Enbridge's long-delayed Line 3 oil pipeline project to start up Oct. 1 - The Globe and Mail | Canada News Media
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Enbridge's long-delayed Line 3 oil pipeline project to start up Oct. 1 – The Globe and Mail

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3 years ago

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Workers at an Enbridge Energy terminal, in Superior, Wis., on June 29, 2018.

Jim Mone/The Associated Press

Enbridge Inc said on Wednesday its Line 3 pipeline replacement project will begin operating on Oct. 1, the first successful major expansion of Canadian crude export capacity in six years, clearing hurdles that other projects were unable to overcome.

Its completion is welcome news for the Canadian energy sector after a number of proposed pipelines, including TC Energy’s Keystone XL, were scrapped due to environmental opposition and regulatory delays.

The $8.2-billion project allows Enbridge to roughly double its capacity to 760,000 barrels per day on the 1,765 km-long (1097 mile-long) pipeline.

Line 3, built in the 1960s, carries oil from Edmonton, Alberta, to refineries in the U.S. Midwest, but for years was transporting less than its capacity because of age and corrosion. The project was opposed by environmental and Native American groups, particularly in Minnesota, the last stage of the expansion.

Construction in both the United States and Canada took more than seven years to finish, but the project succeeded where other projects have run aground because it was replacing an old line, rather than one starting from scratch, Leo Golden, Enbridge’s vice president of Line 3 Project Execution, told Reuters in an interview.

“This was a safety driven project about replacing existing, aging infrastructure so that set it apart from some of those other projects,” Golden said.

The 542-kilometer Minnesota section of Line 3 is the last part of the pipeline to come in service, following already-completed segments in Canada, North Dakota and Wisconsin.

Golden said Enbridge will start filling the line on Oct. 1 and offer full capacity of 760,000 barrels per day in November. Earlier this month, the company told shippers it would offer 620,000 bpd of crude capacity in October.

He said in future adding capacity through optimizing and expanding existing pipelines would likely be the way the industry goes, given the challenges around building new infrastructure, a view echoed by trade union leaders in the United States.

“The maintenance industry is our future, the lifeline of the oil and gas (pipeline) industry,” said Phillip Wallace, business representative for Pipeliners Union 798, which worked on the project in Minnesota. “Line 3 was the big boy that needed replacing badly.”

The finished project assures Canadian producers their growing oil sands crude output will have access to U.S. markets and global exports via the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Line 3 is the first major Canadian oil pipeline expansion to be completed since Enbridge’s Alberta Clipper project, finished in 2015. However, since 2019 Enbridge has also optimized parts of its existing Mainline system, adding roughly 150,000 bpd of capacity.

HUGE BOOST

The Line 3 replacement project was first announced in 2014 but ran into fierce opposition from environmental groups and Native American tribes, particularly in Minnesota.

U.S. President Joe Biden, who revoked a key permit for the Keystone XL pipeline earlier this year, has been criticized by some environmental groups for allowing the project to proceed. They argue the United States should be reducing its dependence on fossil fuels to fight climate change.

“President Biden and the other politicians who chose to do nothing as treaty rights were violated, waterways were polluted, and peaceful protesters were brutalized have placed themselves on the wrong side of history,” Sierra Club spokesperson Margaret Levin said in a statement.

However, the project was celebrated by trade unions, whose members benefited from thousands of jobs during construction, and Canada’s energy sector, which in the past has struggled with pipeline bottlenecks that depressed the price of Canadian crude and contributed to an exodus of foreign capital.

“This is a huge boost to the industry,” said Martin King, an analyst at RBN Energy. He said projected growth in Canada’s oil sands suggests the industry will need only one more major pipeline expansion, which will be the Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain expansion to the west coast.

Robert Fitzmartyn, head of energy research at Stifel FirstEnergy, said he expected Line 3′s completion to have a positive impact on Canadian oil company shares in the long-term.

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What Difference Will You Make to an Employer?

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18 hours ago

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October 21, 2024

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Ex-Employer (Job)

It’s common knowledge that companies don’t hire the most qualified candidates. Employers hire the person they believe will deliver the best value in exchange for their payroll cost.

Since most job seekers know the above, I’m surprised that so few mention their Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Most job seekers list their education, skills, and experience without substantiating them and expect employers to determine whether they can benefit their company; hence, most resumes and LinkedIn profiles are just a list of opinions—borderline platitudes—that are meaningless and, therefore, have no value. Job seekers need to better explain, along with providing evidence, how they’ll contribute to an employer’s success.

Employers don’t hire opinions (read: talk is cheap); they hire results.

You’re not offering anything tangible when you claim:

 

  • I’m a great communicator.
  • I’m detail oriented.
  • I’m a team player.

 

Tangible:

 

  • “At Global Dynamics, I held quarterly town hall meetings with my 22 sales reps, highlighting our accomplishments, identifying opportunity areas, and recognizing outstanding performers.”
  • “For eight years, I managed Vandelay Industries IT department, overseeing a staff of 18 and a 12-million-dollar budget while coordinating cross-specialty projects. My strong attention to detail is why I never exceeded budget.”
  • “While working at Cyberdyne Systems, I was part of the customer service team, consisting of nine of us, striving to improve our response time. Through collaboration and sharing of best practices, we reduced our average response time from 48 to 12 business hours, resulting in a 35% improvement in customer feedback ratings.”

 

These examples of tangible answers provide employers with what they most want to hear from candidates but rarely do; what value the candidate will bring to the company. Typically, job seekers present their skills, experience, and unsubstantiated opinions and expect recruiters and employers to figure out their value, which is a lazy practice.

Getting hired isn’t based on “I have an MBA in Marketing and Sales,” “I’ve been a web designer for over 15 years,” “I’m young, beautiful and energetic,” blah, blah, blah. Likewise, being rejected isn’t based on “I’m overqualified,” “I’m too old,” “I don’t have enough education,” blah, blah, blah. Getting hired depends entirely on showing employers that you can add value and substance to their company; that you’ll serve a purpose.

When you articulate a solid value offer, the “blah, blah, blah” doesn’t matter. Job seekers focus too much on the “blah, blah, blah,” and when not hired, they say, “It’s not me, it’s…” The biggest mistake I see job seekers make is focusing on the “blah, blah, blah”—their experience and education—believing this is what interests employers. Hiring managers are more interested in whether you can solve the problems the position exists to solve than in your education and experience.

 

Not impressive: Education

Impressive: A track record of achieving tangible results.

 

You aren’t who you say you are; you are what you do.

 

If you want to be somebody who works hard, you have to actually work hard. If you want to be somebody who goes to the gym, you actually have to go to the gym. If you want to be a good friend, spouse, or colleague, you have to actually be a good friend, spouse, or colleague. Actions build reputations, not words.

The biggest challenge job seekers face today is differentiating themselves. To stand out and be memorable, don’t be like most job seekers, someone who’s all talk and no action. Any recruiter or hiring manager will tell you that the job market is heavily populated with job seekers who talk themselves up, talk a “good game” about everything they can “supposedly” do, drop names, etc., but have nothing to show for it.

More than ever, employers want to hear candidates offer a value proposition summarizing what value they bring. If you’re looking for a low-hanging fruit method to differentiate yourself, do what job seekers hardly ever do and make a hard-to-ignore value proposition.

  1. Increase sales: “Based on my experience managing Regina and Saskatoon for PharmaKorp, I’m confident that I can increase BioGen’s sales by no less than 25% in Winnipeg and the surrounding area by the end of 2025.”
  2. Reduce cost: “During my 12 years as Taco Town’s head of purchasing, I renegotiated contracts with key suppliers, resulting in 15% cost savings, saving the company over $450,000 annually. I know I can do the same for The Pasta House.”
  3. Increase customer satisfaction:“During my time at Globex Corporation, I established a systematic feedback mechanism that enabled customers to share their experiences. This led to targeted improvements, increasing our Net Promoter Score by 15 points. I can increase Dunder Mifflin’s net promoter score.”
  4. Save time: “As Zap Delivery’s dispatcher, I implemented advanced routing software that analyzed traffic patterns, reducing average delivery times by 20%. My implementation of this software at Froggy’s Delivery can reduce your delivery times by at least 20%, if not more.”

 

If you want to achieve job search success as soon as possible, structure your job search with a single thread that’s evident and consistent throughout your résumé, LinkedIn profile, cover letters and especially during interviews; clearly convey what difference you’ll make to the employer.

_____________________________________________________________________

 

Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.

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Netflix’s subscriber growth slows as gains from password-sharing crackdown subside

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5 days ago

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October 17, 2024

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Netflix on Thursday reported that its subscriber growth slowed dramatically during the summer, a sign the huge gains from the video-streaming service’s crackdown on freeloading viewers is tapering off.

The 5.1 million subscribers that Netflix added during the July-September period represented a 42% decline from the total gained during the same time last year. Even so, the company’s revenue and profit rose at a faster pace than analysts had projected, according to FactSet Research.

Netflix ended September with 282.7 million worldwide subscribers — far more than any other streaming service.

The Los Gatos, California, company earned $2.36 billion, or $5.40 per share, a 41% increase from the same time last year. Revenue climbed 15% from a year ago to $9.82 billion. Netflix management predicted the company’s revenue will rise at the same 15% year-over-year pace during the October-December period, slightly than better than analysts have been expecting.

The strong financial performance in the past quarter coupled with the upbeat forecast eclipsed any worries about slowing subscriber growth. Netflix’s stock price surged nearly 4% in extended trading after the numbers came out, building upon a more than 40% increase in the company’s shares so far this year.

The past quarter’s subscriber gains were the lowest posted in any three-month period since the beginning of last year. That drop-off indicates Netflix is shifting to a new phase after reaping the benefits from a ban on the once-rampant practice of sharing account passwords that enabled an estimated 100 million people watch its popular service without paying for it.

The crackdown, triggered by a rare loss of subscribers coming out of the pandemic in 2022, helped Netflix add 57 million subscribers from June 2022 through this June — an average of more than 7 million per quarter, while many of its industry rivals have been struggling as households curbed their discretionary spending.

Netflix’s gains also were propelled by a low-priced version of its service that included commercials for the first time in its history. The company still is only getting a small fraction of its revenue from the 2-year-old advertising push, but Netflix is intensifying its focus on that segment of its business to help boost its profits.

In a letter to shareholder, Netflix reiterated previous cautionary notes about its expansion into advertising, though the low-priced option including commercials has become its fastest growing segment.

“We have much more work to do improving our offering for advertisers, which will be a priority over the next few years,” Netflix management wrote in the letter.

As part of its evolution, Netflix has been increasingly supplementing its lineup of scripted TV series and movies with live programming, such as a Labor Day spectacle featuring renowned glutton Joey Chestnut setting a world record for gorging on hot dogs in a showdown with his longtime nemesis Takeru Kobayashi.

Netflix will be trying to attract more viewer during the current quarter with a Nov. 15 fight pitting former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson against Jake Paul, a YouTube sensation turned boxer, and two National Football League games on Christmas Day.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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All Magic Spells (TM) : Top Converting Magic Spell eCommerce Store

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5 days ago

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October 17, 2024

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