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Chris Varcoe

Chris Varcoe

Calgary Herald

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Varcoe: Alberta set to lead country in economic growth, but Trump tariffs could bring recession, cost 52,000 jobs, if fully adopted

ATB points out a number of sectors are expected to lead the way, such as strong home construction activity and rising energy output

19.12.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: If counter-tariffs are a no-go, what will Alberta do if U.S. levies hit oil and gas?

Alberta should hope for the best, but also plan for the worst

17.12.2024 20

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Three oilsands majors plan to boost output next year, despite threats of Trump tariffs

'Canada has a very important opportunity to participate in that growing demand with our supply,' said Imperial Oil CEO Brad Corson

13.12.2024 80

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: ‘Lead with energy’ - In face of Trump tariff threats, Smith seeks U.S. allies during visit with governors

11.12.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Mr. Wonderful, Kevin O'Leary, proposes 'Wonder Valley' AI data centre park in Alberta

10.12.2024 20

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: 'An egregious overstep' — Private sector launches lawsuit against Ottawa's Bill C-59

Chilling effect. Those two words strike at the heart of a new lawsuit filed against the federal government over its contentious truth-in-advertising...

06.12.2024 8

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Alberta rolls out plan to attract data centres, eyes $100B investment over five years

The Alberta government has released its first road map to attracting massive AI-focused data centres to the province, and Technology Minister Nate...

04.12.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Forget reviving KXL pipeline — look west to export more Canadian energy

Premier Danielle Smith mused this week about finding ways to “derisk” the moribund Keystone XL pipeline project that would ship more oil into the...

29.11.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Alberta set to roll out hurdles for federal emissions cap on oilpatch

The Alberta government is set to adopt a new toolbox of measures under its sovereignty act to fight a federal emissions cap on the oil and gas...

27.11.2024 8

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: 'Companies are hiring': Employment in oilpatch hits highest point since 2015

It’s been a tumultuous decade for thousands of workers in Canada’s oil and gas industry, but a new report notes employment across the sector has...

26.11.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Slowing population boom, uncertain oil prices cloud Alberta's economy for 2025

Two powerful engines have helped Alberta’s economy lift off in the past two years: exceptional population growth and strong oil prices. What...

23.11.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: No longer taking big swings on projects, TC Energy advances more secure plays in gas and power

Sometimes, a team doesn’t need to hit a grand slam — and risk a strikeout — to win the game, when a series of base hits will do just nicely. ...

20.11.2024 9

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: 'Stay hungry': Investment rises for Calgary tech firms as growing sector matures

After finally outpacing B.C.-based firms in pulling in venture capital investment during the first half of the year, Alberta tech firms slipped back...

19.11.2024 30

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Alberta premier 'not worried' about U.S. tariffs on energy, heading to Trump's inauguration

Premier Danielle Smith doesn’t think Canadian oil and gas will face a Trump tariff once the former U.S. president returns to the White House next...

15.11.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Don't vilify Alberta industries — environment minister to make case at COP29

Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz has journeyed to Azerbaijan for the COP29 international climate summit, armed with data she thinks will help...

13.11.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Trump, tariffs and Alberta's energy sector with a returning president

With Donald Trump set to become the next U.S. president, will Keystone XL will be back on the table? Will the incoming president’s pledge to...

07.11.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: TransAlta eyes data centre potential, prepares Alberta sites to be 'turnkey ready'

Power generators are eyeing the potential for data centres to set up shop in Alberta, with TransAlta Corp. saying Tuesday it’s talking with major...

06.11.2024 8

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: 'Another power grab' — Get ready for a legal scrap over Ottawa's emissions cap

See you in court. That’s the core message from Alberta after it finally had a chance Monday to review the federal government’s long-awaited...

05.11.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Ottawa to roll out contentious oilpatch emissions cap — 'not intended to keep oil in the ground,' says Wilkinson

The Trudeau government’s draft regulations to cap oil and gas sector emissions will be unveiled Monday, with Ottawa insisting a planned 35 per cent...

04.11.2024 7

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: 'A nation-building project' — As oil producers tout TMX startup, attention turns to LNG Canada's debut

Two magnetic forces are pushing the Canadian oil and gas sector in different directions today: depressed natural gas markets and the positive pull of...

01.11.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: 'Mind-blowing' — Huge data centre projects join Alberta's power lineup

In May, the Alberta Electric System Operator tracked several proposed data centres that wanted to connect to the province’s transmission system. ...

30.10.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: New $750M data centre to be built in Calgary area, the largest in Alberta

Alberta has made a giant push to attract billions of dollars of data centres to the province, and it’s about to land a major new project. ...

29.10.2024 60

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: From farmers and stock exchanges to oilpatch, concerns mount over Ottawa's anti-greenwashing rules

What are your key concerns about the incoming oil and gas emissions cap? It seemed like a straightforward question posed to an oil and gas industry...

26.10.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Whitecap boosts budget for 2025 amid volatile oil prices, and uncertain outlook for gas

Whitecap Resources CEO Grant Fagerheim has a few handy numbers at his fingertips to encapsulate the state of Canada’s oil and gas sector today,...

24.10.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: GE Vernova plans big CCUS project in Alberta, amid 'significant uncertainty'

Getting carbon capture projects to the starting blocks has proven a difficult haul in Alberta, but another corporate heavyweight is pitching a major...

23.10.2024 20

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Massive oilsands carbon capture project gains 'hope' after Wilkinson, Freeland meet with Pathways Alliance

Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson seemed to be running out of patience with the country’s biggest oilsands producers this...

18.10.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: 'No-brainer' fixes to get things built in Canada, boost productivity

Canada has a productivity headache that’s turning into a fierce migraine — but there are a few tonics we should take. The country can adopt some...

17.10.2024 20

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: 'It's Step 1' — Green Line is alive, but much more required to fully reanimate once-dead project

What’s a more difficult feat: deciding to bring something back from the dead, or actually pulling it off? Calgarians are about to find out when it...

12.10.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Talk of Trump tariffs seen as 'quite low' risk for Canadian energy, Alberta oilpatch and U.S. experts say

Be concerned — very concerned. That was essentially one of the messages former U.S. ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman delivered to a Calgary...

11.10.2024 20

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Weak gas prices — dipping into negative territory — push some western Canadian producers to shut in output

Natural gas prices in Western Canada stumbled into negative territory last month, creating a sticky situation for petroleum producers facing a...

09.10.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Two decades, 23 deals and $33B in M&A — Canadian Natural Resources keeps on growing, as Chevron exits Alberta

Whenever international oil and gas companies are heading for the exits or selling major properties in Canada, one company always seems to be at the...

08.10.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Investment poised to grow in Alberta into 2025, as economy strengthens and interest rates fall

A Louisiana-based company announced Thursday it’s developing a new multimillion-dollar facility and putting its Canadian headquarters squarely in...

04.10.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Electricity key to tapping Alberta's $100B potential of data centres

The data centre train is preparing to leave the station, with AI as the conductor. Will Alberta be a prime destination, or simply a whistle-stop for...

03.10.2024 30

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: A 'new beginning' for South Bow Corp. as demand for oil — and pipelines — keeps rising

A new multibillion-dollar pipeline company officially premiered on Tuesday, with South Bow Corp. spinning out of TC Energy Corp. and its shares...

02.10.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: 'Love it or hate it', oil demand still growing despite federal claims

BANFF — Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson turned some heads this week by declaring that global demand for oil will plateau...

28.09.2024 30

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Tariffs and trade under microscope for Canadian business leaders amid tight U.S. election

BANFF — Albertans don’t need to dust off the history books to see how much change can arrive for Canada when a new president takes power south of...

27.09.2024 40

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: From early entrepreneur to business giant: Greg Abel credits Alberta roots ahead of honour at Global Business Forum

Greg Abel’s interest in business, like sports, was sparked at a young age while growing up in Edmonton — with the budding entrepreneur collecting...

26.09.2024 7

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Bill C-59 and LNG expansion on Canadian oilpatch's radar of risks and rewards for 2025

New federal legislation aimed at greenwashing, Bill C-59, remains on the minds of Canada’s oil and gas industry heading into the fall. So is the...

20.09.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Collapse of Green Line a 'disastrous situation' for Calgary construction industry, as layoffs begin

The Green Line LRT was a colossal project, touted as the single biggest infrastructure development in the city’s history. Now, it’s a colossal...

19.09.2024 30

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: 'Supercharge the sector' — business leaders push natural resources to boost Canada's productivity

Canada has a persistent productivity problem that will require some savvy solutions. Canadian business leaders think they have part of the answer:...

17.09.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Keystone XL, Green Line and what happens when mega-projects meet mega-politics

What gets built first, the Keystone XL pipeline or Calgary’s Green Line LRT project? One project is dead and buried — colder than super-chilled...

14.09.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Oil prices slide as Canadian industry spending — and oilpatch jobs — hit a nine-year high

Oil prices have been on a stomach-churning ride this week, falling below US$66 a barrel amid pessimism over future demand growth and uncertainty about...

11.09.2024 20

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: More jobs but more people jobless — What's behind Alberta's employment conundrum?

Does Alberta have an employment problem that’s brewing? New labour data from Statistics Canada raises the troubling question after it showed two...

07.09.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Calgary sees 78% growth in tech jobs in past five years — fastest growth rate in North America, says CBRE

Calgary remains the headquarters of Canada’s oil and gas sector, but it also saw the fastest growth rate in tech jobs over the past five years among...

06.09.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Starting over is hard to do: Developers ponder knocking down old office buildings in downtown's west end

Calgary will soon see several smaller derelict buildings knocked down in the downtown’s west end, with nearly $180,000 in taxpayer money coming from...

05.09.2024 5

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: At Norway conference, Jyoti Gondek seeks vice-presidency of global energy cities group

Mayor Jyoti Gondek has journeyed to Norway this week on international business and even has the chance to squeeze in a little overseas campaigning —...

22.08.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Alberta expected to see stronger economic growth in 2025, but needs job gains — and no rail disruption

Alberta’s economy is projected to outperform the rest of Canada’s through 2024 and the following four years, as a growing population, expected...

20.08.2024 20

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

For the first time, Alberta surpasses B.C. in attracting venture capital investment

The tech sector in Calgary and across Alberta continues to expand, with the city now outpacing Vancouver — and the province surpassing British...

15.08.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: Canada's biggest natural gas producer expects prices to rally next year, secures $1.3B takeover

As western Canadian natural gas markets continue to be battered this summer, Tourmaline Oil Corp. has made a counter-cyclical move and acquired Crew...

13.08.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

Varcoe: The Trans Mountain expansion has proven a point, 'opening a trade route to Asia' for Canadian oil

With the first three months of commercial operation now complete, the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline has proven one of the central beliefs of its...

10.08.2024 10

Calgary Herald

Chris Varcoe

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