Calgary Economy

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by Deepstar

I'm not in the O&G industry, but I believe the positive outlook is more to do with the global market. Global giants like China and India will only be increasing their energy use, and so in many ways the sky is the limit as long as they can get a pipeline out of Alberta to the west coast. If that happens, we will be looking at a boom larger than anything we've seen before.

The east coast pipeline that TCPL is working on, could also provide petroleum sales outside of North America.

agreed. by 2030 analysts estimate that China will use ~70% more energy than the U.S.
and China has already taken huge initiative to secure oil for themselves by Chinese companies (usually government controlled) comprising a huge stake in the oil sands.

PetroChina, CNOOC (takeover of Nexen), China Petrochemical Corp aka Sinopec, China Investment Corp, etc. all have major stakes or at least a foothold in the Oil Sands.
not to mention Husky being Chinese owned as well.

[Spring2008]

TransCanada officially launching southern portion of Keystone XL crude pipeline
by The Canadian Press on Wednesday, January 22, 2014 8:24am - 0 Comments
VIEW IN CLEAN READING MODE »WHAT IS THIS ?
CALGARY – TransCanada Corp. (TSX:TRP) says it will brief members of the media today about the official startup of crude oil shipments on the southern portion of its controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

The northern portion of the pipeline has been held up by concerns over potential risks to drinking water supplies and climate change.

TransCanada and the Canadian government are awaiting a decision from the U.S. State Department and President Barack Obama, whose approval is required because the northern portion crosses the border.

In the meantime, TransCanada has pushed ahead with construction of Keystone XL’s southern portion, which connects a major oil hub in Oklahoma with refineries in Texas.

TransCanada had announced last month that Jan. 22 would mark the startup of deliveries to the Gulf of Mexico region and said Wednesday it will now be focusing on getting permits for the rest.

TransCanada officials including its president and CEO, Russ Girling, will provide an update on the official launch from company headquarters, starting at 10 a.m. Mountain time (noon Eastern time).

Get 20 issues of Maclean's for $20 and a bonus gift! Click here to order.

http://www2.macleans.ca/2014/01/22/t...rude-pipeline/

[kw5150]

We need to diversify our economy further and have a HEALTHY balance of oil and sustainable technologies. I know Calgary already has a large-ish tech sector but not sure how much of this is green technology.

Surprisingly.......I think Calgary does have a good green-tech sector but cant confirm that. I really hope solar makes a big impact SOON! Alberta is a very sunny place.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by kw5150

We need to diversify our economy further and have a HEALTHY balance of oil and sustainable technologies. I know Calgary already has a large-ish tech sector but not sure how much of this is green technology.

Surprisingly.......I think Calgary does have a good green-tech sector but cant confirm that. I really hope solar makes a big impact SOON! Alberta is a very sunny place.

agreed. Calgary should be an Energy capital, not just Oil & Gas. We should be at the forefront of Wind, Solar, alternative fuels, etc. technologies.

[Full Mountain]

Originally Posted by kw5150

We need to diversify our economy further and have a HEALTHY balance of oil and sustainable technologies. I know Calgary already has a large-ish tech sector but not sure how much of this is green technology.

Surprisingly.......I think Calgary does have a good green-tech sector but cant confirm that. I really hope solar makes a big impact SOON! Alberta is a very sunny place.

Originally Posted by WIGS

agreed. Calgary should be an Energy capital, not just Oil & Gas. We should be at the forefront of Wind, Solar, alternative fuels, etc. technologies.

A number of O&G companies are expanding into renewables, and at least one is moving away from the O&G branding to energy branding, a trend which I think a number of other companies will pick up over the coming years.

[hulkrogan]

Originally Posted by Full Mountain

A number of O&G companies are expanding into renewables, and at least one is moving away from the O&G branding to energy branding, a trend which I think a number of other companies will pick up over the coming years.

PanCanadian Petroleum did this back around 2002. They changed their name to PanCanadian Energy, and the CEO stated his vision was that in the future energy would move via the power grid, not in pipelines. I think they started buying some transmission and generation.

The board didn't like it, he "retired" then they "merged" with AEC and formed EnCana.

I think the guy was absolutely right, just too early.

[freeweed]

The re-branding as "energy companies" has been going on for over a decade. Most of it so far is just greenwashing. The big O&G players remain exactly that.

It's encouraging to see new windmills every time I drive Hwy 3, however. I wish we had 10x as many.

[kw5150]

Kind of greenwashing..........but some large oil players have been buying renewable energy companies, solar farms, wind farm etc. I actually have high hopes, someone has to I guess......

Originally Posted by freeweed

The re-branding as "energy companies" has been going on for over a decade. Most of it so far is just greenwashing. The big O&G players remain exactly that.

It's encouraging to see new windmills every time I drive Hwy 3, however. I wish we had 10x as many.

[VIce]

Originally Posted by WIGS

agreed. by 2030 analysts estimate that China will use ~70% more energy than the U.S.
and China has already taken huge initiative to secure oil for themselves by Chinese companies (usually government controlled) comprising a huge stake in the oil sands.

PetroChina, CNOOC (takeover of Nexen), China Petrochemical Corp aka Sinopec, China Investment Corp, etc. all have major stakes or at least a foothold in the Oil Sands.
not to mention Husky being Chinese owned as well.

Its not Chinese-owned in the same way that a state-owned entity like CNOOC owns Nexen. Li Ka-shing (the owner of Husky), despite living in Hong Kong, has a Canadian citizenship. Li's son (who is also a naturalized Canadian), who is co-chair of Husky, splits his time between Hong Kong and Canada. Personally, although I don't know how popular this is, I generally look at Chinese-owned and Hong Kong-owned separately.

[VIce]

Originally Posted by kw5150

We need to diversify our economy further and have a HEALTHY balance of oil and sustainable technologies. I know Calgary already has a large-ish tech sector but not sure how much of this is green technology.

Surprisingly.......I think Calgary does have a good green-tech sector but cant confirm that. I really hope solar makes a big impact SOON! Alberta is a very sunny place.

I don't think the industrial side of things is very large. Although we're a major consumer of renewable technologies, most of the technology is purchased and shipped in. For example, the size of wind turbines in Alberta have been mostly determined by how large of a turbine blade railways are willing to handle. Siemens and Vestas both have large wind R&D and production facilities in Colorado, while Enercon has some major facilities in Quebec... everything else happens in Europe. Meanwhile, a lot of low-head hydro is based out in BC.

However, in terms of research I think Calgary is a very powerful hub. I might be biased, because they've stuck all the environmental engineering grad students into the same building here at the U of C, so we sort of live in our own bubble. However, many of my colleagues are funded or collaborating with foreign governments and corporations that could have chosen a local university, but decided not to. So I think that's a very good vote of confidence, in addition to all the local energy companies and agencies who are involved here. Even very conservative players like electricity distributors, Enmax is investing a lot of money into distributed grid and smart grid research at the U of C.

[Spring2008]

Very nice!

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi heading back to Europe

BY DAVE DORMER ,CALGARY SUN

Fresh off his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mayor Naheed Nenshi is jetting back to Europe.

Nenshi is set to attend the Foreign Commonwealth Office’s International Leaders Programme, running Feb. 3-7 in London.

“I will tell you the timing kinda stinks,” the mayor said,

“I generally do one or two trips a year and to have two of them back-to-back really isn’t really much fun for me.”

Nenshi rubbed shoulders with economic leaders for three days in Davos earlier this month at a cost of about $5,000, which came from Nenshi’s office travel budget.

Nearly a dozen leaders from around the world will be in London, including representatives from Thailand, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico and the Philippines.

The only attendee from Canada or the U.S., Nenshi was nominated for the London event by British Consul-General in Calgary Tony Kay, meaning all costs for the trip — flights, hotels, food and transport — will be covered by the British government.

“What we’ll be looking at is things like the U.K. justice system, health and education, migration and integration,” said Kay.

“Looking at economic and business policy development, looking at the role of cities in enhancing private sector vibrancy and looking at the future of cities.”

After France closed its consulate in Calgary last year, Nenshi said the London trip will be good for relationship building.

“It’s a real great honour that the British foreign secretary has determined that a little guy like me from Calgary ought to be part of this program and I’m happy to do it,” he said.

“Because we have only one consulate from Europe in Calgary — in fact we lost our other European consulate last year — and I think it’s important to have these consulates in place, I’m hoping to be able to help strengthen that relationship while I’m there.”

He’ll also get a chance to meet with civic managers and policy makers in London.

“We’ve organized separate meetings for him with people like the (Metropolitan) police and the U.K. Civil Contingencies Secretariat, looking at crisis and emergency response,” said Kay.

“We organized that because it’s an opportunity to explore how our best practises can be relevant to the Calgary model as it were, but also an opportunity for the mayor to explain how Calgary has formed its own emergency response structures and how those were employed during the floods.”

Nenshi was also invited by the Canadian Olympic Committee to attend the Winter Games in Sochi, however his schedule wouldn’t allow it.

Meanwhile, Nenshi also released his office’s annual expenses, including a $16,000 travel budget that included both trips to Davos as well as excursions to Phoenix, Ottawa, Edmonton and Vancouver.

The document also revealed almost $33,000 in other expenditures, including hosting, conferences, communications and programs.

http://www.calgarysun.com/2014/01/28...back-to-europe

[Spring2008]

More Walmartmania!!!Sure Rollin Stanley will love this

Walmart to build second distribution centre north of Calgary as part of $500-million expansion

Part of huge expansion plans across Canada

By Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald February 4, 2014 3:00 PM


Walmart to build second distribution centre north of Calgary as part of $500-million expansion

Walmart’s distribution centre in Balzac, north of Calgary. The company has plans for a second structure.

CALGARY - Walmart Canada is building a second massive distribution centre in the Balzac area just north of Calgary, part of a $500-million national expansion announced today.

The retail giant’s latest expansion plans call for 35 supercentre projects and investment into distribution and e-commerce projects across the country, creating more than 7,500 new jobs, including construction positions. The company said Tuesday it plans to complete the supercentre projects in its fiscal year, which runs from Feb.1, 2014 to Jan. 31, 2015.

The Balzac area facility was not part of the expansion announcement. But Stuart Olson Dominion said on its website it was recently awarded the Walmart High Velocity Distribution Facility, a 500,000-square-foot distribution centre with 84 loading bay doors for Walmart to stage their product distribution. It will be located in the Crosspointe Industrial Park near the 400,000-square-foot fresh food facility which opened in 2010.

“Walmart’s ambitious expansion plans in Canada driven by an aggressive move into the grocery business and an expanding store network particularly in Alberta will require significant distribution infrastructure on a large scale,” said Michael Kehoe, an Alberta-based retail specialist with Fairfield Commercial Real Estate Inc.

“The greater Calgary regional district is the distribution and logistics hub of Western Canada and this will be further enhanced with new related Walmart facilities. Walmart is the world’s largest retailer and this expansion announcement is a huge vote of confidence in the Canadian marketplace.”

Walmart officially opened it $115-million fresh food distribution centre in Balzac in November 2010 as a hub for its western Canadian stores.

On Tuesday, the company also announced it will expand its distribution network to support its growth and will continue to expand its e-commerce operation, walmart.ca.

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by Spring2008

More Walmartmania!!!Sure Rollin Stanley will love this

Fully expected that this type of job hub is going to be far from where the land is unattainable. Hopefully people live close to where they work, and not clog up the roads while messing up the environment.

[Spring2008]

Originally Posted by suburbia

Fully expected that this type of job hub is going to be far from where the land is unattainable. Hopefully people live close to where they work, and not clog up the roads while messing up the environment.

Not from a commuting aspect. Mr. Stanley likes his Wally World jokes!

[TallBob]

I see "Smart technology" had a great quarter..... Of course considerring were they've been the last 2-3 years, it's about time!

[jawagord]

Originally Posted by Spring2008

More Walmartmania!!!Sure Rollin Stanley will love this

Unfair competition for all those urban gardens I suppose, put a carbon tax on all that imported food, if people paid the true cost we could have avocado trees on every rooftop, make our own guacamole ..........

[Spring2008]

Seems like large retailers are opening DC's here on a monthly basis. Quoted from the article, we're really becoming the logistical hub of the west. Definitely an underrated area of our economy:

Home Depot building distribution centre in southeast Calgary

Servicing 57 stores from Vancouver to Winnipeg

“It has been focused on the U.S. retailers who are coming into the market and they’re organizing their supply chain within Canada and effectively there are two area codes, the 905 Mississauga or the Greater Toronto area for the Eastern market and 403 here for Western Canada,” said Dixon. “It’s just simply reinforced this synergy that is Calgary as Western Canada’s leading distribution centre and transportation hub.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/busines...708/story.html

[Full Mountain]

Originally Posted by Spring2008

Seems like large retailers are opening DC's here on a monthly basis. Quoted from the article, we're really becoming the logistical hub of the west. Definitely an underrated area of our economy:


http://www.calgaryherald.com/busines...708/story.html

Sears, Canadian Tire, and Walmart have had their DC's here for 10+ years, the fact they are out in the far reaches of the SE (Sears, Can Tire) (Walmart is in the NE not so far out) helps keep them under the radar for most people. They do seem to be continuing to expand though, I believe Sears was the first to hit 1M sqft (Walmart's expansion of the NE facility happened around the same time), now 1M sqft is the smallest one of these places typically are (interesting that this Home Depot facility will be about half that size). I'm curious when Amazon's facility will show up (I believe they operate out of the Vancouver area and Mississauga right now).

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by VIce

I don't think the industrial side of things is very large. Although we're a major consumer of renewable technologies, most of the technology is purchased and shipped in. For example, the size of wind turbines in Alberta have been mostly determined by how large of a turbine blade railways are willing to handle. Siemens and Vestas both have large wind R&D and production facilities in Colorado, while Enercon has some major facilities in Quebec... everything else happens in Europe. Meanwhile, a lot of low-head hydro is based out in BC.

However, in terms of research I think Calgary is a very powerful hub. I might be biased, because they've stuck all the environmental engineering grad students into the same building here at the U of C, so we sort of live in our own bubble. However, many of my colleagues are funded or collaborating with foreign governments and corporations that could have chosen a local university, but decided not to. So I think that's a very good vote of confidence, in addition to all the local energy companies and agencies who are involved here. Even very conservative players like electricity distributors, Enmax is investing a lot of money into distributed grid and smart grid research at the U of C.

I wonder, why doesn't Alberta have any turbine and turbine blade manufacturing facilities? Since we have such a large demand and potential for wind power here.

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

I wonder, why doesn't Alberta have any turbine and turbine blade manufacturing facilities? Since we have such a large demand and potential for wind power here.

Same reason we don't produce cars. Other people can do it for cheaper and we have better things to do.