Market Not Buying Oilpatch Protests

Here's another one saying Petro Canada will go ahead with its planned projects and that energy stocks even GAINED in value:<br />
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Alberta royalty change barely shakes energy markets<br />
Petro-Canada will carry on with scheduled new oilsands projects<br />
Last Updated: Friday, October 26, 2007 | 3:01 PM MT <br />
CBC News <br />
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Some energy stocks defied expectations by gaining value Friday, a day after Alberta introduced a controversial increase to the fees charged to oil and gas companies in the province.<br />
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Starting in 2009, the industry will pay $1.4 billion more per year in royalties for the right to develop Alberta's non-renewable resources, Premier Ed Stelmach announced Thursday.<br />
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The long-awaited decision accepted about half of the recommendations made by a royalty review panel in September that concluded Albertans were not getting their fair share of the energy pie.<br />
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Enbridge, which operates the world's longest crude oil pipeline system, gained just over two per cent, while Talisman Energy slipped by only 0.41 per cent.<br />
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....<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2007/10/26/royalty-markets.html">http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2007/10/26/royalty-markets.html</a><p>---<br>"George Bush has declared the war on terrorism to be the cause of his generation. The cause of Canadian sovereignty will be ours." - John Godfrey, MP for Don Va

& another:<br />
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Petro-Canada to continue two oilsands projects<br />
Updated Fri. Oct. 26 2007 2:53 PM ET<br />
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CTV.ca News Staff<br />
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Petro-Canada will continue preliminary engineering work on $15 billion worth of new oilsands projects, the company announced in the wake of an announced hike in Alberta energy royalties.<br />
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Petro-Canada did emphasize Friday that a go-ahead decision on the two projects is still months away. One project is the expansion of an existing operation, while the second is a new mine and upgrader.<br />
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However, "with the clarity that the government provided around the oilsands royalty base, we said, 'Should we stop that front-end engineering and design?'" Andrew Stephens, Petro-Canada's senior vice-president for corporate communications, said Friday.<br />
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....<br />
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On Thursday, industry representatives said the decision meant oil companies now have $1.4 billion less to reinvest. As a result, activity in the oilpatch might decrease, some predicted.<br />
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Such tough talk may help increase uncertainty, suggested one analyst.<br />
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"Uncertainty as to if and how much investment will be cut by oilsands and oil and gas companies, going forward, will make investors more cautious in general," commented Desjardins Securities analyst Jeff Roberts.<br />
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"We will likely hear lots of negative forecasts on Alberta growth and Alberta energy companies and income trusts, which should scare off some potential homebuyers who will rather stay in their apartments during this time of uncertainty.'<br />
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Roberts added: "Despite current negative sentiment, the medium- and long-term strong growth positive outlook for Alberta remains intact.... However, the next three to six months or so may well be turbulent for the stocks amid negative headlines and forecasts.""<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071025/alta_royalties_071026/20071026?hub=Canada&s_name">http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071025/alta_royalties_071026/20071026?hub=Canada&s_name</a>=<p>---<br>"George Bush has declared the war on terrorism to be the cause of his generation. The cause of Canadian sovereignty will be ours." - John Godfrey, MP for Don Va

From a Citigroup analyst:<br />
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Look for buying opportunity in Suncor and Canadian Natural, Citigroup says <br />
The negative after-market reaction to Alberta’s proposed royalty changes for the energy sector appears overdone and may present an opportunity to buy some names in the sector, says Citigroup analyst Doug Leggate. <br />
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He recommends keeping an eye on preferred names in the sector like Suncor Energy Inc. (SU/TSX) and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNQ/TSX), but admits there will likely be a strong response to any change from the industry.<br />
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This view is partly a result of oil prices. Citigroup has a long-term oil price assumption of US$60 per barrel, which means the changes are not considered material enough to warrant any alterations to its earnings or target prices.<br />
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At first glance, the proposed regime looks significantly less onerous than feared, Mr. Leggate said in a research note, adding that with US$55 oil, there would be no changes to his assumptions.<br />
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<a href="http://communities.canada.com/nationalpost/blogs/tradingdesk/archive/2007/10/26/look-for-buying-opportunity-in-suncor-and-canadian-natural-citigroup-says.aspx">http://communities.canada.com/nationalpost/blogs/tradingdesk/archive/2007/10/26/look-for-buying-opportunity-in-suncor-and-canadian-natural-citigroup-says.aspx</a><p>---<br>"George Bush has declared the war on terrorism to be the cause of his generation. The cause of Canadian sovereignty will be ours." - John Godfrey, MP for Don Va

I think that the biggest indicators are that Oil Company shares feel a little, then gained back Friday; and that if you look through all the financial and business columns you won't find hardly a mention of this in any of them.

Ha! I know the Oil Companies were full of hot air! The markets aren't reacting at all!

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