A decade ago, Canada's oil sector was growing so fast it was predicted to become a global energy superpower, but a series of political missteps and formidable environmental activism has created a dysfunctional system requiring Opec-style government intervention to move its oil to market.
Canada produces 4.9 million barrels per day, more than any country other than the United States, Saudi Arabia and Russia, but the world's fourth largest producer has had to nationalise a pipeline and the province of Alberta is exploring buying trains to handle a glut of oil sitting in storage.
Canada's crisis coincides with big producers taking market share away from Opec members, mostly clustered in the Middle East. Global oil demand is expected to surpass 100 million bpd in 2019. The United States has driven exports to record highs on growing demand from China, India and other developing countries.
But Ottawa has failed under two governments to effectively counter the strategy of environmental activists to attack the oil sector's heart by choking its arteries - pipelines. Roughly 35 million barrels, twice the normal amount, of Western Canadian crude used to produce diesel, gasoline and jet fuel is stuck in storage.
The energy sector accounts for nearly 11 per cent of Canada's gross domestic product. However, Canadian oil trades at a fraction of global prices, costing the economy C$80 million (Dh216m) per day, the Alberta provincial government said.
Alberta took the unusual step this month of temporarily curtailing 325,000 bpd starting in January - in the aftermath of a retreat from the oil sands by global companies including ConocoPhillips and Statoil.
"It's become dire now because the writing is clearly on the wall. The issue is market access," said Jihad Traya, manager of energy advisory service HSB Solomon.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, facing an election next year, offered the oilpatch this week C$1.6 billion in aid. In May, Ottawa agreed to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline in hopes of pushing through an expansion to nearly triple capacity as other proposed lines languished.
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Read more:
Oil price volatility is spurring short-term investments, mainly in the US
Oil producers have to contend with oversupply in 2019, IEA says
Oil prices recoup some of the losses from Tuesday's 6% slump
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In 2006, then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper boasted Canada would soon become an "energy superpower." Canada was producing 2.6 million bpd, which moved smoothly to US refineries through pipelines. Since then, production has nearly doubled, but pipeline growth has stalled.
Both Conservative Harper and Liberal Trudeau squelched opportunities to complete pipelines just as opposition to more lines multiplied. Two projects were killed, and legal setbacks have stymied the development of TransCanada Corp's Keystone XL and the government-owned Trans Mountain expansion.
A year after taking office in 2015 Mr Trudeau proposed a bargain aimed at satisfying both environmentalists and the oil industry - a national carbon-pricing plan to reduce Canada's emissions while approving pipeline expansions.
The strategy has inflamed both sides.
When a court overturned Ottawa's approval of the expansion of Trans Mountain in August, the deal was off and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley yanked support for Mr Trudeau's carbon plan just hours later.
Indigenous and environmental opposition to pipelines has forced MR Trudeau to push for tighter regulations on future pipelines. The changes are necessary to "depoliticise" the system, Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi said.
"We need to fix the broken system that we have now so we are able to build the pipeline capacity that is so necessary."
But Mr Trudeau has already shelved Enbridge's Northern Gateway proposal, which would have run through northern Alberta to the Pacific coast, and the National Energy Board in 2017 toughened its review of TransCanada's Energy East pipeline while it was underway.
Both projects are now dead. Alberta is seeking to buy rail cars to reduce the glut, and earlier this month, the province ordered producers to cut output after its oil fell to a discount of $52 per barrel from US oil in October.
Ms Notley told reporters earlier this month that people in Alberta can make profits from oil and gas, "but they need Ottawa to take the handcuffs off. We need rail. We need long-term support for getting that pipeline built."
Alberta's oil sands, a mixture of sand, water, clay and thick, heavy oil, became a compelling target for environmentalists as production expanded dramatically in the early 2000s.
The mining process scrapes away trees and vegetation across huge tracts of land, leaving a path of destruction captured in aerial images, while a different production method using steam consumes huge amounts of natural gas.
Clayton Thomas-Muller, an indigenous activist, said environmentalists grew frustrated trying to stop the industry's expansion through the Alberta Energy Regulator, but found a new strategy of opposing the pipelines.
They built wider coalitions, tapping into anger of Nebraska ranchers and drawing the attention of Hollywood celebrities such as director James Cameron.
Opponents of TransCanada's Keystone XL began protests at the White House in 2011, seeking arrest and attention. Then-US President Barack Obama finally rejected the project in 2015.
"Full credit to climate-change advocates, they kicked the snot out of Corporate Canada," said Tim Powers, a Conservative political strategist. He said Canadian resource companies have been too focused on the regulatory process, while climate-change advocates "laid out a better, more compelling narrative" to win public opinion.
US President Donald Trump resurrected Keystone XL in 2017. But both KXL and Trans Mountain remain in regulatory limbo after courts ruled in recent months that the US and Canadian governments failed to properly do their jobs.
The cases that overturned approvals for Northern Gateway and Trans Mountain led companies to question investment in Canada. The end result is a Canadian oil patch in retreat.
"My main fear is that other nations will continue to produce at market price and Canada will be left behind," said Duncan Au, chief executive of CWC Energy Services. The well drilling company has cut about 70 employees, or nearly 10 per cent, since the beginning of 2018.
"This is a made-in-Canada crisis," Mr Au said.
THE SPECS
Touareg Highline
Engine: 3.0-litre, V6
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 340hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh239,312
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Dir: Ron Howard
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson
3/5
Liverpool’s fixtures until end of 2019
Saturday, November 30, Brighton (h)
Wednesday, December 4, Everton (h)
Saturday, December 7, Bournemouth (a)
Tuesday, December 10, Salzburg (a) CL
Saturday, December 14, Watford (h)
Tuesday, December 17, Aston Villa (a) League Cup
Wednesday, December 18, Club World Cup in Qatar
Saturday, December 21, Club World Cup in Qatar
Thursday, December 26, Leicester (a)
Sunday, December 29, Wolves (h)
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
RESULT
Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Man United: Sanchez (24' ), Herrera (62')
Spurs: Alli (11')
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
Specs
Engine: 2-litre
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 255hp
Torque: 273Nm
Price: Dh240,000
Brief scores:
Toss: Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi, chose to field
Environment Agency: 193-3 (20 ov)
Ikhlaq 76 not out, Khaliya 58, Ahsan 55
Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi: 194-2 (18.3 ov)
Afridi 95 not out, Sajid 55, Rizwan 36 not out
Result: Pakhtunkhwa won by 8 wickets
How England have scored their set-piece goals in Russia
Three Penalties
v Panama, Group Stage (Harry Kane)
v Panama, Group Stage (Kane)
v Colombia, Last 16 (Kane)
Four Corners
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via John Stones header, from Ashley Young corner)
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via Harry Maguire header, from Kieran Trippier corner)
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, header, from Trippier corner)
v Sweden, Quarter-Final (Maguire, header, from Young corner)
One Free-Kick
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, via Jordan Henderson, Kane header, and Raheem Sterling, from Tripper free-kick)
The Farewell
Director: Lulu Wang
Stars: Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma
Four stars
Bangladesh tour of Pakistan
January 24 – First T20, Lahore
January 25 – Second T20, Lahore
January 27 – Third T20, Lahore
February 7-11 – First Test, Rawalpindi
April 3 – One-off ODI, Karachi
April 5-9 – Second Test, Karachi
Manchester United v Club America
When: Thursday, 9pm Arizona time (Friday UAE, 8am)
Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
