[Newsbot]

Title: World's biggest wealth fund blacklists 4 Canadian energy firms for greenhouse emissions
Category: Business
Posted By: DrCaleb
Date: 2020-05-13 07:09:56
Canadian

[DrCaleb]

It's a shame we didn't have some sort of an emissions plan in order to keep all this oilsands investment from leaving the province.

[Robair]

What would be the downside of a supply management system for Canadian oil and gas?

Ensure Canadian energy independence and insulate our energy sector from US, Iran, Saudi, Russia war games. Also make a refinery more feasible.

Other than higher gas prices than anywhere else. I believe we've shown that our economy runs on gasoline priced high enough for the tar sands.

[PublicAnimalNo9]

Oh fucking puh-lease. Even at the height of Alberta's oil production Canada STILL generated only half the emissions of international maritime shipping. Just more attacks on Canada's ethical oil production, this time from a fucking country that released over 80 oil exploration licences in just the first month of the year with at least 29 of them having licence to drill upon discovery.

[DrCaleb]

$1:

Alberta 'war room' selling positive oilpatch pitches, but investors aren't buying

Well, so much for Alberta's War Room setting the record straight.

Or for telling Alberta's story to the world.

Or whatever it is the War Room (a.k.a. the Canadian Energy Centre) is supposed to do.

The government-sponsored war room apparently failed to make an impression on Norway's $1-trillion US sovereign wealth fund that announced this week it had divested its investments in four Canadian energy companies.

The Norwegian state-owned fund has blacklisted Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, Suncor Energy and Imperial Oil because of "acts or omissions that on an aggregate company level lead to unacceptable greenhouse gas emissions."

The reaction from Alberta was swift, loud and predictable.

"To be blunt, I find that incredibly hypocritical," Premier Jason Kenney said during a phone-in news conference on Wednesday. "That entire sovereign fund owes its genesis to oil revenues coming from the North Sea reserves of Norway. It's the pot calling the kettle black."

Well, not exactly. While it's true that Norway's sovereign fund gets its money from oil revenue, the Norwegian pot isn't nearly as black as the Alberta kettle.
Fund is worth $1 trillion

Norway's per capita emissions of greenhouse gasses, for example, is about 9.5 tonnes per year, according to 2018 figures. In Canada, we're closer to 22 tonnes per person. And in Alberta, the per capita level of emissions is closer to 65 tonnes. )If the Wexiteers fulfilled their dream of an independent country, Albertistan would be one of the highest emitting countries, per capita, in the world.)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton ... -1.5570645

[BartSimpson]

Norway's sovereign wealth fund won't finance one of the Norwegian oil industry's competitors AND they'll pander to the leftards by posturing that it's about 'greenhouse emissions'?

I'm so surprised.

[DrCaleb]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

Norway's sovereign wealth fund won't finance one of the Norwegian oil industry's competitors AND they'll pander to the leftards by posturing that it's about 'greenhouse emissions'?

I'm so surprised.

Wealth funds are being used to affect social change in more than just Norway.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/blackrock- ... 1579000873

Edit:

Similar link that doesn't require a subscription:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/15/busi ... etter.html

[Thanos]

If excessive corruption is grounds for being banning from the fund then how come SNC-Lavalin and Bombardier aren't on the Norweigan's shit list? Or HSBC? Or just about every bank on the planet?

[BeaverFever]

$1:

Saudi Arabia is buying shares of Alberta's oil sands companies. The 'ethical oil' argument is dead. - Macleans.ca

Max FawcettMay 19, 2020
Max Fawcett: If Canadian oil and gas companies are going to accept Saudi Arabia’s money, it’s probably time for their proxies to retire arguments about the immorality of their oil

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney speaks during a press conference in Edmonton on Feb. 24, 2020. (Jason Franson/CP)
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney speaks during a press conference in Edmonton on Feb. 24, 2020. (Jason Franson/CP)
Max Fawcett is a freelance writer and the former editor of Alberta Oil magazine.

When Norway’s massive pension fund announced that it had sold its positions in major Canadian energy companies like Suncor and Canadian Natural Resources, Alberta’s premier came out swinging. “To be blunt,” Kenney told reporters last week, “I find that incredibly hypocritical.” After all, he said, Norway continues to develop its own oil and gas resources, including the 2.7 billion barrels that are contained in the new Johan Sverdrup field that is already producing 430,000 barrels of oil per day.

For those of a less pugilistic orientation, Norway’s decision might be seen as a prudent act of financial diversification; one that Alberta could easily emulate if it wanted to. If Norway is already producing oil and benefitting from the tax revenue and jobs it creates, there’s no need for them to double down by also investing their one-trillion-dollar nest egg in companies that also depend on the price of oil. This isn’t a philosophy that’s particularly popular in Alberta, mind you, given Alberta Investment Management Corporation’s well-documented history of being more heavily exposed to the energy sector than other pension funds.

But while Kenney was quick to call out Norway’s alleged hypocrisy in selling their shares of oil sands companies, he has so far remained silent about the news that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was busy buying them. As Bloomberg reported last week, it now owns 2.6 per cent of Canadian Natural Resources, and two per cent of Suncor, which makes it the eighth and 14th largest shareholder in the two companies respectively. Ironically, it also added to its position in Equinor, the Norwegian company that’s developing the Johan Sverdrup field.

MORE: Jason Kenney in conversation with Paul Wells: Maclean’s Live Replay

As Premier, Kenney has been at the forefront of recent efforts to paint Canadian oil and gas as more “ethical” and therefore more worthy of investment. This narrative, which was first advanced by Ezra Levant, has been deployed most visibly in the conversation about the Energy East pipeline and the decision by New Brunswick’s Irving Refinery to buy its oil from Saudi Arabia rather than Canada. But Kenney’s affiliation with it goes back much further than that. It was his former director of communications and parliamentary affairs, Alykhan Velshi, who created the “Ethical Oil Institute” in July 2011, and his former executive assistant, Jamie Ellerton, served as its executive director between January 2012 and April 2013.

Kenney is hardly alone in his fondness for Levant’s narrative, though. Its core tenets—namely, that Canada’s legal, environmental and regulatory standards make our oil more inherently virtuous—are practically articles of faith in the oil and gas industry. In an interview with the Calgary Herald, Nancy Southern, the CEO of Atco and a founding member of the Business Council of Alberta, was quick to invoke it: “I think it is time for people to stand up and demonstrate true moral leadership about the fact that the world is better because of petroleum products,” she said.

But if Saudi Arabia’s oil is a conduit for its anti-democratic and values, as ethical oilers like to argue, then what about its money? That money comes from the sale of its own ethically-challenged oil. Suncor and Canadian Natural Resources can’t prevent Mohammed bin Salman or the Saudi Public Investment Fund from buying their shares, but those who have been more than happy to bang the drum about Saudi Arabia’s moral and ethical failings could speak up here.

MORE: Coronavirus won’t hit Alberta as hard as others. But its economic wallop will be brutal.

So far, though, they’ve been conspicuously silent. Take Eric Nuttall, a fund manager with Ninepoint Investments and a frequent purveyor of the ethical oil narrative. In a recent tweet, he sounded positively delighted by the development, and made no mention of the ethical dimensions of Saudi Arabia’s money. “So much for Canadian oil companies not being attractive to foreign investors!” He wrote. “We are 100 per cent invested in Canada given highly attractive valuations and improving takeaway capacity and it’s interesting that Saudi Arabia agrees with us.”

In fairness to the industry, it’s hardly alone in speaking out of both sides of its mouth about Saudi Arabia. The federal government recently renegotiated a $14 billion deal that will allow the sale of Canadian-made light-armoured vehicles to the kingdom (a deal that was originally struck by the Harper government back in 2014). And MBS hasn’t been shy about using Saudi Arabia’s wealth to buy its way into companies and communities throughout the west, including a recent bid to buy the English Premier League’s Newcastle United football club.

But if Saudi Arabia’s money is going to be used to buy and hold the shares of Canadian oil and gas companies, it’s probably time for their proxies to retire arguments about the immorality of their oil. After all, as Jason Kenney will tell you, nobody likes a hypocrite.

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.maclean ... -dead/amp/

[Thanos]

Hey, how about that. After years of ignoring what they do all it took was Saudi Arabia investing some money in the oilsands for liberal Canada to finally say they're the bad guys. Well, they're still not as bad as Alberta though.

[BeaverFever]

Thanos Thanos:

Hey, how about that. After years of ignoring what they do all it took was Saudi Arabia investing some money in the oilsands for liberal Canada to finally say they're the bad guys. Well, they're still not as bad as Alberta though.

When and where has “liberal Canada” ignored Saudi misdeed? Its conservatives and republicans who have been cosiest with the saudis.

Call me when you see Trudeau or Wynne making out with a Saudi king

[Thanos]

Sure, Jan.

Say, now that the Saudis are investing in the Canadian sector (a new wrinkle that I absolutely despise and do not support in the slightest, one that can only be justified by the companies needing that money to save them from what both the Saudis and the Liberal federal government of Canada have done to their ability to survive), will you be out there in your dinghy trying to stop Saudi tankers from unloading at the docks for the Irving Refinery? I mean, you didn't care when they were clobbering Alberta into extinction so I guess that means you'll have to take action now that they've thrown a lifeline (albeit one with all sorts of curses and horrors attached to it) to the province liberal Canada has always despised the most and gone out of it's way to cripple.

Just wondering and such, and interested to see how anti-Saudi morals will suddenly develop among those who couldn't even think of cancelling the contract to sell them the Ontario & Quebec-built armoured vehicles that Riyadh assured us wouldn't be used to genocide some Yemenis. $15 billion to buy goodies from Central Canada remains morally A-OK while $15 billion (or whatever) invested in Alberta is something that simply cannot be tolerated on any ethical level whatsoever? Let me know when you've officially made up your minds down there in The Important Part Of The Country.

[Freakinoldguy]

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

$1:

Saudi Arabia is buying shares of Alberta's oil sands companies. The 'ethical oil' argument is dead. - Macleans.ca

Max FawcettMay 19, 2020
Max Fawcett: If Canadian oil and gas companies are going to accept Saudi Arabia’s money, it’s probably time for their proxies to retire arguments about the immorality of their oil

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney speaks during a press conference in Edmonton on Feb. 24, 2020. (Jason Franson/CP)
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney speaks during a press conference in Edmonton on Feb. 24, 2020. (Jason Franson/CP)
Max Fawcett is a freelance writer and the former editor of Alberta Oil magazine.

When Norway’s massive pension fund announced that it had sold its positions in major Canadian energy companies like Suncor and Canadian Natural Resources, Alberta’s premier came out swinging. “To be blunt,” Kenney told reporters last week, “I find that incredibly hypocritical.” After all, he said, Norway continues to develop its own oil and gas resources, including the 2.7 billion barrels that are contained in the new Johan Sverdrup field that is already producing 430,000 barrels of oil per day.

For those of a less pugilistic orientation, Norway’s decision might be seen as a prudent act of financial diversification; one that Alberta could easily emulate if it wanted to. If Norway is already producing oil and benefitting from the tax revenue and jobs it creates, there’s no need for them to double down by also investing their one-trillion-dollar nest egg in companies that also depend on the price of oil. This isn’t a philosophy that’s particularly popular in Alberta, mind you, given Alberta Investment Management Corporation’s well-documented history of being more heavily exposed to the energy sector than other pension funds.

But while Kenney was quick to call out Norway’s alleged hypocrisy in selling their shares of oil sands companies, he has so far remained silent about the news that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was busy buying them. As Bloomberg reported last week, it now owns 2.6 per cent of Canadian Natural Resources, and two per cent of Suncor, which makes it the eighth and 14th largest shareholder in the two companies respectively. Ironically, it also added to its position in Equinor, the Norwegian company that’s developing the Johan Sverdrup field.

MORE: Jason Kenney in conversation with Paul Wells: Maclean’s Live Replay

As Premier, Kenney has been at the forefront of recent efforts to paint Canadian oil and gas as more “ethical” and therefore more worthy of investment. This narrative, which was first advanced by Ezra Levant, has been deployed most visibly in the conversation about the Energy East pipeline and the decision by New Brunswick’s Irving Refinery to buy its oil from Saudi Arabia rather than Canada. But Kenney’s affiliation with it goes back much further than that. It was his former director of communications and parliamentary affairs, Alykhan Velshi, who created the “Ethical Oil Institute” in July 2011, and his former executive assistant, Jamie Ellerton, served as its executive director between January 2012 and April 2013.

Kenney is hardly alone in his fondness for Levant’s narrative, though. Its core tenets—namely, that Canada’s legal, environmental and regulatory standards make our oil more inherently virtuous—are practically articles of faith in the oil and gas industry. In an interview with the Calgary Herald, Nancy Southern, the CEO of Atco and a founding member of the Business Council of Alberta, was quick to invoke it: “I think it is time for people to stand up and demonstrate true moral leadership about the fact that the world is better because of petroleum products,” she said.

But if Saudi Arabia’s oil is a conduit for its anti-democratic and values, as ethical oilers like to argue, then what about its money? That money comes from the sale of its own ethically-challenged oil. Suncor and Canadian Natural Resources can’t prevent Mohammed bin Salman or the Saudi Public Investment Fund from buying their shares, but those who have been more than happy to bang the drum about Saudi Arabia’s moral and ethical failings could speak up here.

MORE: Coronavirus won’t hit Alberta as hard as others. But its economic wallop will be brutal.

So far, though, they’ve been conspicuously silent. Take Eric Nuttall, a fund manager with Ninepoint Investments and a frequent purveyor of the ethical oil narrative. In a recent tweet, he sounded positively delighted by the development, and made no mention of the ethical dimensions of Saudi Arabia’s money. “So much for Canadian oil companies not being attractive to foreign investors!” He wrote. “We are 100 per cent invested in Canada given highly attractive valuations and improving takeaway capacity and it’s interesting that Saudi Arabia agrees with us.”

In fairness to the industry, it’s hardly alone in speaking out of both sides of its mouth about Saudi Arabia. The federal government recently renegotiated a $14 billion deal that will allow the sale of Canadian-made light-armoured vehicles to the kingdom (a deal that was originally struck by the Harper government back in 2014). And MBS hasn’t been shy about using Saudi Arabia’s wealth to buy its way into companies and communities throughout the west, including a recent bid to buy the English Premier League’s Newcastle United football club.

But if Saudi Arabia’s money is going to be used to buy and hold the shares of Canadian oil and gas companies, it’s probably time for their proxies to retire arguments about the immorality of their oil. After all, as Jason Kenney will tell you, nobody likes a hypocrite.

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.maclean ... -dead/amp/

Given Saudi Arabia's favoured nation status with this gov't, does this mean that there'll be no more carbon tax on the oil sands crude?

And this Saudi acquisition of the oil sands must be the reason that the Irvings have come out recently and changed their tune on not accepting any oil from Alberta.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ ... -1.5549667

I would hope that every Canadian can see this acquisition for what it is. A hostile takeover by a corporate raider, in this case the Saudi's to ensure that we can't continue to compete with their oil on the world market.

I also wonder if the Saudi's actually start pumping Alberta oil again how, Trudeau intends to appease the Bloc and Greens who've demanded that he shut down the oil sands or they'll pull their support for his minority gov't?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/oil-is ... -1.5557725

Strange times indeed.

[BeaverFever]

Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:

Given Saudi Arabia's favoured nation status with this gov't, does this mean that there'll be no more carbon tax on the oil sands crude?

What’s it like to live in your imaginary world where you just make up false facts that you wish were true?

Canada-Saudi relations have been hostile under Trudeau compared to Harpers love-in, there’s no favoured nation status. In fact among Saudi has expelled the Canadian ambassador and recalled its own over Trudeaus criticism of their human rights record. Meanwhile Trudeaus Canada provides safe harbour to Saudi dissidents and defectors (which I believe you objected to in another Trudeau Derangement fit). Among those defectors is one of Saudis top intelligence officials.

[DrCaleb]

BeaverFever BeaverFever:

When and where has “liberal Canada” ignored Saudi misdeed?

The lack of opposition when they bought the Wheat Board.