Canada’s oil and gas extraction industries deployed CAD 10.6 billion ($7.85 billion) in capital during the third quarter (Q3), up 1.68 percent from the prior three-month period and 12.76 percent from the same quarter last year, official data has shown.
Oil prices have nearly erased all year-to-date gains as shrinking refining margins signal weaker demand for oil.
Last week, Canada’s Prime Minister pledged to the UN General Assembly that he would cap emissions from the country’s oil and gas industry this year. Interestingly, the only leaders allowed to speak at the gathering were those who had made firm climate change commitments, and even though Trudeau was among them, he was criticized for the fact that “Canada was one of the largest expanders of fossil fuels last year,” per a CBC report.
Repsol has agreed to sell its oil and gas assets in Canada to Peyto for $468 million (approx. €433 million) as part of its ongoing portfolio management to focus activity on core regions.
Canada has put 47 concession areas on offer in its latest offshore oil and gas bid round in the eastern province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board announced on Monday.
Canadian oil producers have repeatedly pushed for new oil transportation links and pipeline expansion projects in recent years without much avail. The massive Keystone XL pipeline project was halted by President Biden in 2021, leading Canada to be more pessimistic about its North American oil potential. However, the Trans Mountain conduit, which is set to start up next year, is expected to help Canada overcome its constrained pipeline capacity and open new markets.
The energy industry in Canada has long lamented the fact that the country is missing out on the global surge in LNG demand, first as a replacement for coal, and now, for Europe, as a replacement for Russian pipeline gas.
Russian state gas giant Gazprom has already cut gas flows to Germany via the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline by 60% from last month, citing an equipment hold-up in Canada as a result of sanctions over the war in Ukraine.