Hal Kvisle, president and CEO of TransCanada Corp., has received the Canadian Business Leader Award from the University of Alberta School of Business.

              Kvisle, who up in Innisfail, Alberta, and attended the U of A and the University of Calgary, will receive the annual honour in March. Since Kvisle became CEO in 2001, TransCanada has regrouped from a merger with NOVA and transformed itself from a well-known and respected Canadian pipeline company to a leading North American energy infrastructure company, investing $18 billion in its pipeline and energy businesses. CH Oct 11

              EnCana Corp. has donated $1 million to Ducks Unlimited to restore…

            Neil McCrank, former chair of the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, has joined the Calgary office of law firm Borden Ladner Gervais as counsel.

            In addition to being a lawyer, McCrank is also an engineer and member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists of Alberta. He currently serves as vice-chairman of the Canadian Association for the World Petroleum Congress, chairman of the Canadian Energy Research Institute, and is a member of the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy’s leadership board at the University of Calgary. He is also on the board of directors of AltaGas Income Trust.

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            Pierre Alvarez, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) is resigning from the powerful industry group he has led for the past nine years.

            Alvarez, 49, said he’s not leaving CAPP for a specific career opportunity but has been contemplating a change for several months and wants to take on some new challenges. He said he’ll remain with CAPP until his successor is chosen and through a transition period, likely to last until late summer.

            Gerry Protti, an executive vice-president with EnCana Corp. and who’s also chairman of CAPP’s board of governors, said the decision to leave was Alvarez’s…

              The former deputy minister of Alberta Energy and a former executive with Telus are the new chairs, respectively, of the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) and the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC).

              Dan McFadyen, a professional engineer who joined Alberta Energy as deputy minister in January 2006, takes over the helm of the reconstituted ERCB. Prior to joining Alberta Energy, he was the vice-president, regulatory affairs and public policy, for the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association.

              Willie Grieve, a lawyer and vice-president, regulatory affairs with Telus since 1998, is the chair of the new AUC. Grieve has acted as legal counsel to the Public…

           Edmonton-based design and consulting firm Stantec announced an arrangement with EcoSecurities to provide clients with an integrated and comprehensive array of greenhouse gas management services.

           The services include verifying, registering and selling of carbon credits. EcoSecurities is a leading company in the business of sourcing, developing, and trading carbon credits throughout the world. Rich Allen, leader of Stantec’s U.S. East region, said the company “is dedicated to taking a sustainable approach to our projects, and this relationship with EcoSecurities will allow us to participate in the development of projects that generate carbon offset credits, with the goal to reduce greenhouse…

              Four Alberta companies have received 2007 Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers’ (CAPP)Stewardship of Excellence Awards.

              “These awards demonstrate [CAPP member companies’] commitment to continuous improvement in environment, health, safety and social performance,” said Brian Maynard, CAPP’s vice-president of stewardship and public affairs.

              Winners in the sixth annual awards competition are: ConocoPhillips Canada in the “Environmental Performance” category; BP Canada Company (Health and Safety Performance); EnCana Corporation (Social Performance); and Suncor Energy (President’s Award).

              ConocoPhillips was recognized for its fugitive emission and detection measurement pilot study. BP Canada won for its “Make A Difference Today” program, EnCana for its “Courtesy Matters” initiative, and Suncor…

              Ken Vollman will retire as chairman of the National Energy Board (NEB) on June 2 after 33 years with Canada’s energy regulator.

              Vollman, 63, began with the NEB in 1973 as a young engineer in Ottawa and served as chairman for almost a decade, adjudicating projects worth tens of billions of dollars. “He is a prince of a character,” said Neil McCrank, who retired at the end of March as chairman of the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board. “I consider him one of the visionaries in the regulatory world.”

              Among the key NEB decisions that Vollman oversaw personally was the approval…

           Neil McCrank, chairman of the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB), has announced he’ll retire on March 31, 2007.

           McCrank, 63, who has chaired the EUB for nine years, has spent 34 years in the public service, and prior to taking the top job at the EUB was Alberta’s deputy minister of justice. He said he made the decision to retire after discussions with his family and has no special plans after he retires.

           McCrank oversaw a more than doubling of the regulator’s annual budget to $135 million and a 50-per-cent growth in its staff to about 900 people. During…