Alberta feels the pain
Home to the marginal barrel, Canada’s energy patch is hurting from the price collapse. But oil sands output is still rising and resistance is building
Canada’s former prime minister Stephen Harper once boasted that his country would become a “global energy superpower” by 2020. Buoyed by $100-a-barrel crude and endowed with abundant resources of oil sands and natural gas, his country seemed on pace to become the world’s fourth-largest energy producer, behind Saudi Arabia, Russia and the US. Now, just a few months after Harper was turfed from office in Canada’s federal elections, those aspirations have been indefinitely put on hold, if not dashed. Alberta’s oil patch has been through as many busts as booms, but rarely have downturns been as bad as this one. Canada’s dependence on petroleum exports means its economy has fared worse than most
Also in this section
20 February 2026
The country is pushing to increase production and expand key projects despite challenges including OPEC+ discipline and the limitations of its export infrastructure
20 February 2026
Europe has transformed into a global LNG demand powerhouse over the last few years, with the fuel continuing to play a key role in safeguarding the continent’s energy security, Carsten Poppinga, chief commercial officer at Uniper, tells Petroleum Economist
20 February 2026
Sempra Infrastructure’s vice president for marketing and commercial development, Carlos de la Vega, outlines progress across the company’s US Gulf Coast and Mexico Pacific Coast LNG portfolio, including construction at Port Arthur LNG, continued strong performance at Cameron LNG and development of ECA LNG
19 February 2026
US LNG exporter Cheniere Energy has grown its business rapidly since exporting its first cargo a decade ago. But Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin tells Petroleum Economist that, as in the past, the company’s future expansion plans are anchored by high levels of contracted offtake, supporting predictable returns on investment
