In the last decade or so, Western Canada has emerged as the engine of Canada’s growth, largely driven by developments and investment in the ‘oil patch’. But as an inherently cyclical industry, the global oil & gas industry is experiencing another downturn since the fall of 2014 and Western Canada’s high-cost projects have taken a major hit.
As the four provinces that are home to the majority of the 1,400,000km2 Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have shared distinct socio-economic similarities in recent years: strong GDP growth rates, near full employment figures and strong net immigration, both international and interprovincial.
Thanks to the advent of horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracturing, development has largely focused on unconventional resources, especially Alberta’s oil sands and the region’s vast shale gas reserves. However, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques are now also allowing exploration companies to search for remaining undiscovered oil pools and to redevelop existing pools across the entire region.
But beyond its vulnerability to global commodity markets, there are major challenges facing the industry at home today such as access to market, socio-environmental responsibility and energy literacy. However, the region’s renowned resiliency and drive for innovation present attractive opportunities for the astute investor with a comprehensive understanding of industry dynamics and a long-term perspective.
With its upcoming Global Investor’s Guide – Western Canada Oil & Gas Vol. 1 – milestone GRP will explore the region’s unique role in the North American and global energy markets, its competitive advantages and challenges, new trends in investment, the development of the industry supply chain and recent technological innovations. While presenting numerous opportunities for direct investment in the industry’s wealth of private & publicly-listed companies, our aim is to send a strong message of resilience and answer the question ‚What’s next for Western Canada’s oil & gas industry given the current context’?