Canada’s oil sands under siege
A scarcity of investment options is compounding the rapid exodus of international firms
The Canadian oil sands industry has been hit repeatedly since the middle of the last decade. International crude prices collapsed between 2014-16 and again this year, while Western Canadian oil prices slumped in the second half of 2018. The latter was due to a lack of takeaway capacity from the region, courtesy of an anti-oil sands campaign to slow development of new pipelines from Western Canada. The global environmental movement has successfully painted oil sands as being ‘black as coal’ over the past decade. This, along with lower oil prices, has contributed to an exodus of IOCs and major financial institutions from the resource. On 29 July, France’s Total, one of the few remaining IOCs i
Also in this section
19 March 2026
The regional crisis highlights the undervalued role of fixed pipelines in the age of tanker flexibility
18 March 2026
Rising LNG exports and AI-driven power demand have raised concerns that US gas prices could climb sharply, but analysts say abundant shale supply and continued productivity gains should keep Henry Hub within a range that preserves the competitiveness of US LNG
18 March 2026
Risks of shortages in oil products may cause world leaders to panic and make mistakes instead of letting the market do what it does best
17 March 2026
The crisis in the Middle East has put LNG’s ability to offer security and flexibility under uncomfortable scrutiny
