This year has been a difficult one for Canada’s oil and gas workers, capital spending is down and there are concerns about next year too.  In this episode we follow the Fiscal Pulse of the industry, to understand how money is made and spent, and to diagnose the reasons for less capital investment.In this episode we reference three charts – the ARC Fiscal Pulse, shareholder dividends and buybacks, and the historical drilling rates – see these charts in our ARC commentary “The Fiscal Pulse of Canada’s Upstream Oil and Gas Industry.”We also reference our weekly ARC Energy Charts publication that includes historical fiscal metrics for Canada’s oil and gas industry, see page nine of the October 28, 2019 ARC Energy Charts.Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/

Canadians elected a Liberal minority government on October 21.  On this episode we break down the voting results regionally. Next, we look at the history of past minority governments. Finally, we review the Liberal’s energy and environment election platform as a guide for what could happen next.See related ARC Commentary “Majority Rules: Unless it is a Minority.”Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/

Imagine if crude oil production and use resulted in low, or even no net greenhouse gas emissions?  This is not a Jetson-style idea, it will soon be a reality in Alberta.  This week we hear from Kevin Jabusch, the CEO of Enhance Energy. His company will inject CO2 into an enhanced oil recovery project using carbon dioxide delivered via the 240 km Alberta Carbon Trunk Line.  Tune into hear about this exciting project with the potential to transport 15 million tonnes of CO2 annually, equivalent to 20 percent of all Canada’s power generation emissions. Read the CBC article about Canada’s carbon captureleadership “Carboncapture: What you need to know about catching CO2 to fight climate change.”Learn more about Enhance Energy and the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line. Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/

This week’s podcast gives our take on some significant government and regulatory changes with positive implications for Western Canadian oil and gas markets. Two decisions were made by the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) at the end of September; (1) a change in the policy for operating Western Canada’s dominant regional natural gas gathering system; and(2), the suspension of Enbridge’s commercial process for contracting 90 percent of the Mainline oil pipeline.  We finish off the podcast talking about the Alberta Government’s decision to extend the oil curtailment policy by one year, to the end of 2020.This podcast references the ARC SnapChart “Arethe Choppy Gas Price Waters Behind Us?”Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/

This week we interview David Smethurst who is the Chief Technology Officer for Energy at Hitachi Vantara. His division is headquartered in Silicon Valley, where buzzwords such as ‘big data’, ‘data optimization’, and ‘digital solutions’are more than just water cooler conversation.   Tune in to hear David explain the evolution of digital over the last few years, and describe some specific use cases for improving operations, safety and profitability. He will also discuss some of the barriers that companies face in adopting digital technology. Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/

Tune into this weeks episode where we discuss some of the headlines from New York City Climate Week including the speech from Greta Thunberg at the United Nations, and the importance of dealing with hydrocarbon consumption not just supply. And while New York is talking zero emissions, recent Electric Vehicle (EV) sales are starting to slow. We review the latest data, breaking out the sales figures for the two largest markets, China and the United States.This podcast references the ARC SnapChart “Slowing Growth in Electric Car Sales.” We also highlight a study released during Climate Week on carbon removal technologies from the Energy Futures Initiative.Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/

The oil markets take for granted that Saudi Arabia’s spare capacity will cover any unplanned outages. The events of the past week have changed that with 5.7 MMB/d of Saudi production shut down abruptly from a drone attack.  We discuss the situation, the potential for further escalation in the region, as well as the possible implications for oil demand and Canadian energy security. We also cover the Energy Disruptors conference held in Calgary this past week, where Peter Tertzakian launched his new project called Energyphile. This podcast references past ARC commentary “Want a Real Energy Transition? Start a War” and an article about Canadian energy security “Cheap, Clean, Safe and Secure?” To learn more about Peter’s project and to download the energy story audio file visit www.energyphile.org.Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/

This week we interview Eric Nuttall, Partner and Senior Portfolio Manager from Ninepoint Partners. While many investors have fled, Eric is a rare breed that is still actively investing in public oil and gas equities.  Tune in to hear Eric explain the sell off of oil and gas equities over the last several years, with many share prices now sitting at all time lows.  The discussion covers a range of topics including the complete lack of market liquidity, what caused this, and what could help turn things around. We also touch on the growing trend to more passive and algorithmic trading, another cause for disruption in the markets.This podcast references the past ARC commentary “The Fall of Oil and Gas Stocks”. Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/

This week we discuss Enbridge's proposal to change their Mainline pipeline from 100 percent open for all shippers to 90 percent contracted - leaving only 10 percent available for everyone else. This monumental change is concerning, especially considering that the Mainline makes up 70% of all Canadian oil pipelines and the region is chronically short capacity. Producers that represent half of all Western Canadian production have written letters to the NEB stating their opposition and concerns about the proposed change , including; Shell Canada, Suncor, MEG Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, ConocoPhillips and the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (EPAC). And, many more producers filed complaints since the podcast was recorded.On the podcast we discuss the concerns these producers have, Enbridge's rationale for proposing the change, and possible next steps. For more information on this topic, please see our recent blog post: Not So Fast: The Case For Delaying Enbridge's Mainline Open Season Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/

This episode was recorded live on July 9th at the Scotiabank Stampede Event held in Calgary. On the podcast we analyze the results from audience polling questions, including: Are Canadian oil and gas equities fairly valued? What is the biggest issue facing the Canadian oil and gas industry? How fast will American oil supply grow? Is there a future for Canadian public junior and intermediate oil and gas producers? What is the most likely outcome of the Canadian federal election?We are now starting a break for the rest of the summer, our next episode will be posted in early September. Thank you for following the podcast, and tune in again next month!Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/