Seta Afshordi, Chief Operating Officer at Proton Technologies, says yes! Seta explains how reactions in the oil reservoir can liberate the hydrogen while keeping the carbon emissions trapped. Hydrogen has long been viewed as a critical fuel in the transition to a low carbon economy due to its flexibility - it can replace natural gas or be converted into electricity to power everything from wheels to cities. The biggest barrier for hydrogen taking off is the lack of a low cost, zero emissions way...
Nov 23, 2019•25 min•Season 1Ep. 51
This week we explain the pitch in Saudi Aramco’s 653 page prospectus and why the Initial Public Offering (IPO) is a big deal. Also covered in the show are themes from the tsunami of third quarter financial results from oilfield service firms and producers. Finally, most outlooks for US oil production growth are being revised down, why and what are the implications? Here is a link for the Saudi Aramco Prospectus . Please review our disclaimer at : https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/...
Nov 16, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 50
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 Can...
Nov 03, 2019•23 min•Season 1Ep. 49
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/...
Oct 26, 2019•30 min•Season 1Ep. 48
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 ...
Oct 18, 2019•31 min•Season 1Ep. 47
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 abo...
Oct 14, 2019•30 min•Season 1Ep. 46
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 com...
Oct 04, 2019•28 min•Season 1Ep. 45
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...
Sep 27, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 44
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 ne...
Sep 20, 2019•27 min•Season 1Ep. 43
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 thi...
Sep 13, 2019•33 min•Season 1Ep. 42
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 abo...
Sep 06, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 41
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 starti...
Jul 29, 2019•43 min•Season 1Ep. 40
This week we interview Pat Carlson CEO of Kiwetinohk Resources Corp. Pat has founded a number of successful Western Canadian entrepreneurial companies including; Passage Energy, Krang Energy, North American Oil Sands and Seven Generations. Pat had foresight by entering the oil sands and shale gas developments at an early stage. His latest venture is focused on the Duvernay play. Pat explains his philosophy for stakeholder engagement in natural resource projects, and his view on building an oil a...
Jul 22, 2019•24 min•Season 1Ep. 39
This week we interview Steve Laut the Executive Vice Chairman of Canadian Natural Resources that has risen to be Canada's largest oil and gas producer aided by recent acquisitions, including purchasing Shell Canada and Devon's oil sands assets. Steve explains that oil sands are no longer high cost or high carbon and more improvements are coming with CNRL’s aspirational goal to reach net zero emissions on their upstream production. Steve also raises some concerns about the Enbridge Mainline, a sy...
Jul 12, 2019•36 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Canadians take for granted that they have energy security. But on this week’s podcast we argue that Canada could be one of the least energy secure countries in the world when it comes to oil. The pipeline that connects Western Canada’s oilfields with Ontario and Quebec flows through the United States. Now the State of Michigan wants to shut down this critical Enbridge Line 5 pipeline connection. If Michigan succeeds, crude-by-rail could be the only short term option for Ontario because the Enbri...
Jul 07, 2019•24 min•Season 1Ep. 37
This week we introduce the need for new plan for reducing global GHG emissions, since the current one, that envisions a fast switch from fossil fuels to renewables is proving to be unrealistic. The recently published International Energy Agency World Energy Investment 2019 report illustrates why the current plan is not working; investment into renewables has plateaued at best; energy efficiency is treading water, and world carbon emissions grew by 2.0% last year, the fastest growth in seven year...
Jun 28, 2019•28 min•Season 1Ep. 36
On this week’s episode we interview Barbara Zvan, Director, Chief Risk & Strategy Officer for the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Barbara is a member of the Canadian Government’s Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance. After over one year of consulting with a diverse cross section of leaders and experts, the panel has released their final recommendations for increasing the amount of sustainable investment in Canada. The report makes many recommendations, including increasing the amount of corpo...
Jun 22, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) focused investors have moved mainstream. On this week’s episode we interview Patrick Bryden, Director, Equity Research at Scotiabank. Pat coauthored a must-read report titled “The Rise of ESG in Investment Research – In Search of the Right Elements”. His report makes a compelling case for ESG focused investing, referencing research that shows meaningful outperformance for companies that are more sustainable and diverse. We also cover the state of corpor...
Jun 14, 2019•33 min•Season 1Ep. 34
This week’s podcast gives our take on recent Canadian energy news headlines including the latest on the contentious Bill C-69 and Bill C-48, a Minnesota court ruling that could delay the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline, and the sale of Devon Energy’s oil sands assets to Canadian Natural Resources (CNRL). We also talk about the big oil price drop over the past week. Please review our disclaimer at : https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/...
Jun 08, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Oil and gas E&P share prices in both the United States and Canada have been underperforming compared to the broad indices. This week’s podcast discusses the causes and what it could turn things around. A critical ingredient for improvement is that companies prove they can make money in an era of abundant supply and lower price levels, while lowering their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risk. Specific to Canada, improved market access is critical. And while pipelines are still pro...
May 31, 2019•30 min•Season 1Ep. 32
This week we interview Chris Slubicki President and CEO of Modern Resources, a Western Canadian oil and gas producer that is an environmental leader. Chris is an advocate for the Canadian oil and gas industry, his video about the reality of global energy demand and Canada’s unique position for leadership has racked up 140,000 views. Our discussion covers a range of topics including the weak prices for western Canadian natural gas and the implications for companies and the economy. We also discus...
May 25, 2019•30 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Climate change is a pressing issue caused by greenhouse gas emissions. This week’s podcast examines global, US and Canadian emissions and ways to make reductions. To compare GHG emissions in Canada and the United States, see past ARC Commentary “Canada’s GHG Emission Reality” . We also reference a few papers in this podcast: one by Nature Conservancy that concluded natural solutions could achieve 37% of Paris climate goals; another by Yale360 reported that planting 1.2 trillion trees would store...
May 11, 2019•39 min•Season 1Ep. 30
The Trump Administration announced the United States would not extend the sanction waivers for countries importing Iranian crude oil. This week’s podcast ponders the implications from the lost Iranian barrels along with other factors shaping global oil markets including US production, OPEC plus supply, and world demand growth. This podcast references Saudi Aramco’s Prospectus for their recent bond offering. Please review our disclaimer at : https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/...
May 05, 2019•27 min•Season 1Ep. 29
The Permian Basin has made the United States the world’s largest oil producer. The oil field is now the biggest in the world, producing more than Ghawar in Saudi Arabia. This week’s podcast gives an on-the-ground perspective of the the giant oil play. As referenced in the podcast, here is a link to ARC commentary and trip photos, Betting on More Growth from the Permian . Please review our disclaimer at : https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/...
Apr 27, 2019•27 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Alberta voted for change on April 16th giving Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party (UCP) a majority win. This week’s podcast reviews the UCP’s energy platform, providing a guide of what to expect next. Please review our disclaimer at : https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/
Apr 20, 2019•39 min•Season 1Ep. 27
This week we interview Evan Wilson from the Canadian Wind Energy Association. Evan talks about the potential for more low cost wind farms in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Both provinces have excellent wind resources and require new generation projects due to the phase out of coal power. We explore the pros and cons of wind, and the potential for new commercial models that industrial consumers and communities may start to procure wind power directly. Please review our disclaimer at : https://www.arce...
Apr 14, 2019•27 min•Season 1Ep. 26
This week we interview Ian Anderson the President and CEO of Trans Mountain Corporation, the proponent of the hotly debated TMX pipeline expansion project. Ian explains the history of the existing pipeline -- which moves crude oil and refined products from Alberta to Canada’s West Coast -- and the planned expansion project. The discussion covers a range of topics, including the Canadian government’s historical decision to buy the pipeline last year, indigenous consultation and the next steps in ...
Apr 05, 2019•33 min•Season 1Ep. 25
The energy world’s top leaders and influencers recently gathered in Houston for the annual IHS Markit CERAWeek. In this week’s podcast we discuss the major themes and takeaways of the conference that is often called the Super Bowl of the energy industry. As referenced in the podcast here is a link to videos of CERAWeek 2019 , also see related ARC commentary CERAWeek 2019: Trends and Transitions. Please review our disclaimer at : https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/...
Mar 30, 2019•32 min•Season 1Ep. 24
This week we interview Alex Pourbaix the President and CEO of Cenovus Energy, Canada’s largest SAGD oil sands producer. Alex explains that the oil sands are not what they used to be; new barrels are lower cost and lower carbon. The discussion covers a range of topics including; the Alberta Government’s production curtailment, pipelines and crude-by-rail, plus the potential for lower cost rail modalities in the future. We finish on the contentious Bill C-69 that aims to overhaul the review proces...
Mar 23, 2019•37 min•Season 1Ep. 23
ARC Energy Research Institute debated Carbon Tracker on the risks of investing in fossil fuels at the Globe Capital Conference in Toronto last month. This week’s episode outlines the arguments and outcome of the debate. Next, we debunk the Economist February 6, 2019 lead article titled, “Crude awakening: The truth about Big Oil and climate change." The publication mistakenly argues that policy makers should stop the growth of oil production from companies like ExxonMobil to combat climate change...
Mar 16, 2019•29 min•Season 1Ep. 22
