Canadian oil sands in shackles
Producers tighten their belts even as financial conditions rally and midstream expansion looms
Major oil sands producers would never admit publicly what the exodus of non-Canadian oil companies has made patently clear—that their glory days are behind them, with the world moving towards rapid decarbonisation. But they appear to have come to a similar conclusion privately, based on their continuing reluctance to spend on capital projects. And this is despite benchmark light-sweet crude prices well over $60/bl and significant new pipeline capacity finally coming online. Calagary-based Enbridge’s Line 3 Replacement project should provide an additional 370,000bl/d of export capacity for Western Canada by early 2022 by the latest. The Canadian government’s Trans Mountain Expansion project w
Also in this section
27 February 2026
LNG would serve as a backup supply source as domestic gas declines and the country’s energy system comes under stress during periods of low hydropower output and high energy demand
27 February 2026
The assumption that oil markets will re-route and work around sanctions is being tested, and it is the physical infrastructure that is acting as the constraint
27 February 2026
The 25th WPC Energy Congress to take place in tandem as part of a coordinated week of high-level ministerial, institutional and industry engagements
27 February 2026
The deepwater sector must be brave by fast-tracking projects and making progress to seize huge offshore opportunities and not become bogged down by capacity constraints and consolidation
