Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has warned Canada’s biggest oilsands producer that its planned mine expansion may not meet climate targets.
In a letter released Wednesday to Mark Little, the head of Suncor Energy Inc., Guilbeault says the greenhouse gases that would be released by the company’s proposed Base Mine expansion in northern Alberta may conflict with the government’s carbon-reduction goals.
“Emissions at this level may not align with the pace and scale of emissions reductions required to achieve our targets,” the letter says.
“I am of the opinion that the project, as currently proposed, would likely cause unacceptable environmental effects within federal jurisdiction.”
Guilbeault also said the government is reviewing how fossil fuel projects are evaluated against each other.
“The government will develop guidance for how oil production projects subject to review … should demonstrate that their emissions will be ‘best in class,’” his letter says.
That statement came as the federal Liberals approved the Bay du Nord oil project off the coast of Newfoundland, which is projected to emit carbon dioxide at about one-eighth the rate of Suncor’s proposal.
Suncor has been before the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada since July 2020 for its proposed extension. The project near Fort McMurray would continue to supply Suncor’s upgraders with 25 years’ worth of bitumen after the current mine is depleted.
Earlier this week, the company asked the agency for an extra nine months to file information required for the review. Suncor made the request, according to documents on the agency’s website, to better align the project with Suncor’s goals to be carbon-neutral by 2050 as well as the government’s emissions reduction plan.
“Some things have changed since we submitted the detailed project description,” Suncor spokeswoman Sneh Seetal said in an email.
“We want the opportunity to … review government initiatives and meet the requirements set out by the (assessment agency). We want the best project possible.”
The letter from Guilbeault signals the government is serious about reducing emissions without necessarily reducing oil production, said Martin Olszynski, a University of Calgary law professor with long expertise in energy regulation. He points out the government is expected to soon reveal a cap on total emissions from the oil and gas sector.
“The question then becomes, Where are you going to get the best bang for your buck,” he said.
It will be tough for oilsands projects to match the low carbon intensity of offshore production, Olszynski said, even if the carbon is stored underground or the energy to run them is carbon-free.
“Even with (carbon capture and storage) and small modular reactors, with all that money and risk you still don’t get near the incredibly low GHG you get from the offshore. The business case seems pretty obvious.”
Olszynski adds the government has yet to define what “best in class” means — whether oilsands projects will be compared with each other or if all oil developments will be included.
Seetal said the mine extension project can be modified to meet both the government’s new policy environment and the company’s increased climate-change ambition.
“We’re taking more time to improve the project in alignment with our strategy which includes meeting our emissions reduction ambition to be net-zero … and meet the additional requirements set out by the (impact assessment) agency over the past year.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2022.
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
