Latest news with #Indigenous groups
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Cenovus and Indigenous Partners Eye Joint MEG Energy Takeover
Cenovus Energy Inc. is in discussions with a coalition of Indigenous groups in Canada to jointly acquire MEG Energy Corp., an oil sands producer currently fending off an unsolicited takeover bid. Bloomberg notes that the group — which includes Chipewyan Prairie First Nation and Heart Lake First Nation — is exploring a C$2 billion ($1.45 billion) stake in MEG, backed by potential federal and provincial financing. Cenovus would acquire the remaining shares, people familiar with the talks said. A joint offer could come as soon as September, though negotiations could still collapse. Neither Cenovus, MEG, nor the Indigenous groups responded to requests for comment. Natural Resources Canada declined to weigh in, and the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corp., which finances Indigenous energy investments, did not respond. If completed, the deal would mark the first large, direct Indigenous ownership stake in an oil sands producer, uniting two Calgary-based operators in Alberta's oil-rich northeast. MEG's Christina Lake project spans 200 square kilometres and is approved to produce up to 210,000 barrels per day. MEG became a takeover target in May when Strathcona Resources Ltd., led by tycoon Adam Waterous, launched an unsolicited cash-and-stock bid valuing the company at C$6 billion after building a 9.2% stake. MEG's board urged shareholders to reject the C$23.27-per-share offer as inadequate and began a strategic review to seek better options. Shares recently traded at C$25.85, suggesting investors anticipate a higher bid. For Alberta's First Nations, the bid aligns with a growing push to own major energy infrastructure — from pipelines to storage facilities — to secure long-term revenue and greater control over local projects. Energy companies have increasingly sought such partnerships to strengthen community relations and avoid environmental or legal conflicts. Cenovus, Canada's third-largest crude producer, operates near MEG's Christina Lake site. The company produced about 800,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2023, primarily bitumen. The Financial Post previously reported that Cenovus was preparing a bid for MEG. Read this article on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CBC
6 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Here's where $46M in federal wildfire research funding is going across the country
As firefighters across the country battle Canada's second-worst wildfire season on record, the federal government announced details Tuesday of $45.7 million in research funding to better understand and mitigate fire risks. The money is going to 30 research projects nationwide — run by non-profits, private organizations, provincial governments and Indigenous groups — to improve fire knowledge and risk assessments, and put in place best forestry practices. Ten of the grants will go to Indigenous-led projects, receiving a total of $3.9 million. Calgary Confederation MP Corey Hogan, parliamentary secretary to the minister of energy and natural resources, made the announcement in Calgary Tuesday morning. "These investments will play an instrumental role in helping us understand how we can reduce the impact of wildfires on Canadians, by accelerating how we develop and adopt innovative and adaptive wildfire and forestry practices," Hogan said. The announcement includes a number of projects already underway with previously committed federal funding, such as the Indigenous-led Blood Tribe Fire Guardianship, for which Ottawa announced $500,000 in March. Hogan said Indigenous communities are disproportionately affected by wildfires, and this research will help put into better use traditional Indigenous practices. "Things like controlled burns for example, that have been used for hundreds of years by Indigenous communities, but are really being better understood by non-Indigenous communities really only in the past couple of decades," said Hogan. Joe Desjarlais, research director with the B.C. Métis Federation, said the organization is combing through archives to research how Métis people have interacted with fire in the past, and how those fires have affected their communities. "We're training [people] to do wildfire research to recover their own knowledge for their own benefit, to give them a voice," said Desjarlais. The funding comes as the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre — which is among the organizations awarded grants — estimates more than 7.3 million hectares have already burned across the country this year. Hogan said some of the research is likely to provide immediate short-term guidance on where to allocate resources, but much of it is expected to help shape wildfire responses in the long-term. "One of the reasons we're doing this is to build a body of knowledge, and inherently that means there's going to be a bit of a ramp-up as we expand the amount we know, and the amount that we are able to do," said Hogan.
