News Archive - December 2008

Penn West to cut spending in first half of '09

CALGARY, Penn West Energy Trust , Canada's biggest conventional oil and gas income trust, said on Wednesday it plans big cuts to capital spending in the first half of 2009 to deal with weak commodity prices and still-high operating costs.

Marathon Oil Corp announces sale of Irish subsidiary

Marathon Oil Corp has sold its interests in Marathon Oil Ireland for 126 million euros ($180 million) to Star Energy Group.

EDF close to buying half of Constellation: report

U.S. power company Constellation Energy Group Inc is leaning toward an agreement to sell one-half of its nuclear power business to Electricite de France SA, but still needs to obtain waivers of its bank covenants to seal the deal, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Constellation's Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station in an undated photo. Electricite de France SA is close to an agreement to buy half the nuclear power business of Constellation Energy for $4.5 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the situation. REUTERS/Handout

Connacher cuts output at Alberta oil sands project

Connacher Oil and Gas Ltd said on Monday it will cut bitumen production at its Alberta oil sands project as prices sink below costs, the first Canadian producer to take such action in the wake of falling oil prices.

Hunting completes delayed sale of Gibson Energy

Energy services firm Hunting said on Monday it had completed the delayed sale of its Canadian oil and gas division for C$1.26 billions ($1 billion) and would step up its search for acquisitions with the proceeds.

EnCana slashes 2009 capital budget

(Reuters) - EnCana Corp , Canada's No. 1 oil and gas producer, cut its 2009 capital budget by 18 percent to about $6.1 billion as it looks to weather falling commodity prices and economic uncertainty.

A man walks past an EnCana gas drilling well east of Calgary, Alberta, February 15, 2007. REUTERS/Todd Korol

Harry Winston swings to profit

Harry Winston Diamond Corp swung to a third-quarter profit on Wednesday, thanks in part to a big foreign exchange gain as the Canadian dollar weakened against its U.S. counterpart, but it said the weak economy is hurting its business.

Rio Tinto to cut 14,000 jobs, slash spending

Global miner Rio Tinto , saddled with nearly $40 billion in net debt, said it would cut 13 percent of its workforce, slash capital spending by more than half and sell more assets as it battles a collapse in commodity prices.

A road train arrives at Rio Tinto's Dampier Salt Limited production facility at Port Hedland, about 1,600 km (960 miles) north of Perth in this May 27, 2008 file photo. REUTERS/Tim Wimborne/Files

EDF bids for 50 pct of Constellation nuclear assets

French power company EDF unveiled a plan to pay as much as $6.5 billion for 50 percent of Constellation Energy Group Inc's nuclear business and other assets in an attempt to torpedo a rival offer from investor Warren Buffett.

Constellation Energy Group's Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station in an image courtesy of the company. REUTERS/Handout

NTR’s revenue soars 76 percent

NTR, the waste and green energy group, has posted a doubling of profits and reported that revenues increased 76 percent in the first half to 281.6 million euros.

Fire hinders Suncor oil sands processing unit

Suncor Energy Inc said on Monday its oil sands operation will run at reduced rates in December as it repairs a key processing unit at the sprawling northern Alberta facility that caught fire last week.