Oil & gas industry

Ethics of Canadian oil companies overseas challenged

Topics: 
Corporate ethics, Oil & gas industry
Rating: 
0

Mike De Souza – September 22, 2011

A University of Alberta economics professor has challenged a pro-oilsands industry group, endorsed this week by members of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet, to come clean on Canadian companies that are running operations in "conflict" regions of the world.

"I think it's a question worth raising," said Andrew Leach, an associate professor of natural resources, energy and environment at the Alberta School of Business. "The whole ethical oil (argument) has pushed this stuff too far." Leach, who writes a popular energy, climate and oilsands blog, said he could only name one company in the sector, Cenovus, that has no operations in any of the undemocratic states that are being criticized in advertising sponsored by the group, which calls itself ethicaloil.org.

BP will pay US $20.5M to settle royalty case

Topics: 
USA, Corruption, Oil & gas industry
Rating: 
0

Associated Press – September 16, 2011

British oil giant BP will pay the U.S. $20.5 million to resolve claims that its subsidiaries underpaid royalties owed to the federal government and Native Americans, the Justice Department said Friday.

The settlement arises from a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Harrold Wright, who was chairman of the National Gas Supply Association, said Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller. The suit has resulted in a total of about $270 million being collected from energy companies including Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell plc, Chevron Corp., Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Marathon Oil Corp.

BP Shortcuts Led to Gulf Oil Spill, Report Says

Topics: 
Corporate ethics, Oil & gas industry, Environment
Rating: 
2

John M. Broder – September 14, 2011

BP, running weeks behind schedule and tens of millions of dollars over budget in trying to complete its troubled Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, took many shortcuts that contributed to the disastrous blowout and oil spill there last year, federal investigators concluded in a report released on Wednesday.

The central cause of the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig was a failure of the cement at the base of the 18,000-foot-deep well that was supposed to contain oil and gas within the well bore. That led to a cascade of human and mechanical errors that allowed natural gas under tremendous pressure to shoot onto the drilling platform, causing an explosion and fire that killed 11 of the 126 crew members and caused an oil spill that took 87 days to get under control.

University of Calgary 'research accounts' used to fund anti-science campaign

Topics: 
Oil & gas industry, Environment, Climate change, Message control or 'spin', Science
Rating: 
4

Mike DeSouza – September 15, 2011

A pair of "research" accounts at the University of Calgary, funded mainly by the oil and gas industry, were used for a sophisticated international political campaign that involved high-priced consultants, lobbying, wining, dining and travel with the goal of casting doubt on climate change science, newly released accounting records have revealed.

The records showed that the strategy was crafted by professional firms, in collaboration with well-known climate change skeptics in Canada and abroad, allowing donors to earn tax receipts by channelling their money through the university.

Oil firm kick-started university climate skeptic fund

Topics: 
Oil & gas industry, Environment, Climate change, Message control or 'spin', Science
Rating: 
3

Mike De Souza – September 13, 2011

A major Alberta-based oil and gas company helped to kick-start an elaborate public relations project designed to cast doubt on scientific evidence linking human activity to global warming with a $175,000 donation in 2004 channelled through the University of Calgary, a newly-released letter has revealed.

The donation from Talisman Energy was the largest single contribution to a pair of trust accounts at the university that received $507,975 in donations to produce a video and engage in public relations, advertising and lobbying activities against the Kyoto Protocol and government measures to restrict fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

How Ottawa can reduce the risk of corruption abroad

Topics: 
Corruption, Oil & gas industry, Regulatory oversight, Resources industry
Rating: 
0

Barrie McKenna – September 11, 2011

If nothing else, the Sino-Forest Corp. scandal demonstrates that it matters what Canadian companies do in the darkest corners of the world. Canada’s stock market has become a global ATM – the source of tens of billions of dollars of cash for resource extraction.

Where that money goes, and for what, matters. It matters to the investors who put their money on the line.It also matters to Canada, whose good name is being leveraged, and in some cases exploited, in some of the poorest and most corrupt countries on the planet.

Niko Resources: Ottawa’s corruption test case

Topics: 
RCMP, Corruption, White-collar crime, Oil & gas industry, Asia, Foreign corrupt practices legislation
Rating: 
4

Greg McArthur – August 25, 2011

By Bangladeshi standards, the red-brick compound of A.K.M. Mosharraf Hossain is a country estate. A four-foot wall encircles the property in the capital city of Dhaka. The only way inside is past a guard booth and a metal gate that leads to the politician’s roundabout driveway.

But there was no problem gaining admission on May 23, 2005, when two representatives from Niko Resources, a Canadian natural gas company, arrived at the gate. They were waved through with a brand-new, shiny gift—a black Toyota Land Cruiser. The two Niko officials, both Bangladeshi, stood by while the car keys were handed over to Hossain’s driver.

Canada Right On Target, To Miss 2020 Emissions Targets

Topics: 
Tar sands, Oil & gas industry, Regulatory oversight, Environment
Rating: 
0

T.J. Skolnick – August 17, 2011

According to Environment Canada’s peer-reviewed July report on Canada’s Emissions Trends [pdf], government action to date is not putting the country on track to meet the carbon emissions reductions it commited to in 2009.

A year and a half ago at the international climate talks in Copenhagen, the federal government committed to reducing emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels, by 2020. The report makes clear that the federal government’s existing measures do little and more closely resemble a carbon intensive business-as-usual development scenario.

Oilsands PR plan set by lobby group

Topics: 
Tar sands, Oil & gas industry, Regulatory oversight, Environment
Rating: 
4

Mike De Souza – August 9, 2011

Natural Resources Canada says a powerful oil and gas industry lobby group was responsible for organizing a key meeting and some controversial messaging, in partnership with government, to polish the image of Alberta’s oilsands industry.

In newly released emails and internal records, department officials said the strategy to “turn up the volume” and get “the right attitude” on oilsands advocacy was actually proposed by high-ranking officials from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers during a March 2010 meeting involving senior federal and Alberta government officials, as well as CEOs from oil and gas companies.

Comprehensive environmental monitoring plan on deck for oilsands

Topics: 
Tar sands, Oil & gas industry, Regulatory oversight, Environment
Rating: 
0

Kelly Cryderman – July 20, 2011

The federal government is set to announce Thursday a comprehensive environmental monitoring plan for the oilsands that will boost tests on water, air, animals and plants — and seeks to spruce up the international reputation of the massive bitumen resource.

According to government sources, the $50-million "integrated oilsands environment monitoring plan" developed by teams of scientists will spur increased scrutiny of everything from acidification in lakes to the health of fish — across provincial and territorial boundaries.

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