Canada's great IOC exodus
International oil companies are fleeing the oil sands for greener pastures elsewhere
After spending decades pumping billions of dollars into northern Alberta, the world's majors are quickly abandoning Canada's oil sands. In two blockbuster deals worth almost C$30bn ($22.37bn) that came within a week of each other, Shell and ConocoPhillips became the latest to downsize their bitumen positions. Total and Statoil exited last year. In doing so, it raises the question of whether one of the planet's largest oil deposits is as valuable as it once was in a new era of abundance brought on by cheaper supplies of tight oil. What used to be the epicentre of the world's last big gold rush evidently now looks—to foreign investors, anyway—too rich. Shell's retreat, in particular, was a blo
Also in this section
16 May 2024
Flat oil growth in 2024 highlights mounting industry problems
15 May 2024
Five years ago, Uzbekistan turned to a private company called Saneg to reverse the fortunes of its oil industry. Results so far are encouraging, and according to CEO Tulkin Yusupov, further progress is on the way
14 May 2024
But there is still plenty of appetite for the country’s LNG in the Asia-Pacific region
14 May 2024
The former CEO of Pioneer, Scott Sheffield, has opened a can of worms through his association with OPEC+ and its market management strategy