Canada looks to Beijing for new oil sands investment
As IOCs flee, Ottawa hopes to lure Asian petrodollars back
International oil companies are retreating from Canada's oil sands. In the past year alone, Shell, Statoil, Total and ConocoPhillips have sold off tens of billions of dollars in major projects to Canadian operators. Just four domestic companies now control more than 70% of the country's oil sands output. That might sound like good news to the oil nationalists, but it raises the threat that the oil sands won't get the investment needed to continue to grow. In response, natural resources minister Jim Carr took a trip through China last week to promote investment in the oil sands, among other projects, to the country's major energy companies. "We would welcome investment from any nation that's
Also in this section
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
11 March 2026
De la Rey Venter, CEO of LNG player MidOcean Energy, discusses strategy, project developments and the prospects for the LNG market
10 March 2026
From Venezuela to Hormuz, the US—backed by the most powerful military force ever assembled—is redrawing not only oil and gas flows but also the global balance of energy power
10 March 2026
By shutting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has cut exports of distillate-rich Middle Eastern crude, jet fuel and diesel, and is holding the energy market hostage
