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RCMP use helicopter to rescue stranded trapper in northeastern Alberta

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WANDERING RIVER, Alta. – Mounties in northeastern Alberta say they used a helicopter to rescue a stranded trapper on the weekend.

They say they got a report Sunday that the hunter’s all-terrain vehicle overturned and became stuck.

It was in an inaccessible area about 24 kilometres west of Highway 63 north of Wandering River.

The Fort McKay First Nation resident had been on his way to his cabin when the rollover happened.

RCMP say they quickly determined the man could only be rescued by air.

They say he was cold and wet, with outside temperatures at 4 C, but he was uninjured and taken to the airport in Lac La Biche.

“The quick co-ordination and execution of this rescue prevented the hunter from needing medical attention in a situation that could have ended differently,” Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said in a news release Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Fresh fears over Middle East tensions cast cloud as energy leaders meet in Calgary

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CALGARY – Worries over escalating tensions in the Middle East and their potential to cause oil price disruptions hung over day one of a major energy sector conference in Calgary.

On Tuesday, Israel’s military said Iran had fired missiles into the country. Earlier in the day, a senior U.S. administration official warned of “severe consequences” should a ballistic missile attack take place.

Global oil prices jumped on the news — the price of U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up nearly five per cent, topping US$71 per barrel midday on Tuesday. It ultimately closed up US$1.66, or 2.44 per cent, to US$69.83 per barrel.

At the Energy Disruptors: Unite conference, which kicked off Tuesday and is one of the largest annual energy sector conferences in Calgary, the day’s geopolitical developments were not far from delegates’ minds.

Calgary is home to the corporate head offices of Canada’s oil and gas sector, where fortunes rise and fall with commodity prices. Big companies make budgets and production plans based on short- and long-term assumptions about where the price of oil is heading.

“The escalation is obviously unsettling,” said Peter Tertzakian, a Calgary-based energy economist and founder of the ARC Energy Research Institute, in an interview on the sidelines of the conference.

“Nobody wants to see highly volatile prices, and certainly no one wants to see conflict.”

Oil prices have been weighed down this fall by lower-than-expected Chinese demand and uncertainty around OPEC’s (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) plans.

But Tuesday’s events in the Middle East had markets rattled with fresh fears of potential supply outages if the conflict between Iran and Israel escalates or expands into the broader region.

Tertzakian pointed out one-quarter of the world’s oil supply travels through the Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran and Oman. The possibility that Iran could cut off oil shipments through the strait is something that could significantly shake up the global economy, he said.

“We don’t know if that’s going to happen, but it’s certainly something the oil markets are very concerned about,” Tertzakian said.

Al Salazar, director of intelligence for energy data and analytics provider Enverus, said Tuesday’s surge in oil prices is thus far nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction and could settle out within a day or two if there is no physical disruption to global supplies.

“It’s basically trading on fear right now. You know, nothing has actually changed in terms of supply-demand balances yet,” Salazar said in a phone interview.

But he added that oil prices have been excessively bearish in recent months, so an event like Tuesday’s missile attacks could be enough to cause traders to rethink their longer-term stances.

“Really, there hasn’t been any type of geopolitical premium priced in on the price of oil recently,” Salazar said.

“This may shake things up a bit.”

In a presentation at the conference, former Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin said she believes the world is living in a dangerous time, and that Western democratic countries are failing to realize that the whole existing global order is under threat.

“We are seeing war in Ukraine, war in Europe today, we are seeing more restlessness in the Middle East, and there is more to come,” Marin said.

“I think people have the tendency to want to believe that maybe things will go smoothly, maybe we will go back to normal. But I’m telling you right now that there’s no normal to go back to,” she added.

“The world has changed, and it’s changed radically.”

The escalation of tensions between Iran and Israel resulted in Wall Street retreating Tuesday from the all-time records it had set the day before. The S&P 500, the Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq all lost ground over market jitters.

But the energy-heavy Toronto Stock Exchange closed in positive territory, as higher crude prices lifted this country’s oil and gas producers. The S&P/TSX capped energy index gained more than three per cent on Tuesday.

The latest uncertainty in the Middle East also comes at a time when central banks around the globe are beginning to cut interest rates in the face of easing inflation.

But the rampant inflation of the past several years was driven in large part by sky-high energy prices, so a wider conflict in the Middle East that drives oil prices higher could once again put pressure on consumers.

“The reality is that oil runs through the veins of the global economy still,” Tertzakian said.

“Inflation is very much tied to the price of oil, so if we see prices spike above US$75 to US$80, then you’ll probably see some inflation work its way back into the system.”

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.



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Topaz Energy to acquire royalty interest in Tourmaline properties

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CALGARY – Tourmaline Oil Corp. says it has signed a $278.2-million deal with Topaz Energy Corp. giving Topaz a gross overriding royalty interest in recently acquired lands in Alberta and B.C.

The deal will see Topaz acquire royalty interests over approximately three million acres, more than half of which are undeveloped, in the Montney, Alberta Deep Basin and Peace River areas.

All of the lands included in the deal have been acquired by Tourmaline in the last two years.

Under the terms of the deal, Topaz will receive a gross overriding royalty rate of three per cent on natural gas and 2.5 per cent on crude oil and condensate.

Topaz says strategic alignment with Tourmaline, Canada’s largest and most active natural gas producer, enhances its own future growth outlook.

Tourmaline also said Tuesday it closed its previously announced acquisition of Crew Energy Inc., a transaction valued at approximately $1.4 billion.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TPZ; TSX:TOU)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Canada condemns Iran’s strikes on Israel but asks Israel not to retaliate

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OTTAWA – As war in the Middle East spread Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly “unequivocally” condemned Iran’s move to fire dozens of missiles into Israel but asked the Jewish state not to respond in a bid to avoid further escalation.

Joly also begged Canadians in Lebanon to leave immediately as Israel began what it is calling a limited ground operation against Hezbollah targets in the south of that country.

“These attacks from Iran will only serve to further destabilize the region, and it must stop,” Joly said on Parliament Hill. The latest moves by Israel and Iran are risking an “all-out war” in the Middle East she said.

In the House of Commons, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre demanded the government say unequivocally that Israel has the right to defend itself.

Joly said in response that she had been in contact with her Israeli counterparts earlier in the day. In an earlier scrum with reporters, Joly said Israel does have the right to defend itself but that further escalation of the war is not going to help.

Last week Canada joined G7 nations and several Middle East allies in demanding a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah as the intensity of fighting between the two intensified.

Both Defence Minister Bill Blair and Joly insisted they still believe a diplomatic solution is possible.

“I believe that it is possible to get to peace,” Joly said. “I believe that we’re in a moment where we need to save lives.”

On Friday, Canada began helping reserve hundreds of seats for Canadian citizens on the few commercial flights still available out of Beirut to Istanbul, after many carriers cancelled their service in and out Lebanon.

Joly made a desperate plea to people to take up the offer, saying 200 people had taken advantage of the seats over the weekend, and 200 more were on a flight to Istanbul Tuesday.

She said 4,000 people had inquired with her department about the offer of help leaving Lebanon, but of the 1,700 who had so far been called back, only half accepted one of the seats.

“If you are offered a seat, please take it. It is time to leave now,” she said. “I know it’s a tough choice. I know that the situation is extremely difficult, but my priority is your security.”

Officials from Global Affairs Canada were set to brief Canadian media about the efforts later Tuesday.

Blair said Canada does not believe Israel’s incursion into southern Lebanon amounts to a “full-scale invasion” yet, but such an invasion remains a possibility.

“We have to remain hopeful that there’s a possibility of a ceasefire and a diplomatic resolution of the current conflict,” he said. “But we’re watching with increasing concern about the escalation of violence.”

The latest escalation comes almost a year after a deadly Hamas attack in Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and abducting another 250. Israel responded with attacks in Gaza, that have left more than 41,000 dead, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

Hezbollah and Israel have traded fire across the Lebanon border almost daily since Oct. 8, 2023, with communities in northern Israel evacuated as a result.

An airstrike last week killed Hezbollah’s longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah. Two Canadians were killed in Lebanon in Israeli airstrikes, also last week.

On Tuesday night, Canadian MPs will hold an emergency debate on Canada’s response to the Middle East crisis and its evacuation measures. NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson requested the debate first thing Tuesday and House Speaker Greg Fergus agreed to it.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.

— With files from The Associated Press

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