FACILITYCalgary; compilation of news items & commentary of interest to people who have a real estate, infrastructure, construction, oil & gas or general interest in Calgary published weekly by MaxComm Communications.
FRESH TODAY - June 23, 2008
+ crude oil futures @ 5:55AM, MDT as quoted by Bloomberg.com : Nymex Crude Future US$136.54/barrel; Dated Brent Spot US$135.40/barrel; WTI Cushing Spot US$(Friday close)134.62/barrel; prices softened last week on concerns over a slowing economy; Chevron Nigeria's Abiteye-Olero pipeline was sabotaged - 120,000 barrels a day of crude have been halted & a truce is being negotiated; oil is up today Nigerian supply concerns outweigh the positive influence of increased Saudi supply
+ Enerplus Resources Fund agreed to sell its 15% working interest in the Joslyn oil sands lease to Occidental Petroleum Corporation; $510 million transaction
+ Saudi Oil Minister indicated that Saudi Arabia may raise its oil production beyond a planned 200,000 barrel-a-day increase in July if the oil market requires extra supply
+ The Saudi Arabian Oil Company & Total formed a JV, the Jubail Refining and Petrochemical Company to develop & operate a new 400,000 barrel/day refinery in Jubail, Saudi Arabia;
+ Stewart Cink won the PGA Tour Travelers Championship with an 18-under 262 at the TPC River Highlands Course, Cromwell, CT to win US$1.08 million
+ BCE's $32 billion privatization plan will go forward for an August closing as the Supreme Court of Canada decision reinstated the court order approving the company's plan of arrangement for sale of the company to an investor group led by Teachers' Private Capital, the private investment arm of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Providence Equity Partners Inc., Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC & Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity; owners of $5.2-billion in BCE debt face a $1-billion loss when the takeover closes, but bondholders group will quit the fight, as there appears to be no other way to block the deal
+ Corridor Resources Inc. closed $55 million equity financing
+ Enbridge Inc. closed the sale of its 25% stake in Compania Logistica de Hidrocarburos CLH, S.A. for $1.38 billion
+ Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. awarded contract to provide detailed engineering, procurement & construction services for Suncor Energy's Voyageur Upgrader near Fort McMurray
+ Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated & The Staubach Company agreed to merge; Jones Lang LaSalle to pay US$613 million; Staubach Retail & Cypress Equities will remain independent companies
+ Newfoundland and Labrador Refining Corp. developers of a $4.65 billion oil refinery has sought creditor protection in court in response to legal action to petition it into bankruptcy
+ Provident Energy Trust sold a stake in its U.S. oil & gas operations to BreitBurn Energy Partners LP for $345 million
+ Teton Energy Corporation closed US$ 40 million debt financing
+ U.S. President Bush, reversing a longstanding position, called on Congress to end a federal ban on offshore oil drilling, indicating he wants to work with states to determine where drilling should occur
+ U.S./European recession watch: U.S. 2008 Construction Starts estimated down 11% overall with single family housing continues to weaken, with 2008 declines of 28% in dollar volume and 31% in dwelling units; U.S. airlines project they could lose US$10 billion in 2008 due to skyrocketing fuel costs; bond insurer MBIA Inc. faced a 5-level downgrade by Moody's & is forced to make $7.4 billion of payments & collateral postings to shore up its balance sheet; German business confidence has fallen to the lowest in more than 2 yrs. as record oil prices & prospect of higher interest rates dim outlook for growth in Europe's largest economy; Merrill Lynch & Co Inc. & UBS AG expected to write down US$3.5 billion and $7 billion respectively in the second quarter reporting
+ Western Wind Energy Corp. closed a $3 million over allotment of its recent equity financing
SHAKERS + Movers on the Move
+ Bill Butt to Executive Managing Dir. & Head Global Investment & Corporate Banking @ BMO Capital Markets
+ David Johnson to Pres. & CEO @ Park Place Energy Corp. replacing Eric Leslie who resigned
+ Dennis Skulsky to Sr. VP & Gen. Mgr. Digital Media @ Canwest Publishing
+ Donna Marasco to Sr. VP Operations @ Chartwell Seniors REIT.
+ Douglas Harwell to Operations Mgr. @ Southern Star Energy Inc.
+ James Garrett to VP Bus. Dev. @ Energy West Incorporated
+ James Hatfield, Sr. VP & CFO @ OGE Energy Corp., resigned
+ John Lynch to Pres & CFO @ NWT Uranium Corp.
+ John Marotta to Sr. VP Western Region @ Bentall Capital
+ John Rynd to Pres. & CEO @ Hercules Offshore Inc. replacing Randall Stilley who resigned
+ Kevin Degenstein to Pres. & COO @ Energy West Incorporated
+ Mark Rose to CEO @ Avison Young
+ Martin Cohos to the board of directors @ National Capital Commission
+ Matthew Janisch, VP Finance & CFO @ Bow Valley Energy Ltd. resigned
+ Michael Crews to Exec. VP & CFO @ Peabody Energy
+ Paul Allison to Co-Pres. & CO-CEO @ Raymond James Ltd.
+ Paul Pierroz to VP Human Resources @ ShawCor Ltd.
+ Pierre Bergevin to Pres. & CEO @ Cushman & Wakefield LePage replacing Colum Bastable who becomes Chairman
+ Richard Noonan to COO @ Chartwell Seniors REIT
+ Rob Bennett to Pres. & CEO @ Nova Scotia Power Inc.
+ Ron Nickelson to Global Leader, Natural Resources & Energy @ Addison Professional Search
+ Scott Forbes to Acting CFO @ OGE Energy Corp
+ Thomas Neary to Exec. VP & Managing Director @ Residential Capital LLC
+ Wayne Singular to VP Finance @ PetroGlobe Inc.
SAVE THE DATE:
Business Events, Functions etc.
July 4 - 13; Calgary Stampede, Stampede Park, Calgary; info/tickets: http://www.calgarystampede.com
July 7-9 ; 34th G8 Summit, Tokyo, Japan
Aug. 10-14; Enercom's 13th Annual Oil & Gas Conference, Denver; info/registration: http://www.theoilandgasconference.com
Sept. 26; 5th Annual Meaning of Life Luncheon - Laugh a litle, Live a Lot! with Brent Butt; in Support of Hospice Calgary, Hyatt Regency, Calgary; info/tickets: tracy.aylesworth@hospicecalgary.com
Oct. 1-2; National Design-Build Conference, King Edward Hotel, Toronto; info/registration: www.cdbi.org/events/index.html
Oct. 22; Calgary Real Estate Forum; TELUS Convention Centre, Calgary; info/registration: http://www.mmpiwest.com/realestateforumswest/calg ary/
Oct. 23; Calgary Real Estate Leasing Conference; TELUS Convention Centre, Calgary; info/registration: http://www.mmpiwest.com/realestateforumswest/calg ary/
SAVE THE DATE:
Annual & Special Meetings
June 23;
Arsenal Energy Inc., Annual Meeting, Calgary
Phoenix Canada Oil Company Ltd., Annual Meeting, Toronto
June 25; Second Wave Petroleum Ltd., Annual Meeting, Calgary
June 27;
Advantage Energy Income Fund, Annual and Special Meeting, Calgary
Bankers Petroleum Ltd. , Annual General & Special Meeting, Calgary
June 30; ACE Aviation Holdings Inc., Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Montreal
July 18; CanArgo Energy Corporation, Annual Meeting of Stockholders, New York
Aug. 13 - 16; Toastmasters' Annual International Convention, Telus Convention Centre, Calgary; info/registration http://www.toastmasters.org/2008convention
SAVE THE DATE:
2008 Charity & Industry Golf Tournaments
June 26; CREB Charitable Foundation's 10th Annual Building Hope Charity Golf Tournament, Lynx Ridge Golf Club, Calgary; info/registration: http://www.hearttohome.org
July 2; 6th Annual Calgary Chamber of Commerce/TELUS Play with the Presidents Golf Classic, Heritage Pointe Golf Club, DeWinton; sponsorships still available. Contact Ron Peters at 750-0400 or rpeters@calgarychamber.com
July 14; 8th Annual Ronald McDonald House Southern Alberta Charity Golf Classic, Silvertip Resort, Sponsor; info/registration: lorne@lawsonprojects.com or colleen@rmhsouthernalberta.org
July 29; Second Annual Terry Ruttan Memorial Golf Tournament, supporting the Calgary YWCA; Country Hills Golf Club, Calgary; info/registration: KristaLee@nortruck.com
August 15; University of Lethbridge Alumni Association - Calgary Chapter 7th Annual Alumni & Friends Golf Tournament, Shaw-nee Slopes, Calgary; info/registration: kfilbert@shaw.ca
Sept. 3; Mortgage Loans Association of Alberta, Calgary Chapter, 2008 Annual Golf Tournament. Inglewood Golf & Curling Club; info/registration: kheron@montrosecalgary.com
Sept. 10; 3rd Annual Dragon Around the Course Golf Classic, in support of Langdon School Council Society; Speargrass Golf Course, Carseland; info/registration: srotar1u@telus.net
note: if you are sponsoring / supporting a charity tournament in the Calgary area in 2008 we are happy to list them early here; just send your tournament data and contact information to: research@maxcomm.ca
INFRASTRUCTURE News / P3 / Go Green
+ PLANDFLEX CORPORATION will develop and or acquire commercial and institutional properties: Public Private Partnerships (P3), development for governments, NGOs, school boards, hospital boards, municipalities etc., build-to-suit developments for strong credit tenants location focus is smaller & major communities in Western Canada. Inquiries and/or property offerings to:
PLANDFLEX CORPORATION
Attn: Mark Kolke, President
Suite 1000, 888 - 3rd Street SW
Calgary, AB T2P 5C5
Phone: 403-444-6939
e-mail: mark.kolke@maxcomm.ca
+ PSEG Global is selling to the SAESA Group of Companies in Chile to a consortium formed by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. The SAESA Group consists of major electric distribution and transmission businesses with 639,000 customers in Chile & total of more than 135 MWs of wind, hydro, diesel & gas electric generation capacity The transaction has a base equity sale value of approximately $870 million.
+ the Alberta government $200 million toward the renovation of the Federal Building in Edmonton; the art deco style Federal Building was designed in the 1930s & built in the 1950s; vacant since 1989, will be used as government office & meeting facility - to be ready for occupancy by fall 2011
Put it off and you'll never be finished!
Procrastination is a pox on productivity or, an untapped poorly managed resource - which is it for you?
MaxComm Communications presents a new series of seminars well suited to conference programs, sales meetings or training sessions:
Keynote presentation 'Put it off and you'll never be finished'
Warm up act 'Getting ready to not be ready'
Interactive Work shop: 'Being prepared to be unprepared'
Mark Kolke lists properties For Judicial Sale on behalf of lenders engaged in foreclosure actions to realize on security for recovery of defaulted mortgage loans. He operates this website to aid in the marketing of these properties and to host the listings of other agents marketing properties offered by way of Judicial Sale
"Men should be like coffee, hot sweet and strong." - Dutch Proverb
"If I asked for a cup of coffee, someone would search for the double meaning." - Mae West
"Programmer - an organism that turns coffee into software." - unknown
"It's just like when you've got some coffee that's too black, which means it's too strong. What do you do? You integrate it with cream, you make it weak. But if you pour too much cream in it, you won't even know you ever had coffee. It used to be hot, it becomes cool. It used to be strong, it becomes weak. It used to wake you up, now it puts you to sleep." - Malcolm X
"Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after." - Anne Morrow Lindbergh
"Television is not real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs." - Bill Gates
"Do Lipton employees take coffee breaks?" - Stephen Wright
"I've been addicted for 38 years; I started using when I was 18, I've never quit before. The opposite of euphoria is upon me; but its just one thing - I won't starve or die of thirst, it's just one thing . . it should be quick and easy. I'll just stop that; obviously it would be easier to give up something I didn't like, but how tough can it be? I didn't drink much coffee, just one pot, every morning, sometimes a cup later but mostly just that one pot to start my day." - Mark Kolke
"Well, they're Southern people, and if they know you are working at home they think nothing of walking right in for coffee. But they wouldn't dream of interrupting you at golf." - Harper Lee
"Good golf begins with a good grip." - Ben Hogan
"The ardent golfer would play Mount Everest if somebody put a flagstick on top." - Pete Dye
"You can talk to a fade but hook won't listen." - Lee Trevino
"I look into their eyes, shake their hand, pat their back, and wish them luck, but I am thinking, 'I am going to bury you." - Seve Ballesteros
"Golf is not, on the whole, a game for realists. By its exactitudes of measurement it invites the attention of perfectionists." - Heywood Hale Broun
Innovative strategies, inspiring work plans and cutting- edge initiatives; we are writers, editors and business communicators who help you frame your message right the first time, on time.
www.frameyourmessage.com is our website - featuring information on services, writer credentials - writing, speaking, coaching -
We have established a presence in Houston, Los Angeles and Maui - staffing up in each market with well credentialed writers in those markets with subject area expertise and availability. Our work is 99% English content for audiences in Canada, US, UK, Australia:
oil & gas, energy
environment
education
real estate, development, residential & commercial
+ our objective is to feature information and links to articles which provide insights, ideas and services to help our readers access useful resources to help employees at all levels build on their skills.
+ the Toastmasters program offers an opportunity to improve professional skills; public speaking, leadership training, confidence building - a great way to give your career a boost as you climb the ladder. Toastmasters International - 210,000 members in 90 countries; 70+ Toastmasters clubs in Calgary. Toastmasters offer a supportive environment, networking opportunities & a proven program to help people overcome their worst fear - public speaking. http://www.toastmasters.org/websiteApps/
+ MVP Advanced Toastmasters Club, meets @ 7 PM, 2nd & 4th Thursday of the month @ Fluor facility in south Calgary; a club for experienced Toastmasters wishing to hone their skills in a place where the bar is set high; contact club President for further info: Mark.Kolke@frameyourmessage.com or VP Membership, Shelley.Musfelt@fluor.com - next meeting July 24, 7PM; http://mvpadvanced.freetoasthost.net
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+ the obituaries are full of nice people I've never known but sometimes we see some that stun us because we felt we 'knew the person' in some way, sometimes we are stunned because of a sudden death, sometimes we are just sad that someone we've come to know in some way is gone; the losses of Tim Russert & George Carlin both leave a void in public discourse that will be missed & one cannot imagine anyone else ever doing what they did so well in anything close to the same way for a long time
+ kudos to Eric Toker & crew at Toker+ Associates [ http://tokerassociates.com ] for walking the talk on LEED; they sell architectural & interior design services & incorporated those principles in their new offices showcased last week at an industry reception (thanks for inviting me!) . .
+ the summer of federal government 'election readiness' will be upon us soon; while Prime Minister Harper's minority government has survived longer than any previous minority parliament, the reality is that someone will trigger an election soon . . likely this fall; muddying his own water without help from anyone else is Stephane Dion, leader of Liberals & all things green . . or so he thinks is practicing the politics of fear; while science might be on his side, clearly sentiment is not . . so the Liberals should start looking for his replacement sooner rather than later if they hope to have a prayer of governing; meanwhile Harper has not exactly dazzled but expect plenty of spin from both as they come to the Stampede to flip pancakes & pander with platitudes . . yes, it's summertime!
+ U.S. President (lame duck) George Bush is finally recognizing the magnitude of his mess, suggesting that drilling their way out of the energy crisis is the way to go is now advocating a lift of a long standing moratorium on offshore drilling in areas where it has been banned (almost everywhere in the US except for Texas & Alaska) is one of the few good ideas he has had in 8 years but, it would seem, neither McCain or Obama have any practical solutions to offer
+ the world is not going down the drain, but a lot of cash is being relocated, to the middle east in particular, as spooked oil prices bleed an already hurting U.S. economy; too soon to guess what the U.S. congress & new president will want to do but it would seem that using less energy is not seriously on anyone's agenda; maybe Canada could export Stephane Dion to the United States before Barack Obama changes NAFTA . . OK, I'll go now and start enjoying summer
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