High profits double-edged sword for oil sands producers

Overflowing coffers are likely to impress shareholders but not politicians being asked for decarbonisation subsidies

Canada’s oil sands industry has always been billed as a significant cash play for investors. But this has often not worked out, Kevin Birn, Calgary-based vice-president of commodity insights with consultancy S&P Global, tells Petroleum Economist. The reasons include the macro—such as three extended bouts of low global crude prices since 2008—but also encompass the micro—mostly obviously the 2018 Western Canadian price crash due to a lack of egress from the region, but also large cost overruns for most oil sands projects. With benchmark crude prices sustained above $100/bl and continuing capital spending restraint on their part, major oil sands producers have finally been sharing the weal