 |
 |
|
 |
July 15, 2009 - Volume 7, Number 8 | |
 |
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Electricity Industry In Canada In co-operation with Carswell, a Thomson Reuters company, Gowlings is pleased to announce that our book entitled The Electricity Industry In Canada is now available for purchase. The two-volume work, consisting of about 1,400 pages, is a comprehensive look at the electricity sector from coast-to-coast-to-coast. Topics covered include:
The provinces and territories are also comprehensively covered. These chapters are structured in a way to make cross referencing an easy task with each chapter containing discussions on:
For more information, or to purchase this book, please visit the following Thomson Reuters web site: What Are Senior Energy Executives Thinking? Have you wanted to know what other senior energy executives are thinking about today's hot issues in the energy sector in Canada and around the world? We have. That's why Energy @ Gowlings has introduced a new feature, "What Are Senior Energy Executives Thinking?". From opinions on the development of renewable generation to views on alternative energy technologies to the place of Alberta's oil sands in the continental supply mix, Gowlings will ask the questions you've always wanted to. This issue's web poll: Many jurisdictions across North America are contemplating some of the same provisions that are contained within Ontario's Green Energy Act (GEA). In particular, the GEA commits Ontario to the comprehensive development of the smart grid. How will other jurisdictions respond to the implementation of smart grid technology?
DISCLAIMER: This poll is informal, not scientific. It only reflects the opinions of site visitors who have voluntarily participated. The results may not represent the opinions of the public as a whole. Gowlings is not responsible for the statistical accuracy of opinions here expressed. If you have have a question you'd like to pose, let us know. Your question could be featured in an upcoming edition of the newsletter. Send all your energy-related questions to energy@gowlingsnewsletters.com.
Alberta To Be The Site Of The World's Deepest Coal Gasification Demonstration Project
The Swan Hills Gasification Demonstration Project Earlier this year, the Government of Alberta announced that it will contribute $8.83 million, through the Alberta Energy Research Institute, towards a $30 million underground coal gasification project with Calgary-based Swan Hills Synfuels LP. At 1,400 metres below the surface, the demonstration project is the first of its kind in North America and the deepest underground coal gasification project in the world. The Swan Hills syngas facility is expected to be operational in 2012 and will have a nameplate capacity of 910,000 m3/day of syngas for sale to end-users and 2,000 tonnes/day of CO2 for enhanced oil recovery projects or sequestration by third parties. The Minister of Energy has been authorized to grant an In-Situ Coal Gasification Lease to Swan Hills. To that end, Swan Hills has already drilled two production wells and will began production of syngas in June of this year. A Primer on Coal Gasification Generally speaking, coal gasification is a process that converts solid coal into a highly combustible gas, called syngas or synthesis gas, which is composed primarily of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, with small amounts of methane and carbon dioxide. The gas produced can be used as fuel for clean power generation, further processed into gas for home heating, or for other products like hydrogen, methanol or transportation fuels, and the gas can be used as feedstock for the creation of other chemicals. Coal gasification can be performed above ground at surface gasification plants or below the earth's surface (otherwise known as "in situ" gasification or underground coal gasification "UCG"). UCG utilizes coal deposits at depths that would otherwise make conventional coal mining uneconomic or simply not possible. The in situ process involves drilling two wells, an injection well and a producer well, into to the coal seam. Heat, oxygen and steam (created by non-potable saline water) are then injected into the coal bed. A chemical reaction occurs which produces the gas that is brought to the surface through the producer well and stripped of CO2 and other contaminants leaving hydrogen, methane and a synthetic mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Because the process occurs at depths of greater than 1000 metes, in situ coal gasification does not contaminate fresh groundwater, nor does it pollute the air with toxic smoke. The CO2 captured can be sold to third party conventional oil producers for use in depleted well recovery efforts. As well, the cavity that is created after the coal seam is exhausted can be used for CO2 storage. Coal Gasification Appears to Have a Promising Future Today environmental issues are an important part of political agendas and private citizens' concerns. Given the expected debate over the use of nuclear power within Alberta, and the ever-present concerns about the environmental impact of oil sands operations, coal gasification is a welcome innovation that could satisfy Alberta's increasing demand for cleaner energy. Swan Hills Synfuels LP hopes its demonstration project will show that coal gasification is a viable alternative for cleaner energy production. They should know by the end of this year whether the project can realize its potential by producing commercial quantities of syngas while reducing energy sector's overall impact on the environment. 
[Image courtesy of Underground Coal Gasification Nears Commercialization, Scott L. Montgomery and Steve Morzenti, Oil & Gas Journal, April 3, 2006.]
New Drilling Techniques Unlock 35 % more Natural Gas in the United States: Mackenzie Gas Project in More Trouble?
Hydraulic fracturing, a new drilling technique used to extract shale-gas, has unlocked significant supplies of natural gas in the United States. The U.S. authority on gas supplies, the Potential Gas Committee, has been releasing biennial reports for the past 44 years. The 2008 report, released June 18, 2009, indicated that natural gas reserves have increased by 35% since 2006, demonstrating the highest jump in the Committee's history. Shale-gas represented the majority of this 35% growth. The U.S.' recent discovery of its natural gas resource located largely within its gulf coast may add to the difficulties faced by the Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP). The MGP proposes shipping natural gas from the mouth of the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to the Alberta border where it would be fed into the existing TransCanada network. Preparation for the MGP began in 2001. Approvals remain outstanding from the required federal, territorial, provincial and settlement area authorities responsible for assessing and regulating energy developments. The regulatory review of the project was initiated in 2004 through the filing of the Environmental Impact Statement and the project's major regulatory applications with the National Energy Board. In March 2007, the stakeholders in the project set 2014 as the timeline for the pipeline becoming operational and a budget of $16.2-billion to get it there. Recent reports indicate that regulatory delays and cost issues have rendered the expected start date "uncertain". The release of the Potential Gas Committee's report, coupled with the United States Government announcement in June that it will increase its government loan guarantees from $18-billion to $30-billion for MGP's competitor project, the Alaskan Natural Gas Pipeline (AP), could potentially further delay, or indefinitely shelve, the advancement of the MGP. The AP is an approximated $26-billion venture that would transport gas from Alaska's North Slope to markets in the lower 48 states. Although the AP is slated to be completed four years after the MGP, the U.S. Government has clearly indicated that they consider the AP to be a priority. If the AP is completed first, the case to move forward the smaller MGP will be diminished. Nonetheless, the statements from industry representatives continue to affirm that both pipelines will be needed, even with the shale-gas expropriation. The potential impact of the shale-gas expropriation upon the MGP is, at this point, only speculative. The shale-gas expropriation itself raises concerns : currently high drilling costs and extensive water use may each have their own long term impacts on the economy and environment. Regardless, as a result of this recent study, the trade implications, environmental regulations and economic situations of the communities along the MGP will likely become hot topics in both Canada and the U.S. as both countries attempt to sort out their management of this fuel.
Up Close With ... Peter Murphy In this instalment of Up Close With… we feature Peter Murphy from Gowlings Toronto office where he focuses on energy, technology and financing law. Peter has extensive experience acting for clients in the energy industry. Peter advises Bruce Power LP on service agreements, fuel and equipment supply agreements and on technology and intellectual property matters. Peter has acted for Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation in its renegotiation of power purchase agreements with independent power generators, and has advised a major wind farm developer on project financing and service agreements relating to a new wind farm development project. Peter also provides commercial law, financing and regulatory advice to developers of solar photo-voltaic generating facilities and alternative fuel production facilities.
More recently Peter acted for a Canadian chartered bank on a $900 million accounts receivable financing program. Peter's unique experience in energy, technology and financing law was recently recognized by the province of Ontario. Peter was invited to act as part of a multi-disciplinary team of top legal advisors drawn from a number of major law firms to advise Infrastructure Ontario and the province of Ontario on their selection of a nuclear technology vendor. As part of this legal team, Peter advised on the negotiation and drafting of Infrastructure Ontario's nuclear procurement RFP documentation and an agreement for the development of a two-unit nuclear power plant with a capacity of up to 3.5 GW. Contact Information |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Peter's technology law expertise includes joint ventures, outsourcing, financing and intellectual property development, distribution, licensing, maintenance and support agreements. Peter advises technology law clients, including AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.), on a wide variety of technology law matters. Peter was seconded to AMD to work as part of their in-house legal department for 5 months during 2006. While at AMD, Peter acted as lead counsel on the negotiation of multiple international technology development, licensing and distribution contracts.