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Enbridge pipeline delay punishes oil sands producers’ shares

Cenovus Energy Inc., MEG Energy Corp. and Canadian Natural Resources…

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Explor to begin 30,000 meter diamond drill program on Timmins Porcupine West property

Explor Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:EXS) (PINK SHEETS:EXSFF) (FRANKFURT:E1H) is pleased to announce the beginning of a 30,000 meter drilling program on the Timmins Porcupine West Property. ROUYN-NORANDA, CANADA--(Marketwire - Oct. 4, 2011) - Explor Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:EXS) (PINK SHEETS:EXSFF) (FRANKFURT:E1H) is pleased to announce the beginning of a 30,000 meter drilling program on the Timmins Porcupine West Property...

Oil sands stocks decimated

After crashing through the $80/barrel level on Friday, the price of US crude oil fell further on Monday to trade just above $76/barrel, the lowest in a year, sending the shares of the biggest oil sands players into a tailspin. Suncor tumbled 5.5% and the oil sands bellwether has now lost a staggering $70 billion in market value since its pre-recession high set in May 2008. Canadian Natural Resources gave up 5.6%, Imperial Oil shed 6.5% while Cenovus lost 4.1%. Canadian heavy oil – exported only to the US due to a paucity of pipelines – sells for $10.50 less than US crude and trades at roughly $35 below the international benchmark, meaning oil sands developers have to deal with an effective oil price of $65 and change and now sell some of the cheapest fuel on the planet.

Potash Corp’s market worth dropping $1 billion per day

The value of stock in Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, the world’s largest miner of the soil nutrient, are down more than 13% or $6 billion since Tuesday after losing 2.8% in afternoon trade on Monday on the back of plummeting corn prices in the US. The price per bushel of the largest US crop has declined 25% since June and farmers are now hard-pressed to slash input costs which means cutting back on fertilizer. Globally there is a similar trend and in India, the world's largest importer of potash, sales were down more than 50% over the monsoon planting season.

Pipeline opponents say emails biased: New York Times

E-mails between the State Department and TransCanada, the company behind a $7 billion proposal to build a pipeline between Canadian oilsands and Gulf Coast refineries, demonstrate "a sometimes warm and collaborative relationship," states a report in today's New York Times. The e-mails, the second batch to be released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the environmental group Friends of the Earth, show a senior State Department official at the United States Embassy in Ottawa procuring invitations to Fourth of July parties for TransCanada officials, sharing information with the company about Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s meetings and cheering on TransCanada in its quest to gain approval of the giant pipeline, which could carry 700,000 barrels a day.

US now pays less than $70/barrel for Canada crude, the world’s cheapest oil

The price of US crude oil crashed through the $80/barrel level on Friday afternoon bringing its losses to more than 10% in September and suffering its worst quarter since the 2008 recession. At the same time the discount on Western Canada Select widened to $10.50/barrel meaning oil sands producers now sell some of the cheapest fuel on the planet. The international benchmark for oil was pegged at over $102 on Friday. Canada exports 2 million barrels of oil per day and a lack of pipelines means all of it goes to the US Midwest, the pricing point for US crude.

Labour deal close at Highland Valley Copper Mine

The strike at Highland Valley Copper Mine in British Columbia could soon be over, local media is reporting. Kamloops This Week reported that a late-night bargaining session between Teck Resources and United Steelworkers has resulted in a tentative collective agreement. The mine's 1100 employees voted 99.5% in favour of a strike on Wednesday.

North Atlantic Potash sells potash holdings for $110 million

North Atlantic Potash Inc., the Canadian subsidiary of JSC Acron, today completed the sale of eight of its potash permitted areas to the Yancoal Canada Resources Co. Ltd. of China for $110 million. The sale allows North Atlantic Potash to focus its activity on key areas of interest within its remaining potash permits in Saskatchewan. The infusion of cash means the prioritization of advanced exploration and drilling required to delineate resources can now proceed through a systematic and strategic capital expenditure program. This sale relates to North Atlantic Potash's potash permit holdings located north of Regina (see map on website: permits KP 374, 377, 392, 406, 506, 399, 378, and 507).