Big Oil and Gas Deal:CNOOC Accedes To Government Requests

It looks as though a major Canadian natural resources firm will soon be in Chinese hands.State-controlled CNOOC,China's largest offshore oil and gas company,has agreed to key conditions for government approval of its planned 15.1 billion dollar takeover of Canadian energy firm Nexen.The requests were submitted by Alberta Premier Alison Redford in October,according to sources familiar with the matter.Positive sentiment about the deal has also been coming out of the Canadian capital,Ottawa.
CNOOC will reportedly tow the line and accept  management and employment conditions.At least 50% of Nexen's board and management slots must be filled by Canadians once the acquisition is completed.Matters related to capital spending requirements and CNOOC's state enterprise status remain under negotiation.
Nexen is an upstream energy company that explores and develops major oil and gas basins globally.It has projects in the UK North Sea;offshore West Africa;the Gulf of Mexico;and Western Canada.The company is active in both conventional and unconventional resources,including shale and oil sands.
Nexen,Inc.(NXY),CNOOC,Ltd.(CEO)

Ecology Bulletin:Gray Wolf Detected in California

In what some see as a hopeful sign of a recovering environment,and others see as an alarming incident,scientists have detected the first gray wolf known to be present in California since 1924,when the last one was shot.The wolf was tracked with a GPS collar as it drifted a few miles south of the border from neighboring Oregon.
This may have happened before with a wolf that wasn't collared.If history be any guide,it may well happen again.
The biologists declined to give the wolf's exact location.It is known to have wandered 300 miles on this latest trek,but as it is an endangered species in California,its security is paramount.Ranchers throughout the West view the gray wolf with hostility as a threat to their livestock.
Wolves reintroduced themselves into Oregon in 1999.The wolves may have originated in Yellowstone National Park and Idaho,where they were reintroduced by biologists in 1995.These wolves had been trapped for that purpose in Alberta,Canada.

Canadian Firm's Green Approach

Cenovus,a Canadian integrated oil company,believes it is a green firm.They produce 60,000 barrels a day of oil from the oil sands of Alberta and Saskatchewan-but with a difference.Cenovus uses steam from brackish water for separating the oil from the sand.What is more,they recycle almost 100% of the water they use.It is a low impact oil sands operation,in their estimation.
The company says it has tremendous assets for boosting oil sands production.Given the problems with deep water drilling,they may well need to do so.It is listed on NYSE/Euronext,and was spun off from Encana,an unconventional natural gas company.
Cenovus(CVE),Encana(ECA)

Alberta Seeks Skilled Workers

Even in these times of financial crisis,the Canadian province of Alberta needs skilled workers.It has instituted the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program,a fast track to permanent residency status for such workers.The province says it has the strongest and fastest-growing economy in Canada.It needs skilled workers immediately.For information,log on to AlbertaCanada.com/h1b.

Far North Holds Fossil Fuels

Huge oil and gas projects are likely to commence in Canada and Alaska within the next 10 years.Some of the final frontiers in North American drilling are poised for extraction.In Canada's Northwest Territories,the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline is to wind 750 miles/1206.9 km along the Mackenzie River.The river is Canada's longest,with 1068 navigable miles/1718.7 km from Great Slave Lake to the Beaufort Sea.Just west of the river are the Mackenzie Mountains,which rise to over 9,000 feet/2743.2 km.The Mackenzie Valley is characterized by its boreal forest ecosystem.An estimated three billion birds breed in the forest,making it the motherlode of North American bird life.Many subsistence communities,the First Nations,live off this land,co-existing with wolves,moose and grizzly bears.Roads,compressor stations,processing plants,airstrips,feeder pipelines and housing for 8,000 construction workers need to be installed in order to build and support the pipeline,which will transport natural gas from a minimum of three production fields to points south,including the tar sands of Alberta.The tar sands plants heat the sands up with natural gas in order to extract the heavy crude oil contained in the sand.Big stakeholders in the tar sands include Suncor Energy(SU) and Marathon Oil(MRO).The pipeline project will cost an estimated 14 billion dollars U.S..Most of the First Nations along the Mackenzie support the pipeline,as they will get a one-third ownership stake.The territorial government is strongly behind it as well.Meanwhile,the U.S. Minerals Management Service will hold a lease sale on February 6 for 46,000 square miles/74,027.8 square km of outer continental shelf in the Chukchi Sea,which is off Alaska's northwest coast.The area contains an estimated 15 billion barrels of conventionally recoverable oil and 77 trillion cubic feet of conventionally recoverable natural gas.No drilling will occur within 50 miles/80.465 km of shore.The lease sale is supported by the state of Alaska,local officials and tribal leaders.The buffer will provide for wildlife migration and subsistence hunting.The Chukchi oil reserves are greater than those in Brazil's Tupi oil field,which contains about eight billion barrels.Companies such as Exxon Mobil(XOM) and Chevron(CVX) may be bidding for the leases.