The Nebraska Public Service Commission unanimously denied TransCanada Corp.’s petition for reconsideration of the PSC’s earlier approval of a mainline alternative for the proposed Keystone XL crude oil pipeline through the Cornhusker State. Source: News

The draft final scientific report on the impact of hydraulic fracturing in unconventional shale reservoirs in Australia’s Northern Territory, released for public viewing last week, has reached an overall conclusion that the challenges and risks associated with any onshore shale gas industry in the NT are manageable as long as a number of regulations and […]

Tim McKay has been promoted to president of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Calgary. He succeeds Steve Laut, who will become executive vice-chairman and remain on the management committee. Source: News

US-Mexico energy relationships are sufficiently strong to withstand uncertainties ranging from the North American Free Trade Agreement’s renegotiations to Mexico’s upcoming presidential election, speakers agreed at a Dec. 15 conference sponsored by the Institute of the Americas.   Source: News

Oil prices fell on the New York market Dec. 18 but rose modestly in London. Analysts attributed the light, sweet crude price drop to news that a planned oil workers strike in Nigeria was called off. Source: News

North West Redwater Partnership (NWRP) has started diesel production at the first phase of its long-planned greenfield bitumen refinery still under construction in Sturgeon County, about 45 km northeast of Edmonton, Alta.  Source: News