Alberta
Alberta’s Energy Road Ahead Has Never Been More Important: Brian Jean – Minister of Energy and Minerals
From EnergyNow.ca
By Brian Jean – Minister of Energy and Minerals of Alberta
Recently I had the opportunity to speak at The Road Ahead, Alberta Energy 2024, presented by EnergyNow at the Calgary Petroleum Club.
The road ahead for Alberta in 2024 is an important one. Alberta is at the crossroads on many key energy issues which I wanted to expand upon.
Let me start with some quotes from the last Throne Speech that will give you a sense of where Premier Smith wants Alberta’s world leading energy industry to go.
This is a key one: “Alberta’s government will ensure the entire world understands that the words “Alberta” and “energy” are inextricably linked for generations.”
All credible energy forecasters see the oil and gas industry as being the globally dominant energy player for decades to come. This means that Alberta, which produces energy in a better way than any other jurisdiction, will have opportunities and jobs in the energy industry for the children and grandchildren of those who are its current employees. Not only is Alberta’s resource one that will last, but it is also one that will lead the world.
Again, from the Throne Speech: “Our province is the fourth-largest producer of oil and gas in the entire world – and is, far and away, its most environmentally responsible one. Alberta will not be content with fourth place – not when our province’s energy reserves and environmental technologies are second to none.”
Our Premier recognizes that not only do we have globally significant oil and gas resources in the ground, but we also possess the significant knowledge and skills of Alberta’s energy workers and energy companies. That said, as we continue to develop energy projects of all types, more skilled trades will be needed and Alberta is committed to developing these skilled trades “in province” where possible. This will allow Alberta to continue to develop oil and gas in the most responsible way possible which will continue to evolve as new technology is developed.
All that heads us towards success. As a government we need to be bold enough to create the mechanisms of success for our energy industry and we are committed to do this.
Also from the Throne Speech: “Not only will Alberta be the greenest energy producer in the world, our government will ensure we create one of the most efficient, timely and red-tape free jurisdictions on the planet to invest in energy – whether that be conventional, non-conventional, renewable or otherwise.”
Premier Smith has tasked our government with improving our regulatory capacity. She wants us to create the flexibility and nimbleness to have world class results in all our energy spaces. We will take bold steps in the oil sands as we work with Pathways Alliance to create the world’s first carbon abated major oil field.
We will take bold steps with non-conventional producers to make the most of our gas and liquids industries in the Montney and Duvernay. And we will continue to take bold steps to use our energy industry to drive economic opportunities and reconciliation for our indigenous communities.
We will take bold steps to make sure that Alberta continues to be one of the top global places to build wind and solar, while protecting farmland and viewscapes.
We will use the skills and Alberta know-how that spring from our oil and gas expertise to make breakthroughs in lithium development and helium exploration.
Alberta is the ideal place for energy investments in established energy sectors and emerging energy-related sectors like petrochemicals, hydrogen, ammonia, lithium, and helium.
We will continue to lead the world in carbon capture, utilization and sequestration. A technology that we have deployed at scale faster than almost any other jurisdiction.
Finally, Alberta will take advantage of our tremendous natural gas resources to make Alberta a global centre for petrochemical production in general. But more than that, we will specifically be the global leader in green petrochemicals made from our energy resources and greened by sequestering the carbon used in their production.
These are the bold ambitions that Premier Smith and our government have for Alberta’s energy sector. Alberta has the expertise, and the duty, to remain a major global energy supplier.
And allow me to end with one last quote from the Throne Speech: “The world needs more Alberta energy – not less – and Alberta’s government intends to empower Albertans to deliver it!”
Our government isn’t afraid to declare that Alberta is energy and energy is Alberta!
Alberta
Alberta court upholds conviction of Pastor Artur Pawlowski for preaching at Freedom Convoy protest
From LifeSiteNews
Lawyers argued that Pastor Artur Pawlowski’s sermon was intended to encourage protesters to find a peaceful solution to the blockade, but the statement was characterized as a call for mischief.
An Alberta Court of Appeal ruled that Calgary Pastor Artur Pawlowski is guilty of mischief for his sermon at the Freedom Convoy-related border protest blockade in February 2022 in Coutts, Alberta.
On October 29, Alberta Court of Appeal Justice Gordon Krinke sentenced the pro-freedom pastor to 60 days in jail for “counselling mischief” by encouraging protesters to continue blocking Highway 4 to protest COVID mandates.
“A reasonable person would understand the appellant’s speech to be an active inducement of the illegal activity that was ongoing and that the appellant intended for his speech to be so understood,” the decision reads.
Pawlowski addressed a group of truckers and protesters blocking entrance into the U.S. state of Montana on February 3, the fifth day of the Freedom Convoy-styled protest. He encouraged the protesters to “hold the line” after they had reportedly made a deal with Royal Canadian Mounted Police to leave the border crossing and travel to Edmonton.
“The eyes of the world are fixed right here on you guys. You are the heroes,” Pawlowski said. “Don’t you dare go breaking the line.”
After Pawlowski’s sermon, the protesters remained at the border crossing for two additional weeks. While his lawyers argued that his speech was made to encourage protesters to find a peaceful solution to the blockade, the statement is being characterized as a call for mischief.
Days later, on February 8, Pawlowski was arrested – for the fifth time – by an undercover SWAT team just before he was slated to speak again to the Coutts protesters.
He was subsequently jailed for nearly three months for what he said was for speaking out against COVID mandates, the subject of all the Freedom Convoy-related protests.
In Krinke’s decision, he argued that Pawlowski’s sermon incited the continuation of the protest, saying, “The Charter does not provide justification to anybody who incites a third party to commit such crimes.”
However, defence lawyer Sarah Miller pointed out that that Pawlowski’s sermon was protected under freedom of speech, an argument that Krinke quickly dismissed.
“While the appellant is correct that peaceful, lawful and nonviolent communication is entitled to protection, blockading a highway is an inherently aggressive and potentially violent form of conduct, designed to intimidate and impede the movement of third parties,” he wrote.
Pawlowski was released after the verdict. He has already spent 78 days in jail before the trial.
Pawlowski is the first Albertan to be charged for violating the province’s Critical Infrastructure Defence Act (CIDA), which was put in place in 2020 under then-Premier Jason Kenney.
The CIDA, however, was not put in place due to COVID mandates but rather after anti-pipeline protesters blockaded key infrastructure points such as railway lines in Alberta a few years ago.
Alberta
Heavy-duty truckers welcome new ‘natural gas highway’ in Alberta
Clean Energy Fuels CEO Andrew Littlefair, Tourmaline CEO Mike Rose, and Mullen Group chairman Murray Mullen attend the opening of a new Clean Energy/Tourmaline compressed natural gas (CNG) fuelling station in Calgary on Oct. 22, 2024. Photo courtesy Tourmaline
From the Canadian Energy Centre
New compressed natural gas fueling stations in Grande Prairie and Calgary join new stop in Edmonton
Heavy-duty truckers hauling everything from restaurant supplies to specialized oilfield services along one of Western Canada’s busiest corridors now have more access to a fuel that can help reduce emissions and save costs.
Two new fuelling stations serving compressed natural gas (CNG) rather than diesel in Grande Prairie and Calgary, along with a stop that opened in Edmonton last year, create the first phase of what proponents call a “natural gas highway”.
“Compressed natural gas is viable, it’s competitive and it’s good for the environment,” said Murray Mullen, chair of Mullen Group, which operates more than 4,300 trucks and thousands of pieces of equipment supporting Western Canada’s energy industry.
Right now, the company is running 19 CNG units and plans to deploy another 15 as they become available.
“They’re running the highways right now and they’re performing exceptionally well,” Mullen said on Oct. 22 during the ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the new station on the northern edge of Calgary along Highway 2.
“Our people love them, our customers love them and I think it’s going to be the way for the future to be honest,” he said.
Heavy-duty trucks at Tourmaline and Clean Energy’s new Calgary compressed natural gas fuelling station. Photo courtesy Tourmaline
According to Natural Resources Canada, natural gas burns more cleanly than gasoline or diesel fuel, producing fewer toxic pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
The two new CNG stops are part of a $70 million partnership announced last year between major Canadian natural gas producer Tourmaline and California-based Clean Energy Fuels.
Their deal would see up to 20 new CNG stations built in Western Canada over the next five years, daily filling up to 3,000 natural gas-fueled trucks.
One of North America’s biggest trucking suppliers to businesses including McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Subway and Popeye’s says the new stations will help as it expands its fleet of CNG-powered vehicles across Canada.
Amy Senter, global vice-president of sustainability with Illinois-based Martin Brower, said in a statement that using more CNG is critical to the company achieving its emissions reduction targets.
For Tourmaline, delivering CNG to heavy-duty truckers builds on its multi-year program to displace diesel in its operations, primarily by switching drilling equipment to run on natural gas.
Between 2018 and 2022, the company displaced the equivalent of 36 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of diesel that didn’t get used, or the equivalent emissions of about 58,000 passenger vehicles.
Tourmaline CEO Mike Rose speaks to reporters during the opening of a new Tourmaline/Clean Energy compressed natural gas fuelling station in Calgary on Oct. 22, 2024. Photo courtesy Tourmaline
Tourmaline CEO Mike Rose noted that the trucking sector switching fuel from diesel to natural gas is gaining momentum, notably in Asia.
A “small but growing” share of China’s trucking fleet moving to natural gas helped drive an 11 percent reduction in overall diesel consumption this June compared to the previous year, according to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“China’s talking about 30 percent of the trucks sold going forward are to be CNG trucks, and it’s all about reducing emissions,” Rose said.
“It’s one global atmosphere. We’re going to reduce them here; they’re going to reduce them there and everybody’s a net winner.”
Switching from diesel to CNG is “extremely cost competitive” for trucking fleets, said Clean Energy CEO Andrew Littlefair.
“It will really move the big rigs that we need in Western Canada for the long distance and heavy loads,” he said.
Tourmaline and Clean Energy aim to have seven CNG fuelling stations operating by the end of 2025. Construction is set to begin in Kamloops, B.C., followed by Fort McMurray and Fort St. John.
“You’ll have that Western Canadian corridor, and then we’ll grow it from there,” Littlefair said.
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