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
2 April 2026
Alongside a rapid continued build-out of renewables, China’s latest five-year plan stresses the value of domestic hydrocarbon production for energy security and calls for increased Russian gas imports
2 April 2026
The government is taking important steps to revive domestic production, lift investment and benefit from the geopolitical crisis even if more needs to be done in the longer term
1 April 2026
Golden Pass’s startup offers QatarEnergy a timely boost but may also force a difficult choice between honouring disrupted contracts and capitalising on soaring spot LNG prices
1 April 2026
It is not a case of if or when, but the length and magnitude of economic damage from elevated oil prices
