Canada’s ‘big four’ oil sands producers have posted substantially higher year-on-year net revenue in Q1
High profits double-edged sword for oil sands producers
Overflowing coffers are likely to impress shareholders but not politicians being asked for decarbonisation subsidies
Canada’s oil sands industry has always been billed as a significant cash play for investors. But this has often not worked out, Kevin Birn, Calgary-based vice-president of commodity insights with consultancy S&P Global, tells Petroleum Economist. The reasons include the macro—such as three extended bouts of low global crude prices since 2008—but also encompass the micro—mostly obviously the 2018 Western Canadian price crash due to a lack of egress from the region, but also large cost overruns for most oil sands projects. With benchmark crude prices sustained above $100/bl and continuing capital spending restraint on their part, major oil sands producers have finally been sharing the weal
Also in this section
19 February 2026
US LNG exporter Cheniere Energy has grown its business rapidly since exporting its first cargo a decade ago. But Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin tells Petroleum Economist that, as in the past, the company’s future expansion plans are anchored by high levels of contracted offtake, supporting predictable returns on investment
19 February 2026
Growth in LNG supply will surpass the rise in demand in 2026 for the first time in years, according to Mike Fulwood, senior research fellow at the OIES, but lower prices are likely to encourage fuel switching and could create more demand on a permanent basis
19 February 2026
Awais Ali Butt, manager for sales and business development at Pakistan LNG Ltd, discusses LNG’s role in energy security across developing, price-sensitive economies, as well as examining trade-offs between buying strategies and the impact of lower prices and policy on import behaviour
19 February 2026
LNG’s technical maturity, availability and price, as well as regulation, have driven its rapid adoption as a marine fuel, yet its future in shipping will depend on transition policies and progress in cutting methane emissions and scaling bio- and synthetic LNG, according to Carlos Guerrero at Bureau Veritas
