Oil-price collapse may aggravate producing nations’ other problems

A liquefied natural gas export plant proposed for Canada’s Pacific coast and backed by Royal Dutch Shell PLC could cost up to 40 billion Canadian dollars ($35.3 billion), according to a regulatory filing with the British Columbia government.

The standoff between Russia and the West over Ukraine has increased Europe's quest for alternative suppliers of oil and gas and Canada's exports to Europe have already started to pick up in the last few months.

Bank of America Corp. and BNP Paribas SA predict prices will hold above $80 a barrel. Commerzbank AG also sees that level as a possible low for Brent crude. They’re in part counting on OPEC cutting output -- some say as soon as next month -- to compensate for recent declines in demand.

Canada scored a victory Tuesday when the European Union ditched plans to label oil derived from oil sands as dirtier than other forms of crude, removing a major potential obstacle to exporting the controversial fuel to Europe.

Canada is one of the world's five largest energy producers and is the principal source of U.S. energy imports.

U.S. oil exports are set to surpass a record held since 1957 as traders find ways around a four-decade ban on supplies leaving the country.

Liquefied natural gas projects in Africa, Canada and Australia face delays or even cancellation as global demand growth slows and U.S. output increases, according to Goldman Sachs Corp.

Encana of Canada has become the latest company working in North America’s shale reserves to make a leap to reduce its reliance on gas, and increase its oil production, by agreeing a $7.1bn deal to buy US-listed Athlon Energy.

Petronas, Malaysia’s state-owned oil and gas group, is threatening to pull the plug on a $10bn liquefied natural gas project in Canada, saying new taxes and rising competition from a slew of US shale gas projects threaten its viability.