Oil sands producers keep the reins tight

No extravagant spending is planned ahead of a capital-intensive push towards a lower carbon footprint

Canada’s oil sands producers are rolling in cash with crude oil prices hovering around $80/bl. But after suffering near death-experiences during the worst of the Covid crisis in the first half of 2020, and with net zero coming to dominate the global energy agenda, there is absolutely no talk in downtown Calgary of boosting capital spending to fund new oil sands mega-projects. Instead, major oil sands producers are talking continued capital discipline. Relatively modest production growth through debottlenecking current operations and small-scale brownfield projects is also on the agenda, especially with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committing at Cop26 in Glasgow to cap emissions on the count