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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery added 40 cents to $72.25 on the New York Merc, while Brent for April added 20 cents to $76.04 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $12.80 to WTI, up from a discount of $13.50. Natural gas for March added 28 cents to $4.28. The TSX energy index added 2.37 points to close at 275.33.

Canadian energy-watchers turned their eyes eastward, as a new government bill in Nova Scotia proposed to lift the province's decade-old fracking ban. An omnibus bill presented by Conservative Premier Tim Houston's government includes a provision to amend the Petroleum Resources Act in order to "create the potential for hydraulic fracturing to access onshore natural gas."

"The world is demanding ... natural resources [such as gas] in the transition to net zero by 2050. Nova Scotia can be a safe, responsible and ethical source of those materials," said Natural Resource Minister Tory Rushton. Energy Minister Trevor Boudreau added that Nova Scotia is sitting on an estimated seven trillion cubic feet of onshore natural gas (the equivalent of 1.2 billion barrels), but has not produced a single unit of it, because a prior Liberal government banned fracking in 2014 and "sent the message to industry that Nova Scotia was closed for business." Both ministers said the time has come for "conversations" about tapping the province's gas potential.

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