008 issue of Oilsands Review.