Canada

Canadian drilling activity has fallen measurably in 2019, and the outlook is even worse for 2020, according to a forecast from the Petroleum Services Association of Canada.

One of the most important environmental issues of openpit mining is the closure of mine pit lakes. This article from Mining Engineering provides an account by Gerry Stephenson, who was chief mining engineer of Canmore Mines and was instrumental in the reclamation of Canmore Creek Mine pit lakes.

Production from the Hibernia platform was shut down again on 17 August after its second oil spill in a month, while Husky Energy began to ramp up output from the White Rose field following the largest-ever spill off Canada’s easternmost province.

The private investment firm said it will partner with Treeline Well Services, one of the largest private rig providers in Canada, to build its service fleet following acquisition of the company. Treeline’s core areas are in Alberta and British Columbia.

Among other things, Bill C-69 has replaced the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, with an Impact Assessment Act, replaced the National Energy Board Act with a Canadian Energy Regulator Act, and made changes to the Navigation Protection Act.

The $30.5-billion project is expected to produce 18 mtpa of LNG once it starts up; commissioning is expected sometime in the mid-2020s. Canada’s investment includes $160 million to fund energy-efficient turbines, which the government says will minimize greenhouse gas emissions.

A new regulation includes provisions related to the timely abandonment of "dormant sites," a new site classification that refers to inactive wellsites operated by solvent companies.

Devon Energy and its debt gets smaller, as Canadian Natural Resources adds to its huge, long-term bet on Canadian heavy and ultra-heavy crude.

The decision may alleviate some of the pressures oil and gas producers faced in the wake of their imposition last year. Canada and Mexico made up a combined 20% of US imports of oil country tubular goods in 2017.

An EIA report shows natural gas exports reaching 4.6 Bcf/D in February, the 13th consecutive month in which the country's natural gas exports exceeded its imports. Exports are projected to reach 7.5 Bcf/D by 2020.