CS - Canadian oil & gas industry battening down the hatches - April 2020The entire oil and gas industry in Canada is fighting to stay afloat amid a perfect storm brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and the SaudiRussian price war, and most companies are pulling back wherever they can to protect their assets and balance sheets. Equinor and Husky Energy are suspending the Bay du Nord and West White Rose projects off Newfoundland and Labrador (PG.1). Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (PG.3), Husky (PG.15), MEG Energy (PG.5), Crescent Point Energy (PG.3) and Baytex...
Apr 01, 2020
CS - MEG refinances with a $1.6B bond placement in US & Canada - January 2020The normally sleepy corporate bond market for Canadian oil companies woke up for the first time in 2020 with MEG Energy Corp.’s offering of US$1.2 billion ($1.6 billion) aggregate principal amount of 7.125% senior unsecured notes due 2027. The seven-year notes were upsized from an earlier contemplated US$800 million offering. MEG said the notes were offered only to institutional buyers in the US under Rule 144A and outside the US in accordance with Regulation S under the US Securities Act. In...
Jan 29, 2020
CS - Streamlined capex, low-carbon ambition & a rare foreign buy - January 2020Companies are detailing their spending plans for 2020 within an environment that remains challenging for oil and gas producers. Heavy regulations, supply constraints and mandatory production curtailments in Alberta, among other factors, are providing the macro-context for decisions going forward. Athabasca Oil will spend $125 million, down $10 million from last year, and aim to sustain production within projected funds flow (PG.3). Crescent Point Energy has up to $1.2 billion earmarked...
Jan 29, 2020
CS - MEG’s gas-based steam reduction pilot extended two years -
June 2019The Alberta Energy Regulator has granted MEG Energy Corp. a two-year extension
to conduct an experimental field test of its eMVAPEX technology, a timeframe which will
enable it to focus on solvent recovery and recycle. The decision comes less than a
month after the pilot project at its Christina Lake facility received $8 million in
additional government funding from Natural Resources Canada.
MEG is in the third stage of a three-stage test pilot of its eMVAPEX
technology. It started the...
Jun 19, 2019
CS - Investor Seymour Schulich buys first stake in MEG Energy - June 2019Canadian investor Seymour Schulich purchased a ~5% stake in MEG Energy
Corp. “in the last couple of weeks,” despite his concerns that Canada is not “open for
business” for the oil and gas industry, he told Bloomberg in an interview. Shares in MEG
rose 12% to $5.12 in Toronto on
June 14 following the interview.
“We’ve put up a giant ‘Not
open for business’ sign in this country,” Schulich told Bloomberg. “And people are
paying attention to it. The Americans have left, the Europeans have left....
Jun 19, 2019
CS - People & Companies - June 19, 2019Altura Energy named John
Chambers to its board. He was vice
chairman and president at GMP First
Energy and a member of its executive
committee until his retirement last
November. He was CEO at FirstEnergy
Capital Corp. before the firm was
acquired by GMP Capital Inc. in 2016. He
was granted options to acquire 200,000
common shares of Altura at a strike price
of $0.425 per share. Canadian Spirit Resources elected
Louisa DeCarlo as an independent director.
She is president of Danrich...
Jun 19, 2019
CS - Analyst Notes - January 22, 2019Husky Energy (TSX: HSE; $17.45-Jan.17; Hold; PT: $18)
The company announced the potential dispositions of non-core downstream assets,
namely its 12mbpd Prince George refinery and its retail and commercial fuels business.
As a Husky retail fuel purchaser, this analyst would be sad to see the dog go, but we
nonetheless see the move (if executed upon) as value generative in disposing of the noncore assets with the company trading at an estimated 4.8x 2020 EV/EBITDA vs....
Jan 22, 2019
Alberta production cuts lead some operators to cut capexThe production cuts of 325,000 bo/d mandated by the Alberta provincial government have forced some of the largest producers to reduce their planned capex for 2019. Meanwhile, Canada’s rig count has fallen from 174 to 70 over the last two weeks of 2018, the lowest number since June 2016 (PG.9). In response, the Canadian federal government announced $1.65 billion in loans and incentives to give struggling energy companies some respite from low oil and gas prices (PG.1).Many of the larger...
Jan 02, 2019
LNG Canada gives energy sector new confidenceWhile Canadian upstream operators have complained for months that the country’s tax and energy policies discourage investment and make the country less competitive on the international energy scene (PG.3), they universally applauded the announcement that Shell and its partners would commit $40 billion to build the LNG Canada project (PG.1). Some executives said the commitment was a sign of renewed confidence in the country as a whole (PG.3). The deal has already moved financial markets,...
Oct 17, 2018
CS - People & Companies - September 26, 2018Altai Resources announced Maria
Au has replaced Didier Pomerleau as a
director of the company. Didier served
as an independent director since June
2008. Au has been Treasurer of Altai
Resources since April 2007 and served
as its Secretary. Peter Ho has resigned as Chairman
of Bayshore Petroleum Corp. He
will continue to be a director and CEO.
Po Kwong (Ivan) Chan was named
Chairman, effective immediately. Chan
is a businessman residing in Hong Kong
and a director of private...
Sep 26, 2018
Q2 earnings reports show revenue, production growingCanadian companies have issued Q2 earnings and operational reports in earnest this news cycle and a clear theme has emerged. Stronger oil prices helped upstream companies boost revenue and cash from their level one year ago, but a series of non-cash charges, frequently associated with commodity risk contracts, have reduced earnings and in some cases pushed several major operators into the red.The stronger value for oil prices has led to significant increases in production from a year...
Aug 15, 2018
People & Companies - August 02, 2018Cequence Energy announced Kevin Nielson has joined the company as Contract Interim CFO. Nielson has 19 years of public accounting and financial reporting experience. Most recently, he was Audit and Assurance Partner at an international accounting firm, where he specialized in serving upstream oil and gas companies.Imperial Oil announced the appointment of Miranda Hubbs to its board, effective, July 26. Hubbs is an independent director of Nutrien Ltd. and the Public Sector Pension...
Aug 02, 2018
People & Companies - May 22, 2018MEG Energy announced the
retirement of president and CEO Bill
McCaffrey after 19 years with the company.
He will also retire from the board following
MEG’s May 31 annual meeting. Board
member Harvey Doerr will act as interim
CEO during the search process for a
permanent replacement. Kelt Exploration elected Michael
Shea as a director of the company and
announced the retirement of board member
Eldon McIntyre after he served for five years.
Kelt also named David Gillis finance VP.
Gillis...
May 22, 2018
CS - News Briefs - February 19, 2020Baytex Energy Corp. closed its private placement of US$500 million aggregate principal amount of 8.75% senior unsecured notes due 2027 with qualified institutional holders. Proceeds will be used to redeem US$400 million of its 5.125% notes due 2021 and $300 million of its 6.625% debentures due 2022. Baytex said it issued redemption notices to holders of both issues. MEG Energy Corp. announced Jan. 31 that it had closed its offering of US$1.2 billion aggregate principal amount of...
Feb 19, 2020
People Briefs - August 15, 2018Obsidian Energy named
Aaron Smith as the company’s VP,
Development. Smith has more than
20 years of engineering
expertise in positions of VP,
Production at a diversified
oil and natural gas company based in
Calgary. In addition, Mark Hodgson has
transitioned to the role of VP, Operations
and E&P Services, and Andrew Sweerts
has assumed the role of VPm, Business
Development and Commercial. Permex Petroleum Corp. has
named Peter Dorrins and Dianna
Goldstein as advisory board...
Aug 15, 2018