The Drilldown: NL Confederation Building thronged by offshore-oil workers – iPolitics.ca

The Lead

Hundreds of workers from the oil and gas sector, led by Unifor, crowded Newfoundland and Labradors Confederation Building on Thursday afternoon to demand support for the industry.

The provinces offshore oil and gas association, known as Noia, has spent months lobbying the government for a solution for the floundering industry, as COVID-19 and a global price war have sunk oil prices.

The trickle-down affects more than 20,000 people in this province, if the federal and provincial governments dont act as soon as they can, said Dave Mercer, president of Unifor local 2121.

Mercer said financial help cant come soon enough, and that waiting two to six months isnt an option.

Our members are hurting, said Charlene Johnson, CEO of Noia. Job losses are in the thousands, company closures have occurred, and, right now, I am having a difficult time feeling optimistic about the future of the offshore, but also of Newfoundland and Labrador.CBC News reports.

Internationally

Syria continues to struggle with gasoline shortages after the U.S. imposed a series of sanctions on the country last June. Under the sanctions, foreign companies are prohibited from trading with Syria, which has hurt many of the countrys imports.

The tightening of the American siege, and their barring of imports from arriving, forced us to reduce distribution of gasoline by 35 per cent, said Bassam Touma, Syrias oil minister.

Oil production collapsed after the country lost most of its oilfields to the Syrian Kurds, whom the U.S. support. The Kurds continue to sell some of the oil to Syria. Making things worse for the country, its largest refinery is undergoing maintenance work thats expected to last another 10 days. Once completed, the countrys capacity will rise by 25 per cent.

Private vehicles have been limited to a supply of 30 litres of gasoline every four days, and drivers must wait in line at gas stations for several hours, according to residents. Reuters reports.

Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies will be holding a video conference today to discuss members compliance with cuts to output. No changes are expected to the current reduction target of 7.7 million barrels per day. However, the panel is expected to push members, including the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Nigeria, to commit to larger cuts to output to make up for overproduction.

Reuters has more.

On Thursday at 7:58 a.m., West Texas Intermediate was trading at US$39.87 and Brent Crude was going for US$42.02.

In Canada

The Yukon government revealed a new climate strategy at the start of the week. Its goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent in the next decade. The plan will include intensity targets for mining companies to encourage efficiencies within their processes.

This new approach skirts the issues, according to the Yukon Conservation Society, because instead of encouraging an overall reduction in emissions, it suggests that mines merely need to become more efficient. Mining analyst Lewis Rifkind said these efficiency targets may not reduce overall emissions, because efficient mines can still turn out a significant quantity of emissions.

One big mine could ruin everything, if it goes to a fossil-fuel-generated electrical supply, Rifkind said. CBC News has more.

In other news, Frog Lake Cree Nation has signed a letter of intent to join the Western Indigenous Pipeline Group (WIPG), which was created to promote Indigenous groups and their goal of buying a majority stake in the Trans Mountain pipeline.

The WIPG is made up of 66 Indigenous title- and rights-holding nations, who are all affected by either the Trans Mountain pipeline or the lines expansion project. The Calgary Herald has more.

Canadian Crude Index was trading at US$28.13 and Western Canadian Select had risen by 7.68 per cent or US$2.33 and was going for US$32.66 this morning at 7:58 a.m.

Noteworthy

This story was last updated on Sept. 17 at 3:41 p.m.

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The Drilldown: NL Confederation Building thronged by offshore-oil workers - iPolitics.ca