The Slowdown Begins

I was recently reading a typically uninformed article; they are still trickling into the mainstream media.

This quote caught my eye:

Of the controversy surrounding the royalty review, one argument is related to a slowdown in the economy due to a tightening up on the energy sector.
"As for the prospect of a slowdown in the Alberta economy because of higher royalty rates, that may well happen and that would not necessarily be a bad thing," said Hepburn. "In September the year-to-year rate of inflation in Alberta was 4.6 per cent, according to Statistics Canada, the national average was 2.5 per cent.

Well, looks like the slowdown is coming, apparently as the fool quoted in the article wanted. Signs of this? All over the place.

Bonnet's is selling its fracturing division. Understand that this new fracturing company had some of the best people in industry with it, brand new equipment, and was on its way to being a serious company. All built from scratch. Now all the equipment has been bought and it is heading to......... Russia. So much for the jobs in Alberta that existed, let alone the ones that would have been created.

This item too, which speaks for what is happening in GP.

I heard that Nexen has released 15 rigs on its long lake oilsands project. And CNRL released five rigs for its oilsands projects too.

I've heard a lot of equipment is moving south to the states, no quantification.

Producers too are moving to the states. How couldn't they be? A bit of business investigation indicates it is clearly a better place to be. It is no accident that Encana has been growing their business dramatically in the US over the last seven or eight years. Obviously barriers of entry for Canadian companies to go do it; clearly at least some companies are willing to step up and do it.

Baytex Energy Trust Announces Opening of Denver Office and Executive Appointments

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - Nov. 12, 2007) - Baytex Energy Trust (TSX:BTE.UN) (NYSE:BTE) is pleased to announce that we have established an office in Denver, Colorado to conduct oil and gas exploration and development activities in the United States.