December 2008 – January 2009

December 31, 2008 Category: TOCfull Tags: Comments Off

Dec08-Jan09 cover
ON THE COVER: Michael Tims photographed by Ewan Nicholson
COVER PACKAGE: Coping with Volatile Markets

Mastering Cycles
Industry discovers what works and what does not during an era of financial turbulence
by Sydney Sharpe

Black Clouds on Green Horizon
The infant carbon trading market gets bogged down by the financial crisis and confusing emissions legislation
by Sydney Sharpe

FEATURES

The Greenhouse Gas Czar
Jim Carter brings his can-do attitude to carbon cleanup
by Gordon Jaremko

‘The Future is Ours’
Aboriginals and industry partner in the bitumen belt
by Patrycja Romanowska

Industry Envoys Touch Community Bases
ConocoPhillips takes a new approach to public consultation
by Patrycja Romanowska

The Changing Face of Labor
Worker-hungry Alberta breeds new varieties of organized labor
by Bill Sass

Crossing Borders
Solutions to the labor shortage includes bringing in workers – but how?
by Bill Sass

Offshore Gamble
Is ambition trumping risk? Newfoundland buys into a contentious offshore venture
by Graham Chandler

HOT TOPICS

Environment
B.C. takes the lead in notifying landowners prior to resource development
by Jodie Hierlmeier

International
The North American natural gas market changes direction
by Carolyn Davis

DEPARTMENTS

Editor’s Log
Managing the New ‘Gold’
by Gordon Jaremko

Observer
National, international news and trends on the energy scene

Services
News and tidbits from the oil and gas service sector

Advances
Tory policy master comes west to green industry’s image

Policy
A NEB export ruling questions energy free trade

Operations
Shale gas development is the big story in B.C.

Projects
Calgary plays with new approaches to Alberta’s power supply

Transactions
Creditors pay the price for bank credit cuts

Champions
The head of PTAC engineers a new energy vision

Passages
Seventy years in, the ERCB is still taking heat

Final words
CAPP’s David Collyer talks about the industry’s capacity to handle economic change

Spring 2008

January 30, 2008 Category: TOCfull Tags: No Comments →


ON THE COVER: Our spring 2008 cover boldly reflects the theme of heavy oil as a medium of fine art.
FEATURES

Gas Andes
A Canadian pipeline adventure
by Brian Brennan

Heavy Oil Recovery
The road ahead
by Kambiz Safinya

Whither Arctic oil and gas?
Oil & gas development in the Far North
by Leta Smith

Gas Hydrates
Unlocking the cages of fire
by Graham Chandler

Peter Lougheed Speaks Out
AO interview with Alberta’s iconic ex-Premier

Nigeria’s Petroleum-based Nation-building
The Afro-Albertan connection
by Paul Michael Wihbey

Filming the Sands
Preview of CBC Documentary Tarsands

COLUMNS

Pumped
Royalty Review Retrospective

Vantage Point
Investigating the Decoupling Theory

Pay Zone
Oilsands End Products

Ziff Energy Report
Royal Delusions

Washington Energy Outlook
Alberta Trade Mission Scales Capitol Hill

Laws of Energy
An Old Warhorse Harnessed Anew

Book Review
The Leadership Challenge

DEPARTMENTS

Corporate Profile
Petrobank Energy & Resources Ltd.

Midstream
Wielding the Big Stick

Strategy & Planning
Passing the Baton

Profile
Iain Munro

Environment
Going with the Flow

Go with What You’ve Got

Fall 2007

October 01, 2007 Category: TOCfull Tags: No Comments →


ON THE COVER: This issue’s cover was designed to convey sponsor Big Country Energy Services’s impressive operational capacity.
FEATURES

International Year of Planet Earth
Celebrating the Earth Sciences in 2008
by AO Staff

Conflict
An excerpt from Pumped: Everyone’s Guide to the Oil Patch
by David Finch

The Cult of Peak Oil
by Graham Chandler

Seven deadly sins of the new Alberta Disadvantage
by Sebastian Gault

Bio-mimicry’s advancing promise
by Shoshanah Jacobs

Drug Testing Confessional
Why it’s not making workplaces safer
by Jennifer Quist

Sustainable development
Leadership takes root in outdoor MBA course
by Paul Nelson

COLUMNS

History
Starting to rock: Canmore geoscience museuem on a roll

Exploration & Drilling
Drilling Down

International
Emirates’ announces Toronto connection

Washington Energy Outlook

Finance & Economics
Butterfly Effect

The sub-prime blues

Strategy & Planning
Scenario Planning

The M&A Front
Stelmach searches for certainty

DEPARTMENTS

Politics & Comment
Can we talk?

Lifestyles
Vancouver’s Opus hotel

Research & Technology
Soil from oil

Environment
Investors turning up heat on climate change disclosure

Summer 2007

July 01, 2007 Category: TOCfull Tags: No Comments →


ON THE COVER: This issue’s cover was designed to convey its sponsor’s position as more than just providers of high-end data management solutions.
FEATURES

Goodbye Gateway
The art of withdrawing from Canada
by Sebastian Gault

Secret Lives of Oilsands Families, Part 2
The conclusion to our look at family life in Fort McMurray
by Jennifer Quist

Living the Legacy
An AO interview with outgoing Shell Canada CEO Clive Mather
by Mark Wolfe and Paul Nelson

Alternatives & Renewables
A comprehensive look at energy options

Alternatives & Renewables
Ancient energy becomes new again
by Janne Hicklin

Powering the bitumen behemoth
Another look at nuclear
by Jerry Crown

Hydrogen
Promises, promises?
by Graham Chandler

In with the tide
Will the Bay of Fundy wash ashore Nova Scotia’s hidden energy potential?
by Aimee Lorefice Mains

The Resource Curse
Is resource-rich Alberta jinxed?
by Sebastian Gault

Toby Heaps
Corporate Knights editor on social responsibility
by Pat Devlin

Gone Fishing
Swallowing the sportfishing retreat’s lure
by Marc Pritchard

DEPARTMENTS

History
Leduc: The Legacy of Ernest Manning

Exploration & Drilling

Drilling Down

Completion & Production
The invisible hand

Finance & Economics
Alternate energies 101

Near-term power generation

Politics & Comment
Washington Energy Outlook

Human Resources
Training for the real world

Not ready for the downturn?

International
Bordering on compliance

Research & Technology
Guided by the light

Safety & Security
Foxxhold unveils new rig egress system

Spring 2007

April 01, 2007 Category: TOCfull Tags: No Comments →


ON THE COVER: This issue’s cover was designed to convey its sponsor’s position as more than just providers of high-end data management solutions.
FEATURES

OSUM
Underground SAGD going commercial
by AO Staff

Enough, already
Dialing down the rhetoric on “Energy Superpower”
by Sebastian Gault

AO Interview with Jeremy Thigpen
We talk with the young president of National Oilwell Varco’s downhole tools division

Oilfield services
Is Houston losing it?
by Graham Chandler

Secret Lives of Oilsands Families
Notes on family life in the wild, wild Alberta north
by Jennifer Quist

Why oil is not (yet) a sunset industry
On the status of worldwide liquid petroleum reserves
by Maurice Dusseault

Mexico
Oil production at a crossroads
by Paul Michael Wihbey

DEPARTMENTS

History
Early gas processing in Alberta

Exploration & Drilling
Tesco enjoying drilling slowdown

The EUB view
Neil McCrank retires with energy

Completion & Production
R&D venture having a Real Time of it

Finance
Long-term financial planning

Mackenzie Delta gas

The M&A Front
Cash fueling oil & gas M&As

Politics
Can we talk?

Overheard in the Coffee Shop

Oilsands
Alberta’s archaeological bounty

International
Can the majors sustain upstream business?

Chinese acquisition targets in the Canadian oilpatch

Atlantic
LNG coming to Goldboro, Nova Scotia?

Research & Technology
The heat is on at Shell

Human Resources

Calgary Women in Energy

Safety & Security
Contingency planning

Environment
Responding strategically to Alberta Bill 3

Lifestyles
Working out the balance between life and career

Winter 2007

January 01, 2007 Category: TOCfull Tags: No Comments →

FEATURES

School of Hard NOC
The good news, bad news for juniors and major
by Graham Chandler, PhD

Canadian Sub-Surface
Committed to new depths of service
Advertorial

The 11th Hour
Do you know where your carbon is?
by Pat Devlin

Line Change
Alberta Oil skates with the new oilpatch

AO Interview with Simon Knight
We talk solutions to global warming with the president of Climate Change Control

The new eco-religious right
Who ultimately will own the agenda
by Sebastian Gault, PhD

Are We Having Fun Yet?
Examing the meaning of success for a workaholic culture
by Paul Nelson

Opening for Business
E&P in Canada’s Arctic
by Shoshanah Jacobs, PhD

DEPARTMENTS

History
Alberta’s water management legacy

Atlantic
Atlantic Premiers Look to Alberta

The East Coast Refinery Race

Exploration & Drilling
Geothermal’s Enticing Possibilities

Oilsand
2nd WHOC set for 2008

Completion & Production
The Weyburn CO2 Projec

The M&A Front
the Race is On

Ziff Energy Report
What does it take for Future Success?

Finance
Mature Western Canadian E&P

Another look at oil & gas dividends

Reading the gas price tea leaves

International
Venezuela’s Magna Reserva Project

Small Fish, Big Ponds (Part 2)

Tale of Two Scenarios

Politics
Overheard in the Coffee Shop

Can We Talk?

Research & Technology
The Zero Emission Vehicle

Environment

EUB View
World Bank Adopts EUB Strategy

Public Affairs
Successful Public Consultations

Safety & Security
Grande Prairie’s Award-Winning SAfety City

Fall 2006

October 01, 2006 Category: TOCfull Tags: No Comments →


ON THE COVER: This issue’s cover features a crisp image of falling clear water, evocative of our cover sponsor Wellco’s commitment to superior wastewater treatment in the oilpatch.
FEATURES

CANOL
Fort McMurray’s Original Boom
by Brian Brennan

In Energy We Trusted
Were Income Trusts Too Good to Last?
by Brian Burton

Ethanol
Will cellulose slake the growing thirst for renawbles?
by Graham Chandler

U.S. Eyes Alberta
Oil Shale Development on the Oilsands Model
by Graham Chandler

Out of Focus
The distortion of U.S. energy security policy
by Annette Hester

Winter: It’s All Downhill From Here
Notes on highly-rated Rockies ski destinations

COLUMNS

Atlantic
Nova Scotia’s Long Apprenticeship

Lifestyles
Alberta Ballet

Profile
BP Canada CEO Randy McLeod

Human Resources
Surviving the Talent Squeeze

Manufacturing
Caught in the Perfect Storm

Eagle’s Flight

Research & Technology
Where the Rubber Hits the Road

APAR

Safety & Security
The Hidden Risks in Risk Analysis

Driving Home the Message on Safety

Environment
Through the Smokescreen

Coal
Still Looking for a Clean Start

DEPARTMENTS

Exploration & Drilling
When Size Counts

The EUB View

Completion & Production
AWI

Tank Storage

Enviro Noise Control

The M&A Front
Technological Advancements in M&A

Oilsands
Advancing Oilsands Development one DNA fragment at a time

Finance
Hedging Spin

Slow & Steady

Service
Superior Propane*

Politics
Overheard in the Coffee Shop

International
Heavy Oil: A Global Perspective

Small Fish, Big Ponds (Part One)

Summer 2006

July 01, 2006 Category: TOCfull Tags: No Comments →


ON THE COVER: This issue’s cover features two technologies: MetalFX out of London, England applied metallic inks to the image’s backhoe teeth; Codings Canada applied raised-UV to the soil.
FEATURES

James H. Gray
An historical profile of an Alberta publishing hero.
by Brian Brennan

Leading-edge resource development – with a conscience
A profile of Nexen’s CEO Charlie Fischer.

Why the Mackenzie Gas Project Must Go Ahead
A balanced view of the debate.
by Graham Chandler

Dinner and a Movie
Climate change experts discuss Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth.

Business is Business: China’s petroleum companies come of age
An overview of the development of Chinese oil companies.
by Sebastian Gault

AO Interview with Franco Bernabé
We catch up with Rothschild Europe’s vice-chairman on his Canadian industry tour.

Why the Oilsands sector is doing just fine, thank you
An overview of the industry in the wake of a summer of negative media coverage.
by Gordon Kelly

DEPARTMENTS

Drilling & Exploration
NQL Energy Services

Smith Services

BOS Rentals

Production and Completion
LNG Trade Gets Exposure – Enough for B.C.?

International
Reality Check – Another Look at the Chinese Economy

Human Resources
Whither Chinese Involvement in the Canadian Oil Industry?

Diary of an Oilpatch Jobseeker

Technology
Alliance Pipeline

Infosat

Bye Bye Clipboard

Alberta Research Council

Alberta Universitieslaunch new school for energy

Twin Tech Industries

Oilsands
Wood Buffalo says Whoa!

Schlumberger

Spring 2006

April 01, 2006 Category: TOCfull Tags: No Comments →


ON THE COVER: This cover features a high-frequency sound wave that is muted half way through the page.
FEATURES

Lasers Blazing
How close are we to realizing the technology that could revolutionize the drilling industry?
by Scott Smith

Golf and Wine in the Cowichan Valley
AO takes you on a scenic tour of some of the finest golf and wine on Vancouver Island.
by Andrew Penner

An Interview with Roger Butler
A look into the man who invented SAGD.
by Mark Lowey

Natural Gas Storage
A tool for predictable pricing or a speculators’ hedge?
by Leah Lawrence

Turbulence in the South American Energy Industry
AO reports on the region’s political instability and how it is affecting their energy industry.
by Annette Hester

On a Roll
We profile Calgary-based Talisman Energy Inc. and company President and CEO Jim Buckee.
by Leah Lawrence and Agnes Zalewski

Your Industry Guidebook
Alberta Oil’s overview of Canadian oil and gas industry associations.
by Gayl Veinotte

Silent Success
Alberta’s Noise Solutions hushes past the competition.
by Stephen W. Smith

DEPARTMENTS

Drilling & Exploration
Terracore Specialty Drilling
Revolutionizing the oil patch

Ember
Putting responsible development first

Dr. Geir Hareland plays his part in the evolution of drilling technology

Costs Do Count

Production and Completion
Flint Energy Services

LNG on the High Seas

Feeding the Oil Sands
Gas-Price dynamics drive the viability of gasification

Technology
Small Cells Make Big Strides

A 5kW solid oxide fuel cell makes its way to Alberta

Who put the fire out?
Flameless technologies revolutionize o&g industry

Geophysical Concept Revitalized

Hatch Optima
Built on a strong employee foundation

Life Just Got Easier

Throw Away Your Time Machine

Safety
The Value of a Hazard Assessment

Environment
Biofuels in Alberta

Directional Drilling
Helping to protect ecosystems

The Beauty of Alberta’s Alternative Energy

The Comeback Creature

Finance
The 163-billion Barrel Question Is it a resource or a reserve?

Power Play
Managing your electricity exposure

Winter 2006

January 01, 2006 Category: TOCfull Tags: No Comments →


ON THE COVER: This cover features a high-frequency sound wave that is muted half way through the page.
FEATURES

From Modest Beginnings…
The story of George and Frank McMahon pioneers of the oil and gas industry who made their mark on Canadian football.
by Brian Brennan

The Jewel of the WCSB
Reflections on the “first inning” of shale gas development in Canada.
by Malcolm Sword

Saskatchewan Gains Momentum
Wheat kings welcome industry upswing… and AO tells you all about it.
by Dina O’Meara

Flexpipe Systems’ Composite Pipe
The race is on to install the pipeline that ties-in first.
by Malcolm Sword

The New Faces of Precision Drilling
Alberta Oil interviews president and chief operating officer, Gene Stahl.
by Gayl Veinotte

Energy Outlook 2006
Financial forecasts for the year ahead by three of Calgary’s top CFAs.
by Chris Theal, Tristone Capital Wilf Gobert, Peters & Co. Lex Kerkovius, McLean and Partners

Photo Frenzy: Capturing the Earth’s Interior
The U of C’s CREWES group captures pictures of the Earth’s subsurface, focusing on oil and gas reservoirs.
by Mark Lowey

Middle East and North Africa Insights
The chief economist at the International Energy Agency talks about the oil and gas resource potential of that region.
by Dr. Fatih Birol

DEPARTMENTS

Drilling & Exploration
CBM Development in the Mannville

Arcan Resources

EUB View
Gas Drilling Performance

Production and Completion
Alberta, This Bug’s for You

Pipeline Prospects

Snubco

Technology
Global Energy Services

Hinz

Fire in the Hole
In Situ Combustion

IT Strategies for Upstream Megaprojects

Safety
Director Liability for Workplace Accidents

Safety Stand Down Week

Environment
Science, Information, Red Tape, and Risk

Reflections on Montreal COP

Lifestyles
Living Longer and Feeling Better

Golf Meets Bay Street

Finance
M&A Front

Sell Now, Pay Later:
Stock Hedge monetization

Politics
The CPC’s new platform

Overheard in the Coffee Shop

Special Features
The Harm in Poor Real Estate Planning

Silent Witness:
Disparity Among Continents Discussed

Profile
Total SA adds French Flavour to the oil sands

History
Peter Pond

Human Resources
Wrapped in Bureaucracy: Immigration in the Patch

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