Rex Murphy: That sound you hear could be the country fragmenting

[WiltonRanch]

The best way for a country to extract the most value from resources is to value add them. More companies doing just that paying taxes and more employed paying taxes. Oil, ag, mining are one in the same. Large risks are taken financially and time frames are long. Sure there are bad actors who don’t clean up their crap and are shady but that is with any sector of the economy. Lehman Brothers comes to mind or SNC Lavalin. Why so jealous Chuck? Better yet why is anyone jealous when someone busts their butts and makes good money? Does it mean fly by night operators can get away leaving orphan wells or not paying on lease rent? Not at all. That is slowly being resolved, and any new well operators by law put up a bond for reclamation like the cgc requires of licensed grain buyers.

[jazz]

Look at that, ABs equalization contribution going up in smoke in Quebec. What a joke this country is. Could have built 10 pipelines for what these clowns in Quebec squandered.

[chuckChuck]

Jazz how is your bitcoin doing? LOL

[chuckChuck]

The best way for a country to extract the most value from resources is to value add them. More companies doing just that paying taxes and more employed paying taxes. Oil, ag, mining are one in the same. Large risks are taken financially and time frames are long. Sure there are bad actors who don’t clean up their crap and are shady but that is with any sector of the economy. Lehman Brothers comes to mind or SNC Lavalin. Why so jealous Chuck? Better yet why is anyone jealous when someone busts their butts and makes good money? Does it mean fly by night operators can get away leaving orphan wells or not paying on lease rent? Not at all. That is slowly being resolved, and any new well operators by law put up a bond for reclamation like the cgc requires of licensed grain buyers.

Many of the oil companies are already integrated producers, refiners and retailers. They make money whether the oil price is high or low.

Right now they are making excess profits that are also coming from low and moderate income consumers who have no investments or pension plans. It's a mass transfer of wealth from consumers which disproportionately goes to the oil company elites and investors.

Canada has some of the lowest royalty rates in the world for oil and gas which are mostly owned by taxpayers. In effect they are subsidies and incentives to the industry. Any attempt to raise rates are met with stiff industry opposition.

The legacy of cleanup costs is in the hundreds of billions.

Real fiscal conservatives would have cut a better deal for taxpayers, made the oil companies clean up their messes and saved a lot for the future.

[WiltonRanch]

Many of the oil companies are already integrated producers, refiners and retailers. They make money whether the oil price is high or low.

Right now they are making excess profits that are also coming from low and moderate income consumers who have no investments or pension plans. It's a mass transfer of wealth from consumers which disproportionately goes to the oil company elites and investors.

Canada has some of the lowest royalty rates in the world for oil and gas which are mostly owned by taxpayers. In effect they are subsidies and incentives to the industry. Any attempt to raise rates are met with stiff industry opposition.

The legacy of cleanup costs is in the hundreds of billions.

Real fiscal conservatives would have cut a better deal for taxpayers, made the oil companies clean up their messes and saved a lot for the future.

Makes you wonder how low margins are on some oil plays. I agree the royalty structure is bullshit. Stelmach tried and got punted out for a closet liberal Redford. I’m pro oil. Generations of my family has depended on it for employment in one way or another so I will defend it in so much as that. Still these orphans need cleaning up and there are some messes from things done 50 years ago that was acceptable. My biggest concern is pipelines and such utilities we as landowners must put up with and the liabilities it presents to us. Call before you dig is an absolute necessity if you want to dig out big rocks.
There is still substantial amounts of raw oil which leaves this country. To the point our pipelines are plugged, and hits midpoint USA where price is far too low. Besides, push has been for sweet oil, making sour not feasible which there is enough of here with advent of thermal extraction. Lots of room to value add yet. A rail car of asphalt, diesel, shingles, plastic pellets, gasoline etc displaces a lot of low value bitumen in a pipeline. There are so many fractions to western Canadian oil in general that have value more so than the light easier to extract stuff which comes from the Middle East. That is what makes it feasible to extract and that is why if we want our industry to be sustainable value adding as much as possible is key. Then the government can ask for a bigger share.

[chuckChuck]

Governments can easily adjust royalty rates to fit the difference between really profitable ventures and the less profitable ones.

But the industry will fight tooth and nail against paying any more royalties or having to spend much of their profits on cleaning up anything. They work really hard to avoid accountability on both fronts.

[WiltonRanch]

Governments can easily adjust royalty rates to fit the difference between really profitable ventures and the less profitable ones.

But the industry will fight tooth and nail against paying any more royalties or having to spend much of their profits on cleaning up anything. They work really hard to avoid accountability on both fronts.

Yes and no. Liability on old crap must be insane. Like I said before what was acceptable 30+ years ago is not today. Those reclamation jobs are epic in some cases. Anything newer they didn’t do the dumb things so reclamation on less than 35 year old wells takes considerably less time and cost. One of the first thermal plants was decommissioned here as infrastructure was past point of update. The amount of oil which was produced from that deposit and how relatively clean it ended up for being built in the 80’s is great. Fine enough to dwell on the negatives just like those who dwell on negatives of renewables but I would sooner point out the good in things cause that takes a bit more effort.

[blackpowder]

Jazz how is your bitcoin doing? LOL

Thank goodness we live in a system where we can freely buy and sell it.
In general, most companies that generate new dollars with real products have had a great run.
Thank goodness the govt didn't own them.

[jazz]

Jazz how is your bitcoin doing? LOL

My oil is doing great. You have already put my kids through college. Now I am just waiting to see if they will even have to work at all.

[chuckChuck]

My oil is doing great. You have already put my kids through college. Now I am just waiting to see if they will even have to work at all.

You want your kids to not work? Like their daddy? LOL

I thought you republicans believed in hard work and making a contribution and earning what you get? And not living off their daddy and mommy for ever. No wonder the rich and entitled kids don't want to work anymore.