CALGARY, Alberta, June 4 (Reuters) – Falling oil prices are
rekindling fears that Canada’s oil sands industry could start to
put some projects on the back burner, like it did in the last
financial crisis, to cope with weakening returns and stubbornly
high costs.

So far, development in Northern Alberta has stayed on pace
as West Texas Intermediate crude sank to current levels around
$84 a barrel, from more than $104 six weeks ago, and no analysts
are calling for large volumes to get shut in.

CALGARY, Alberta, May 31 (Reuters) – Canada should refine
more crude from its vast oil sands to create jobs and boost
economic benefits rather than build pipelines to ship the raw
material overseas, the leader of federal opposition party said
after his first visit to the massive Alberta production
facilities on Th urs day.

New Democratic Party leader Thomas Mulcair, who toured
Suncor Energy Inc’s sprawling oil sands operation, also
said he did not advocate imposing new environmental legislation
on the energy sector, only demanding the federal government
enforce laws that are already on the books.

CALGARY, Alberta, May 30 (Reuters) – Canada’s federal
opposition party leader, who has criticized the oil sands boom
as harmful to the country’s manufacturing sector, prepared on
Wednesday to make his first visit to the massive resource
development in Alberta, where his comments have sparked anger.

New Democratic Party leader Thomas Mulcair, slated to tour
Suncor Energy Inc’s oil sands operation on Thursday, has
said the manufacturing sector is being hollowed out by a
Canadian dollar that has surged due to the boom in oil exports.

CALGARY, Alberta, May 29 (Reuters) – Canada only has until
the end of this decade to build up its liquefied natural gas
industry or face being overtaken by other countries looking to
cash in on booming demand for the fuel throughout Asia, Royal
Dutch Shell Plc’s chief executive said on Tuesday.

Shell, which plans a multibillion-dollar liquefaction plant
on Canada’s West Coast, believes Ottawa’s controversial moves to
streamline regulatory reviews for energy projects are necessary
to avoid missing the opportunity as the Asia-Pacific LNG market
is forecast to double by 2030, CEO Peter Voser said.