ARC ENERGY IDEAS

A recently published Transition Accelerator report suggests that hydrogen could represent a $C 100 billion per year economic opportunity for Canada. This week our guests are Dan Wicklum, President and CEO of the Transition Accelerator and David Layzell, Research Director at the Transition Accelerator, Professor and Director, Canadian Energy Systems Analysis Research (CESAR), University of Calgary....

This week we have a special guest,  Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA.  Dr. Birol provides his global energy perspectives, both on the current situation with the pandemic and how the future may unfold. Here are some of the questions that Peter and Jackie asked him:  Has oil demand peaked?  Does the pandemic speed up or slow down the transition to cleaner energy?  Are you optimistic that t...

Saskatchewan has an abundance of natural resources. The province is already well known for the production of oil, natural gas and uranium. It soon could be known for extracting hydrogen, helium, lithium and other elements across the periodic table. On this week’s episode, the Honourable Bronwyn Eyre gives us an update on Saskatchewan’s established and emerging resource sectors. Peter and Jackie co...

North American pipelines are being canceled, delayed and threatened to shut down. Producers are announcing tens of billions of dollars in asset write-downs, and supermajor BP has declared they will reduce oil and gas production and become an integrated low carbon energy company. This week’s episode we discuss: Does the recent news bolster the oil and gas divestment movement’s stranded asset argume...

A pandemic can accelerate change. Take for instance the rapid adoption of video meetings like Zoom.  Could COVID-19 also change the trajectory for oil demand? On this week’s episode, we consider the potential for an oil price spike caused by a lack of new capital investment. What if this occurred, just as electric cars were entering a more mature phase for consumer adoption?  Could governments aro...

This week’s podcast is a recording of a live stream conversation that Peter and Jackie hosted on June 22, 2020 with the Honourable Seamus O'Regan, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources. Here are some of the questions they asked Minister O’Regan during the one hour interactive session. How can the regionalism and antagonism in the debate around Canadian energy be improved? Why has the uptake...

David Keith is a Professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School and also of Applied Physics at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He is also a board member at Carbon Engineering . Dr. Keith works at the interface between climate science, energy technology, and public policy. He is best known for his work on solar geoengineering. Here are some of the questions we asked David. How uncert...

North American natural gas producers have had a tough few years and COVID-19 related demand destruction has only made things worse. But could the situation turn around this winter? On this week’s episode we discuss the current state of North American gas markets, including the significant share of continental gas that is a by-product of oil wells. With US oil production set to decline, natural gas...

In 2006, President George W. Bush said America was “addicted to oil” and set a goal to reduce Middle Eastern imports. Over the next decade, technology (not policy) caused a surge of North American oil production. Consequently, the dependence on foreign oil was diminished. But now North American production is set to decline.  On this week’s episode, we consider what actions US policy makers could t...

Some Canadian Federal politicians are claiming that oil is dead, never to return from the COVID-19 demand collapse. Instead, oil is alive and kicking. It is reminiscent of the famous Monty Python plague scene when someone tries to drop off a live body.  With half of the world’s population under lockdown, oil consumption fell just 30 percent. Now, with restrictions lifting, demand is bouncing back....

On this week’s podcast we interview Marty Procter, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Seven Generations Energy (7G). He reflects on the evolution of the firms ESG culture and communication, from the early days to the new supply agreement 7G was awarded because they were certified as a responsible energy supplier. 7G has been recognized for their ESG leadership, receiving a high rat...

What is happening in the oilfields of the world as a result of the COVID pandemic? To what extent is the oilfield service industry being decimated from this downturn?  Post-pandemic, how will the industry change? These are just some of the questions we asked Kevin Neveu, President and Chief Executive Officer at Precision Drilling, a leading provider of services to the oil and gas industry. To lear...

First, we review Michael Moore’s new movie “Planet of the Humans.” The film casts doubt on the green credentials of renewable energy by exposing upstream environmental impacts.  What did the documentary get right? What parts of the narrative were incomplete? The movie highlights unsustainable trends including population growth and humankind’s thirst for energy, but are there solutions? We also rev...

Have you ever seen anything so severe in your 30 plus year energy career? How far could US oil production fall? What could the post-COVID oil demand recovery look like? The oil and gas sector was already on wobbly ground with investors prior to Coronavirus, will they come back now? These are just some of the questions we asked Bobby Tudor, the Co-Head of the advisory business of Perella Weinberg P...

There are many ways society changes and adapts after major crises, such as wars, geopolitical events, economic recessions, environmental disasters and, of course, pandemics. What is the future of energy systems after COVID-19? Will the climate agenda be hindered, or will it roar back with even more vigour? We also cover the historic OPEC Plus production cut agreement made over the Easter long week...

The pain of rock bottom oil prices has become so great that Saudi Arabia, Russia and other OPEC and non-OPEC producers, including potentially the United States and Canada, are considering a coordinated supply cut.  Could an agreement be struck?  Longer term, should oil producers continue to rely on the 60 year old cartel to prop up price? If a OPEC-Plus cut agreement is not made soon, will the Uni...

Just like other businesses across the country, Canadian oil and gas producers are suffering from a loss of demand for their products due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. Responding to the unprecedented business disruption, the Canadian federal government has now announced a 75 percent wage subsidy up to a maximum level. This is welcome news for companies across the country, including in the Canadian oil...

In big parts of Canada and the United States, people are being asked to stay home to avoid spreading Coronavirus. This week we review the latest information on COVID-19 infection rates and the implications for North American oil demand. With the United States being the only export market for Canadian oil, the rapid collapse of demand in key consuming regions ripples all the way up the pipelines to...

The effects of COVID-19 are reaching all aspects of our day-to-day lives. Stock markets are being hit hard, businesses are closing, and people are staying at home. On this episode we give an update on the rapidly changing situation considering the escalating impacts on the United States and Europe, and implications for oil demand. Amidst all this demand destruction, Saudi and Russia seem intent on...

Oil prices have collapsed due to the Saudi Arabia/Russia price war and the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. On this episode we discuss the possible motivations behind why Russia and Saudi Arabia are threatening to ramp up their production and start a price war now, especially in the face of a already high degree of uncertainty for oil demand from the spreading Coronavirus. We cover the serious implicati...

How is the Coronavirus impacting the markets? Did the protests across Canada in opposition to the Coastal GasLink pipeline surprise you? Does climate change risk impact investment strategy?  These are just some of the questions we asked Kevin Uebelein, Chief Executive Officer at Alberta Investment Management Corporation(AIMCO). AIMCO is one of Canada’s largest and most diversified institutional in...

So you think nuclear power plants are big concrete monoliths? Not so, says Norman JD Sawyer the President and CEO of ARC Nuclear Canada. His company is among a new generation developing small, modular nuclear reactors. Norm explains why, compared to the big reactors in operation today, his technology overcomes many of the issues. For example, smaller reactors are safer and have much less waste. A...

On this week's episode we go back in time to 1959, when the Methane Pioneer carried the first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) between the United States and the United Kingdom. Now, LNG has become the fastest growing energy system in the world. Natural gas is expected to grow 40% or more over the next 20 years. However, there is some uncertainty. Near term, a global glut of LNG has collap...

Blockades have stopped big parts of Canada’s rail network. Around the same time that the protests started, Ottawa ordered trains carrying dangerous goods to cut their speed in half.  This week, we talk about the situation and implications for crude by rail from Western Canada. We also talk about the latest on the Coronavirus and demand for oil and gas. Finally we give an update on Enbridge’s plan...

What can we learn from a 100-year-old utility bill? Can it help us think more clearly about today’s energy issues, like polarized pipeline issues? Find out as we talk about Peter Tertzakian’s Energyphile project, a website that connects our energy past with a greater understanding of the present and future. In this week’s episode Peter talks about Energyphile, his online museum and new book, “The...