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REPSOL takeover of TALISMAN - pipelines & tarsands!

PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2014 11:16 am
by Oscar
CETA, Energy East and LNG implications with Repsol purchase of Talisman

[ http://canadians.org/blog/ceta-energy-e ... e-talisman ]

December 16, 2014 - 9:45 am

Spain's Repsol SA has just bought Calgary-based Talisman Energy Inc., the fifth largest oil and gas producer in Canada, for $8.3 billion.

The Globe and Mail reports, "The combined company will produce 680,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, a 76-per-cent increase to Repsol's current output, and have a presence in more than 50 countries. Its workforce will number 27,000, said Calgary-based Talisman." [ http://www.bnn.ca/News/2014/12/16/Talis ... -deal.aspx ]

The Canadian Press adds, "While [Talisman's] offshore assets in Southeast Asia and its position in several North American shale regions are seen to be attractive to potential bidders, its holdings in the U.K. North Sea have been cited as a hindrance to any potential deals as they've been prone to unplanned outages and have struggled to meet targets." [
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/talisma ... -1.2874486 ]

Reuters notes the North Sea holdings have been problematic "because maintenance work on aging platforms has made production targets unreliable and decommissioning obligations have increased." [
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/12/1 ... JK20141216 ]

And the Financial Times highlights, "The takeover marks the end of Repsol’s protracted search for acquisition targets, and its longstanding effort to bolster its upstream operations in politically safe regions such as North America [rather than in countries such as Libya and Venezuela]. After the acquisition of Talisman, North America will account for 50 per cent of the group´s capital employed in exploration." [ http://0-www.ft.com.innopac.up.ac.za/cm ... z3MAwCivMT ]

Energy East exports to Europe

In May 2014, the first shipment of Canadian tar sands bitumen to Europe arrived in Bilbao, Spain. The 600,000 barrels of bitumen had been purchased by Repsol. Warning of increased shipments of bitumen to Europe via the Energy East pipeline, Friends of the Earth Europe has noted, "the Spanish oil company Repsol has existing ties with TransCanada’s key partner Irving oil [in an LNG terminal]." [ http://canadians.org/blog/tar-sands-oil ... t-pipeline ]

In addition, the current chief executive officer of Talisman, Hal Kvisle, was the CEO of TransCanada Pipelines Limited between 2001 and 2010.

LNG exports from Saint John

In October 2014, New Brunswick premier Brian Gallant told TransCanada that it should consider a second pipeline alongside the Energy East pipeline to carry natural gas to the Canaport LNG terminal in Saint John. [ http://canadians.org/blog/new-brunswick ... t-pipeline ] The Canaport LNG is a joint partnership between Repsol and Irving Oil. It currently
imports liquefied natural gas from countries such as Qatar and Trinidad by tanker, puts the liquefied natural gas through a regasification process, and moves that by pipeline to U.S. and Canadian markets. In November 2013, the provincial Department of Environment gave permission for the terminal to export natural gas using tankers.

Investor-state in CETA

Talisman operates in North America in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Pennsylvania, New York and Texas. With an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism in the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), Repsol will be in a powerful position to challenge laws and regulations that protect the environment and Indigenous rights against resource exploitation.

Further reading

Tar sands oil arrives in Spain, more expected with the Energy East pipeline (May 2014 blog)

[ http://canadians.org/blog/tar-sands-oil ... t-pipeline ]

Brent Patterson's blog
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]
Political Director of the Council of Canadians

Re: REPSOL/CETA/ENERGY EAST/LNG/TRANSCANADA/IRVING . . tarsa

PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2014 11:39 am
by Oscar
Tar sands oil arrives in Spain, more expected with the Energy East pipeline

[ http://canadians.org/blog/tar-sands-oil ... t-pipeline ]

May 29, 2014 - 8:44 am

Friends of the Earth Europe tells us, "The first shipment of highly polluting Canadian tar sands oil to Europe is due to arrive in Spain today. ...The 600,000 barrels of oil will arrive in Bilbao and have been purchased by Spain-based multinational Repsol. It is the first major shipment of tar sands oil to the EU." [ http://www.foeeurope.org/first-delivery ... ope-290514 ]

Research by the Natural Resources Defense Council released by Transport and Environment, Greenpeace EU and Friends of the Earth Europe warns that European imports of tar sands could increase to about 700,000 barrels per day in 2020 (up from 4,000 bpd in 2012). [ http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/Globa ... 202014.pdf ]

Their briefing note states, "New pipelines planned or under construction in North America, in combination with refinery developments in Europe, could turn Europe into a significant market for Canadian tar sands oil. ...For example, TransCanada’s current Energy East tar sands pipeline could bring 1.1 million bpd from Alberta to eastern Canadian ports. It has Europe as one of the main intended destinations for the crude oil." [ http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/Globa ... report.pdf ]

They add, "This pipeline, recently proposed by TransCanada, would link tar sands production in Alberta with the ports on the Canadian East Coast. It would be able to transport 1.1 million bpd of tar sands crudes. It is clear that the Energy East pipeline project is an export pipeline and oil company executives have mentioned Europe (and in particular Spain) as a priority destination. The oil exported would be crudes, either heavy diluted bitumen or light synthetic crude oil. A number of refineries in Spain can process heavy crudes, including diluted bitumen. In addition, the Spanish oil company Repsol has existing ties with TransCanada’s key partner Irving oil."

The groups conclude, "The growth of Canada’s tar sands industry in the coming decades depends crucially on the market access. Building new pipelines and getting access to premium markets, such as Europe, will have a major impact on investments in tar sands projects and on global GHG emissions related to the expansion of high carbon unconventional oil. ...The Fuel Quality Directive [which obliges fuel suppliers to reduce the lifecycle greenhouse gas intensity of transport fuel by 6% by 2020, compared with 2010] is one of the key instruments to reduce future demand for tar sands and drive the fuel market in a cleaner direction."

And they warn, "Oil from Canadian tar sands could reach up to 6.7% of the EU transport fuels consumption in 2020, which would increase the greenhouse gas intensity of European transport fuels by around 1.5%. This represents a quarter of the 6% reduction target and is equivalent to adding around 6 million cars on European roads by 2020."

The Council of Canadians opposes the Energy East pipeline and supports the Fuel Quality Directive.

Our interventions in support of the FQD have included

- releasing a legal opinion highlighting how the Harper government could use the Canada-European Union 'free trade' agreement to attack the FQD [ http://canadians.org/trade/documents/CE ... rsands.pdf ];
- issuing an open letter calling on the Harper government to stop its lobbying against the FQD in Europe [ http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/20 ... pr-11.html ];
- sending a letter to all Members of the European Parliament urging them to support the FQD [ http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/20 ... ct-11.html ];
- supporting newspaper ads in the UK, Netherlands and France backing the FQD [ http://www.canadians.org/node/4025 ];
- lobbying EU embassies in Ottawa [ http://www.canadians.org/media/energy/2 ... eb-12.html ]; and
- meeting with government representatives in Paris, The Hague, London and Berlin [ http://www.canadians.org/node/8367 ].

Further reading

Will Energy East take the tar sands to Italy?

[ http://canadians.org/blog/will-energy-e ... ands-italy ]

UK signals support for EU to import tar sands oil
[ http://canadians.org/node/9531 ]

TransCanada East Coast pipeline eyes tar sands exports to China, India and Europe
[ http://canadians.org/node/8783 ]


Brent Patterson's blog
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]
Political Director of the Council of Canadians

Re: REPSOL/CETA/ENERGY EAST/LNG/TRANSCANADA/IRVING . . tarsa

PostPosted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 10:16 am
by Oscar
Talisman agrees to $15.1B Cdn takeover by Spain's Repsol

[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/talisma ... -1.2874486 ]

Rumours of imminent takeover sent shares in Calgary-based energy company soaring

The Canadian Press Posted: Dec 16, 2014 6:24 AM ET| Last Updated: Dec 16, 2014 3:14 PM ET

Spanish company Repsol was rumoured to be the frontrunner to take over Talisman, Canada's fifth-largest independent oil producer. (Larry MacDougal/Canadian Press)

Talisman Energy Inc. based in Calgary says it has agreed to be purchased by Spanish energy giant Repsol in a transaction worth about $15.1 billion Cdn ($13 billion US).

Under the agreement confirmed early Tuesday by Talisman, Repsol will acquire all outstanding common shares of Talisman at $9.33 Cdn ($8 US) each. Repsol will also take on about $5.48 billion Cdn ($4.7 billion US) of debt.

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[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/talisma ... -1.2874486 ]