Debate Intensifies Over Oil Produced From Canada’s Oil Sands

As the U.S. continues to increasingly rely on Canada as its most important foreign oil source, environmentalists and scientists are concerned about the repercussions of the partnership. The U.S. has worked to fundamentally alter domestic oil and natural gas drilling over the past decade, as lawmakers work to achieve the long sought after goal of [...]

Canada energy regulator lax on pipelines

Canada’s energy regulator has failed to make adequate checks to ensure pipeline operators fix safety problems uncovered at their facilities and keep emergency procedures up to date, the country’s Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development said on Tuesday. In a report to Parliament that raises serious questions about the safety of moving dangerous goods [...]

Northern Gateway regulatory decision expected months later than Enbridge target

CALGARY – The regulatory panel weighing the controversial Northern Gateway oil pipeline said Tuesday it will likely make its decision in about two years, several months later than estimated by the builder, Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. The proposed 1,200-kilometre pipeline would ship oilsands crude from Alberta to Kitimat, B.C., where it would be loaded onto tankers [...]

Mercier Bridge inspections reveal alarming decay

Quebec has released long-awaited inspection reports on Montreal’s Mercier Bridge that confirm rapidly accelerating decay in the aging structure forced its closure earlier this summer. Corrosion noted in a 2011 inspection was so advanced that some bridge parts were perforated and deformed, the reports say. In particular, the report said, 10 gusset plates that hold [...]

12 Montreal structures considered critical due to corrosion

Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay said on Wednesday that 12 bridges, tunnels and overpasses in the city identified by engineers as being in critical condition. “We have the reports from our engineers that these structures are safe,” Tremblay told reporters at city hall, where technical details on 35 structures were made public. “From the moment one [...]

Oil sands critics target a new concern – pipelines

The crude oil that is pulled from Canada’s oil sands is thick and heavy, a black tar-like substance that takes large amounts of energy and effort to make into end products like gasoline and diesel. Even some people in the Alberta energy industry describe it as “nasty” stuff. But is it also dangerous? Over the past few months, [...]

Montana spill pipeline may have carried oil sands crude

An Exxon Mobil pipeline that ruptured, leaking oil into Yellowstone River, may have sometimes carried a heavier and more toxic form of crude than initially thought, federal regulators said on Thursday. The U.S. Transportation Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration spokeswoman Patricia Klinger said her office had learned that the pipeline may have been [...]

TransCanada reopens Keystone oil pipeline

There were no concerns about the integrity of the 1,300-mile Keystone oil  pipeline following a May 29 spill in Kansas, the U.S. government said. Canadian pipeline company TransCanada restarted the Keystone oil pipeline  during the weekend. The Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous  Materials Safety Administration issued a corrective action prohibiting a restart  last week [...]

Rainbow pipeline operator told to do more testing

Alberta’s energy regulator is ordering the operator of the ruptured Rainbow pipeline to do further integrity testing after the company found another crack at a site similar to the one that leaked 28,000 barrels near the Cree community of Little Buffalo. The move will likely serve to delay a restart of the downed pipeline, which [...]

Corrosion damage closes rail section of Johnson Street bridge

Victoria city officials have closed the Johnson Street bridge to rail traffic after engineers discovered corrosion damage to key structural supports during a recent inspection. Mayor Dean Fortin said council will have to decide whether to repair the rail section of the bridge or close it permanently a few months earlier than expected. The rail [...]