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How to look younger at 50 years old

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Calgary: Smokey weekend ahead, but relief may be on the horizon

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Calgary hip-hop artist Ricca Razor Sharp ready for his closeup with new album, film Bowness Kardashian – TheYYSCENE

It’s a movie that might require a sequel. Hell, when Jonathan Stoddart (a.k.a. Ricca Razor Sharp) sat down to chat about his upcoming film/album release for Bowness Kardashian — taking place Wednesday, May 23 at the Globe Cinema — it was on the patio of taproom one of the city’s premiere craft beer makers, Wild Rose Brewery. The reason that’s significant and why it might require a Part II is that one of the standout cuts from the record is Brewed Right Here, a celebration of and tribute to Calgary’s growing beer community, the video featuring Stoddart, his wife and friends on a pub crawl that takes them to a handful of breweries in the southeast. Now, several months later, there are many more to choose from all over the grid, and, of course, the grandaddy Wild Rose a little further afield from those Inglewood and area haunts, in the old Currie Barracks. “We kept it to a certain location that day, just for the purposes of expediency,” the longtime local hip-hop artist says.“But this is a good one, too. I’m sure my wife would enjoy coming up here, she’s a big fan of the local beer scene.” That tune and video help make Bowness Kardashian, the film and the album, another fine, fun and funny entry into the canon of Ricca Razor Sharp’s almost two-decade career of making music in this city — both as a solo artist and as part of the funk-rock act Blades of Steel. He’ll release the two on Wednesday, March 23 with a screening of the hour-long film at the Globe Cinema. Stoddart recorded most of the footage himself at various locations around the city, sometimes using a “tripod made out of paint sticks and tape, literally,” other times his wife or friends holding it. As to why a film treatment for BK, Stoddart admits he’d been “messing around with video for awhile” in his musical life and in his day job, and this seemed a natural extension. “The short answer is a.) because I wanted to get better at video; and b.) because I just thought it would be a nice creative endeavour,” he says. “I guess at this point in my career I’m just trying to do those things that fulfill me creatively without so much micro-focus on what the advantage of it will be in terms of longterm career planning. “Since I’m at that point in my career, I just want to do things that I want to do.” He continues. “And, if I can add to that, you know, when you do music you get the payoff by getting onstage and then you feel that energy in the room. But the other half is the writing, recording and releasing, and I don’t go to your house and watch you listen to my album. So it’s out there in the world and you never get to touch it and feel it in that communal way, so I just had this big vision of making this video and releasing it and having a night where everybody watched it and I was there with them.” He’s hoping that family, friends and fans will help fill the room for the screening, in part, because it’s also his birthday. (It will also be online for viewing soon after.) And he knows that those who appear in it, including collaborators on the music such as the members of Calgary hip-hop collective Audible Intelligence — who provide the beats for many of the songs, or, as Stoddart calls it, the “meat and potatoes” — will definitely show up because he hasn’t yet shared with them the final product. What they and anyone else who watches it will see is a a pretty great and often goofy DIY effort, with the songs and videos put into different chapters according to lyrical themes, including partying and drinking, thinking music, redemption songs, friends and family and then closure, which is the final tune Bowness Kardashian — a cheeky take on “hip-hop and bragging and representing” set in Stoddart’s new neighbourhood. He knows that the fact he and his wife moved into the community last fall means he certainly can’t lay claim to any true Bownesian street cred, but he still wanted to represent the town inside of the city that has been his hometown of two decades. That’s also another common theme running throughout the album and film, Calgary, itself — be it a tribute to Kensington or the many Flames references and appearances of the flaming “C.” “It’s something good to write about. I like it, yes, I like living here and I like making songs about it,” says the native Nova Scotian. “I can’t very well write songs about being from Los Angeles or anything, and Calgary’s been good to me and it’s ripe for songwriting, in my opinion.” As to whether or not that may limit the appeal of his work, Stoddart is uncertain. “I don’t know,” he says, laughing. “I don’t know what my appeal my be. “I try obviously not to make everything all the time about Calgary, so there can be some appeal. But I’d rather be popular in Calgary than popular nowhere, so, yeah, if it narrows my appeal, so be it.” And while he’s hoping fans will check the film out either at the Globe for that one-night showing or online, and then perhaps buy the album on download, Stoddart is also just happy to have it out there, ready to celebrate its birth and his, not sure what else will come of it. “It’s going to be a fun night for me,” he says and pauses. “And then I’ll decide what to do next, i guess.” Ricca Razor Sharp screens Bowness Kardashian Wednesday, May 23 at the Globe Cinema at 7 p.m. Sourcehttp://theyyscene.com/2018/05/22/calgary-hip-hop-artist-ricca-razor-sharp-ready-for-his-closeup-with-new-album-and-film-bowness-kardashian/ Read the full article

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Lakeview letter rejects ring road plans tying into Tsuut’ina

A letter calling on elected officials to reconsider plans for a stretch of the southwest ring road linking the community of Lakeview to a Tsuut’ina development is causing a stir among residents of the neighbourhood on Calgary’s western edge. The letter, penned by a Lakeview Community Association committee, calls for discussions with the province and the city about the project, while claiming a mandate to oppose access between Lakeview and the proposed Taza development on the Tsuut’ina First Nation. The letter, dated April 25, was released publicly by Coun. Jeromy Farkas days after several members of the community had asked to see its contents.  Lakeview resident and former community association board member Jesse Salus said he is “extremely concerned” by the letter, which he says misrepresents the views of the community. “They’ve taken real liberties in misrepresenting our position to the government,” Salus said. “If the community association takes a position where it’s already made up its mind that it is seeking to close access to the community and the reserve — to me, that is not the way to engage with our neighbours on this issue.” Association president Joann Burke said the letter and the board’s position on the project is based on the wishes of Lakeview residents. Burke pointed to a vote held March 3, where a majority of residents voted in favour of “pursuing alternative options” to the long-term plan for 37th Street. “The traffic committee has the mandate to follow up and see what kind of solutions or options there are out there; that was the intent to the letter they had sent out,” Burke said. But some community members say the letter suggests the association is advocating for more than just “alternative options” to mitigate traffic impacts. “It talks specifically about ensuring that direct access is not permitted onto the Tsuut’ina Nation reserve, and that is not something that the community gave as a mandate to the community association, and so that was very disappointing,” said Geoffrey Vanderburg, a Lakeview resident and former president of the association. “That’s pushing the mandate quite far.” The community’s former councillor also took to Twitter this week and offered the following reaction to the letter: “this is troubling, and not the Lakeview I know,” tweeted Brian Pincott.  Some residents are concerned about the impact the ambitious Taza development on the Tsuut’ina First Nation will have on their community. The massive project is planned to include entertainment, retail and mixed-use developments and will be constructed over the next two decades.  A lobby group called Save Lakeview cropped up briefly, advocating for a berm between the southwest suburb and the First Nation, and though the group has since closed down, some of its members are now part of the association’s board. The province has planned for at least one roadway tying in the Taza development to the ring road and 37th Street S.W. in the Lakeview area, and some residents are concerned about the possibility of further access points being constructed in the future. “Our big concerns are that we don’t have enough information; we’ve asked for traffic studies,” Burke said. “We really represent what our residents want.” But Salus says the community’s traffic concerns should be discussed with Tsuut’ina, rather than the community taking a position against the connecting roads. He said he was bothered by the fact that the letter, which was addressed to the transport minister and shared with several provincial and municipal elected officials, was not shared with the Tsuut’ina. “I worry that the work that has been put into this relationship over the last few years could end up disappearing,” said Salus, who previously sat on the association’s Tsuut’ina Nation relations committee — a group that was dissolved by a vote of the board in March. “I worry that the nation would discontinue dialogue, because if the community association has already made up its mind, then what more is there to talk about?” A spokesman for Tsuut’ina Nation could not be reached for comment Friday. mpotkins@postmedia.com Twitter: @mpotkins Sourcehttp://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/troubling-lakeview-letter-rejects-ring-road-plans-tying-into-tsuutina Read the full article

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Trans Mountain pipeline: Feds would indemnify investors against losses

Finance Minister Bill Morneau says if Kinder Morgan wants to abandon plans to build the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, there are plenty of other investors out there willing to take up the cause. Kinder Morgan have set a May 31 drop dead date for the project if a solution to the dispute is not reached. If the company does decide to pull out of the pipeline, Morneau said he believes there are “other private sector actors that would be willing to move forward” with the project. And Morneau says the federal Liberal government is willing to “provide indemnity” to those investors to ensure the controversial Alberta-B.C. project is able to proceed. But Morneau said he had “nothing to report” on any discussions with other companies interested in taking over the project if Kinder Morgan backs out. At a press conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, Morneau said the federal government has a “clear role” to play in quelling the “politically motivated investment risk” posed by continued delays from B.C. Premier John Horgan. Morneau said Kinder Morgan’s reservations are understandable given “Horgan’s deliberate attempts to derail the project.” “We believe that what Premier Horgan has done is unconstitutional,” he said. Read our complete coverage of the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion here. Amid mounting opposition from the B.C. government, environmental groups and protesters, not to mention skittish investors, Kinder Morgan halted all non-essential spending on its $7.4-billion plan to double an existing pipeline between Edmonton and Burnaby, B.C., and gave Ottawa until the end of May to broker some calm. Morneau says investors need certainty in order to back a project that the government has repeatedly insisted is in the national interest. The finance minister had been engaged in intensive talks with Kinder Morgan officials up until Tuesday, but the two sides have yet to declare any common ground on the amount of federal money involved. Today’s hastily called news conference comes on the same day as the company’s annual meeting in Calgary. Morneau’s talks with Kinder Morgan had their genesis a month ago, when Trudeau promised to deploy both financial and legislative tools to ensure the disputed expansion is able to proceed. During a remarkable eight-hour stopover in the national capital, an unscheduled break from a busy overseas travel itinerary, Trudeau convened a summit in Ottawa with B.C.’s John Horgan, who has staked his government’s survival on opposing the pipeline, and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, whose province’s economic health depends on it. Trudeau instructed Morneau to sit down with Kinder Morgan to find a financial solution that would soothe their investors. He also promised legislation that would reaffirm Ottawa’s authority to press ahead with a development deemed to be in Canada’s national interest. The Liberal government position is that it approved the project in 2016 after a rejigged environmental assessment and Indigenous consultation process, and in concert with the its climate change and oceans protection plan. Approval came in consultation with the previous B.C. Liberal government, which gave its consent to the project after its own conditions were met. Horgan’s election last year changed that. His minority government exists at the pleasure of the Green party, and on condition of his continued opposition to the project. Sourcehttp://calgaryherald.com/business/energy/finance-minister-bill-morneau-says-federal-government-would-back-any-trans-mountain-pipeline-investors Read the full article

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Varcoe: Welcome to Alberta, B.C. leaders. Did you bring your gas cans?

Welcome to Alberta, business leaders of British Columbia. Hope you brought along your gasoline cans, just in case. “We’re going to fill up on gas while we’re here, for sure,” said B.C. Chamber of Commerce president Val Litwin, responding to a joke Thursday while visiting the Alberta legislature. The world of politics and business can be a funny place at times, full of ironies and strange coincidences.  Take, for example, the 100 B.C. business, labour and First Nations leaders like Litwin who boarded a 5 a.m. flight from Vancouver’s airport to fly across the Rocky Mountains and meet up with colleagues from Alberta. It came less than 24 hours after Premier Rachel Notley threatened to turn down the energy taps to British Columbia, potentially spiking gasoline prices and escalating the trade dispute between the provinces. Thursday’s trip, billed as the Federation Flight, was designed to “bridge the rift” between the provinces over the contentious Trans Mountain pipeline project that now has the neighbouring governments at each other’s throats. From a wine ban and bitumen blockade to ongoing court challenges, the relationship between the NDP governments of Rachel Notley and John Horgan couldn’t be more dysfunctional.  Thursday’s mini-trade mission was aimed at delivering a positive message, building up support for the benefits of interprovincial trade. It’s important to remember the equivalent of $34 billion worth of goods and services flow smoothly across the border each year, bereft of bickering or back-biting. But the Federation Flight also occurred the day after Bill 12 passed, arming the Alberta government with power to issue oil and natural gas export permits. The legislation is supposed to maximize the value of Alberta’s resources.  In reality, it’s aimed at punishing B.C., threatening to restrict energy flows westward, just as the coastal province tries to prevent Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain expansion from being built — a development worth billions of dollars to Alberta’s treasury. “I am ready and prepared to turn off the taps,” Notley declared Wednesday, prompting B.C. Attorney-General David Eby to threaten to take Alberta to court, calling the bill unconstitutional. It’s a far cry from the welcoming embrace Alberta cabinet ministers gave the B.C. delegation at the legislature Thursday. The two sides stood together on a staircase and sang the national anthem, basking in the glow of sharing a common cause. The B.C. business community supports the federally approved pipeline, even though the Horgan government wants to keep it from being built. “This is not about a pipeline anymore. This is about confidence in Canada. So we’re here to remind Albertans they have support in B.C.,” Litwin said in an interview. “We want to see this project move ahead, and we won’t be drowned out by the voices of ‘No’ on this project.” That’s obviously why they were feted with a luncheon in Edmonton that featured the premier speaking about the benefits of the pipeline, and an array of cabinet ministers at the legislature to make them feel at home. It’s easy to roll out the carpet and be hospitable to like-minded individuals. Imagine the welcome at the legislature for B.C. Environment Minister George Heyman or pipeline critic Tzeporah Berman, a former co-chair of the Alberta Oil Sands Advisory Group. I suspect it would include a Simpsons-like moment, with Monty Burns declaring: “Release the hounds.” Speaking later to reporters, Notley stressed Alberta isn’t trying to create hardship for B.C. consumers through Bill 12, but is driving toward one goal: getting Trans Mountain back on track. “I am sure they’re not super pumped about Bill 12, but at the same time, I think they also see where we’re headed,” she said of the B.C. contingent. “We share a common destination we want to get to.” The travelling delegation said it would not to be deterred by the unfortunate timing of their trip. Business leaders from both provinces stressed the importance of building the pipeline, not just to create jobs and trade, but to show global investors the federation can get big projects done while respecting the rule of law.  They spoke about their concern over where the incessant infighting is headed, such as the ban on B.C. wines that Alberta introduced and suspended earlier this year, or the court reference question Horgan is pursuing to limit additional heavy oil shipments into his province. “None of that is helpful. We’re not here to exacerbate that risk,” said Iain Black, head of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. “We really have to rise above the politics of it and encourage our leaders to do the same.” The reality is the two provincial governments are now fully at war. Politically, neither side is willing to give in. The shelling won’t cease while Kinder Morgan’s May 30 deadline on proceeding with the project draws near. At least business groups in both provinces are prepared to talk with each other. “Doing things in person does matter. It’s why the federal and provincial governments do trade missions to other countries,” said Zoe Addington of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. “While I’d hate to suggest we need trade missions within the country, maybe that’s where we are at.” In fact, that’s exactly where we’re at in Canada today. That’s why Federation Flight needed to take off in the first place. If governments aren’t able to work through their differences and seek solutions, someone else has to begin the Rocky Mountain reconciliation.  Chris Varcoe is a Calgary Herald columnist. cvarcoe@calgaryherald.com Sourcehttp://calgaryherald.com/business/energy/varcoe-welcome-to-alberta-b-c-leaders-did-you-bring-your-gas-cans Read the full article

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Alberta to pass Bill 12 Wednesday; Notley ‘prepared to turn off the taps’ over Trans Mountain

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said the NDP government plans to pass Bill 12 Wednesday. “At the end of the day today, Alberta will be equipped with new tools to assert our rights to control the flow of our resources to British Columbia.” Bill 12, entitled Preserving Canada’s Economic Prosperity Act, gives Alberta the ability to retaliate against B.C. if shipment of energy products is restricted. Once passed, the government would be able to direct truckers, pipeline companies and rail operators on how much product could be shipped and when. Violators would face fines of up to $1 million a day for individuals and $10 million a day for corporations. Watch below: Premier Rachel Notley said her government has many different leverage points to get the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion built. Alberta has ‘different leverage points’ to get Trans Mountain built: Premier Rachel Notley

                  Notley said the process, generally speaking, would include having the bill proclaimed, cabinet passing the regulations, issuing licences and having conversations with shippers. The premier wouldn’t give an exact timeline, but said the entire process could happen “very quickly, within 24 hours” or “it could be a matter or weeks.” “I’m ready and prepared to turn off the taps,” Notley said. “We will do whatever is necessary to ensure construction on the pipeline resumes this summer, as scheduled.” Bill 12 echoes similar legislation passed by Alberta in the early 1980s in a fight with Ottawa over oil resources and profits. The premier also addressed the federal government’s announcement about the pipeline project earlier Wednesday. Morneau: Trans Mountain ‘clearly’ falls under federal jurisdiction

          Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau said if Kinder Morgan wants to abandon plans to build the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, there are plenty of other investors out there willing to take up the cause. He also said the federal Liberal government is willing to “provide indemnity” to those investors to ensure the controversial Alberta-B.C. project is able to proceed. “The federal government took an important step on that matter in announcing that Ottawa will fully backstop the project,” Notley said. “The federal government has worked with Alberta to eliminate the financial risk to the project brought by the actions of the B.C. government, a key piece of our overall strategy.” B.C. Premier John Horgan said he is defending the interests of British Columbia by joining two legal cases that are already underway over the project and asking the B.C. Court of Appeal whether the province has the right to protect its environment through a permitting system for hazardous substances that are transported inside its borders. “We are standing up for British Columbia’s environment, economy and our coast against the threat of a bitumen spill, and we are doing so entirely within our rights,” Horgan said in a statement. He said B.C. has not made provocative statements and it is up to the courts, not Morneau, to determine what is constitutional when it comes to allowing the expansion of a pipeline that ships diluted bitumen through the province. “The federal finance minister is trying to use our government as an excuse, as the federal government puts taxpayer money on the line to backstop risks to private investors, while completely ignoring the risks to B.C.,” Horgan said. “The fact is, we’ve been issuing permits in a fair and timely manner, and have proposed new regulations that are now referred to court to confirm our jurisdiction. “We are acting well within B.C.’s rights to defend our environment, and the tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of economic activity that depend on it.” Kinder Morgan has ceased all non-essential spending on the $7.4-billion pipeline project that would twin the existing pipeline between Burnaby, B.C., and Edmonton. READ MORE: British Columbia looking at potential legal action against Alberta over oil restriction bill  In response to Ottawa’s announcement Wednesday, Kinder Morgan’s CEO said he appreciates that Morneau understands the “uncertainty created by the B.C. government’s stated intentions to ‘do whatever it takes to stop the Trans Mountain Expansion Project’ and the ‘exceptional political risk'” the project continues to face. “While discussions are ongoing, we are not yet in alignment and will not negotiate in public,” CEO Steve Kean said. “As we have stated, the May 31 deadline for these discussions is necessitated by approaching construction windows, the time required to mobilize contractors, and the need to commit significant new materials orders, among many other imperatives associated with such a large project.” Notley said pipeline opponents have sought to exhaust investors but that approach doesn’t work if it’s backed by Canadian people. “B.C. does not have this authority. The constitution is clear.” Notley described Bill 12 as “a tool in our toolbox to help get the job done.” “Alberta has the right to act in the public interest.” Watch below: Pro-pipeline protesters gathered outside the conference centre hosting Kinder Morgan’s annual general meeting in Calgary to show their support for the Trans Mountain pipeline project on Wednesday.

— With files from The Canadian Press Sourcehttps://globalnews.ca/news/4212414/notley-alberta-trans-mountain-kinder-morgan-ottawa/ Read the full article

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Braid: Alberta has many ways to retaliate if B.C. blocks pipeline

B.C. Green Leader Andrew Weaver says Alberta should “get with the program” and move away from oil and gas. OK, let’s do it. The first step would be to stop shipments through the existing Kinder Morgan pipeline to the B.C. Interior and Lower Mainland. Almost 90 per cent of the fuel for Vancouver and the southern coast comes out of that pipeline, either as gasoline or crude to be refined. Kinder Morgan is also a major supplier of gasoline to Kamloops and the wider interior. In a separate operation, the company pipes jet fuel to Vancouver Airport. Imagine the progress if all that was cut off — car-free streets, silent skies, parked transport trucks, happy strolls to pick up the kids and the groceries. Such a blessing! The Alberta government could actually do something like that. In fact, it already has.  Since at least the 1970s, the province has had authority to prohibit shipments of energy products outside the province. Former PC premier Peter Lougheed once cut the volume of crude oil sent to eastern refineries, as part of his epic battle with Ottawa over control of the industry. Energy Minister Don Getty, later the premier, stopped signing permits for natural gas going down the pipeline to Ontario refineries. It was a protest against federal policy that discouraged refining in Alberta. “What really bothered us were the petrochemical plants in Sarnia,” Getty told me in 2011, recalling the episode with delight. “The government and the companies had decided that the future development of second stage industry was going to happen there, using our feedstock. “So we just stopped sending it to them. I had authority to approve all shipments eastward, and all those documents just piled up on my desk, because I didn’t sign. “The next thing we knew, Bill Davis (the Ontario premier) was phoning Peter and saying, ‘Hey, we have to come and see you, because we’re out of gas here.’” The Lougheed PCs also won a Supreme Court ruling against a federal export tax slapped on oil and gas shipped to the U.S.

Former Premier Peter Lougheed and Don Getty on July 25, 1973.Postmedia Archives Currently, the export permit system is handled by the Alberta Energy Regulator and applies to natural gas. The Notley government, never reluctant to change laws and regulations, could easily broaden that power and take it back into the energy minister’s office.  Weaver and his NDP collaborator, John Horgan, are messing with a province that has heavy weapons and a long history of using them. And the truth is, the power balance is heavily tilted toward Alberta. Just as Alberta is landlocked, B.C. is in a way sea-locked. Most B.C. products going to the rest of Canada pass through Alberta.  The B.C. NDP and Greens show no respect for the new Canadian Free Trade Agreement. They invite retaliation against shipments of wine, lumber and scores of other products. But B.C.’s main vulnerability is oil and gas, the very industry Weaver and Horgan want us to blithely leave behind. Kinder Morgan is the only Canadian pipeline that transports “batches” of petroleum products — crude one day, gasoline the next, maybe bitumen after than. This unique variety, and the fact that it’s the only coastal pipeline, makes B.C. heavily dependent on Alberta’s complex industry. Natural gas producers in the B.C. northeast routinely send their product to Fort Saskatchewan for processing, and then bring it back for sale. Isn’t that double jeopardy for the environment? We’re getting with the program here — maybe we should stop it. The producers and pipeline companies would not like shipping restrictions. Political disputes cut into their revenue. But the earlier grudges faded when Lougheed’s actions turned out to be in their long-term interests. The Alberta NDP is so far saying nothing about retaliation. Premier Rachel Notley’s view is that the pipeline will get built without resorting to punitive measures. But that’s just for now. B.C.’s weak underbelly in the fight against the pipeline expansion, ironically, is its very reliance on Alberta oil and gas. Weaver and Horgan could get a preview of petroleum-free B.C., sooner than they think. Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Calgary Herald Sourcehttp://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/braid-in-pipeline-dispute-alberta-has-ways-to-get-tough-with-b-c Read the full article

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Varcoe: Oilsands producers move to shed high-cost, high-carbon label

High cost crude, high carbon footprint. The oilsands have been dogged for years by criticism it’s one of the most expensive barrels of crude in the world to produce. It requires a lot of energy to extract the molasses-like bitumen, while generating greenhouse gas emissions — making it “dirty tarsands oil” in the eyes of fierce critics like former U.S. vice-president Al Gore. But at the Energy Disruptors conference on Tuesday, Suncor Energy CEO Steve Williams painted the picture of an industry that is evolving, using technology, data and innovation to drive costs lower, while curbing emissions per barrel. For example, the company’s new $17-billion Fort Hills oilsands mine has GHG emissions per barrel that are in line with the average crude produced in the United States, he said. And the cost to produce it has been falling in the wake of the 2014 oil price collapse and ongoing efforts to squeeze expenses. “That journey, in the last 10 years, has taken us from a cost of just around $40 a barrel down to today, just above $20 — and I can see it coming down into the teens. That’s been a journey of scale, of better technologies,” he told the audience attending the two-day conference in Calgary. “Our challenge is to be competitive on price and competitive on carbon.” The energy sector is going through a wholesale evolution today, powered by a growing global population and more people moving into the middle class. They’re rightfully demanding cleaner, more affordable energy supplies. The International Energy Agency forecasts global energy demand will rise by 31 per cent by 2040. A period of disruption is now in full swing, from the falling price of renewable energy to the phasing out of coal-fired electricity to the emerging presence of electric vehicles. These factors, along with the ongoing shift to decarbonize, are putting pressure on Canadian energy producers to adapt. Williams noted Suncor is moving into big data collection and analysis, while examining the potential of machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve operations. The Calgary-based company is in the midst of adopting the first fully autonomous heavy vehicle fleet in North America at its oilsands operations north of Fort McMurray. It is using massive, 400-tonne capacity driverless trucks to move ore around its mining site. “It’s just amazing to watch. The trucks operate all the time. They only stop to be fuelled,” he said. “They drive almost perfectly, they accelerate perfectly, they brake perfectly, they don’t bump into things.” Yet, as billions of dollars of investment flow into shorter-cycle energy investments in the U.S. shale oil plays, companies like Suncor, Canadian Natural Resources and Cenovus Energy must continue to lower costs and their carbon footprint in the oilsands. It will require effort, but there are opportunities ahead.  A Canadian Energy Research Institute study last year projected the oilsands sector can lower its supply costs per barrel by up to 46 per cent. The sector can also cut GHG emissions intensity by as much as 80 per cent per barrel through the use of emerging technologies. Partial upgrading, using solvents and improving steam generation techniques in thermal oilsands operations hold promise, but will require major investments. “It really depends on how fast the technological processes are adopted,” Dinara Millington, CERI‘s vice-president of research, said in an interview. “There is no one silver bullet technology — no one technological solution — that will address these various issues.” Williams pointed out Suncor is now using 50 per cent less energy per barrel than it did a decade ago, and has a target to bring that down by another 30 per cent by 2030. But the entire oil and gas industry is the largest source of emissions in Canada, accounting for 26 per cent of all GHGs as oilsands production continues to increase. Other producers are also trying to hammer home the point their oilsands costs and emissions are becoming more competitive. Canadian Natural Resources executive vice-chairman Steve Laut noted recently the company’s methane emissions have dropped by 71 per cent from its conventional heavy oil operations since 2012. Emissions from its Horizon oilsands project are within five per cent of the average global barrel, he added. But the oilsands has other obstacles to overcome if it wants to keep growing, including the high capital costs needed to build new projects and the inability of Canada to construct pipelines to move product efficiently to market. “There’s a ways to go before the perception of the (oilsands) industry has changed,” said industry analyst Jennifer Rowland with Edwards Jones. “If there’s not a clear line of sight for new pipelines, then why would anyone in their right mind sanction a new project?” Expect disruption to continue for both energy producers and consumers in the years ahead as these forces for change continue to accelerate. For Canada’s oilsands sector, the question is how quickly will it adapt to these changes, and if it can alter perceptions in the process. “You have to be low cost, high responsibility to survive and prosper,” speaker Michael Liebreich, founder of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, told the conference. “The one thing we know in this energy city, this energy province, if you want things to stay as they are, everything will have to change.” Chris Varcoe is a Calgary Herald columnist. Sourcehttp://calgaryherald.com/business/energy/varcoe-oilsands-producers-move-to-shed-high-cost-high-carbon-label Read the full article