Canadian oil and gas producers are benefiting from the surge in commodity prices driven by the Middle East war, but they say it’s not changing their investment plans in the near-term.
The chief executive at oilsands giant Cenovus Energy says it’s too early on in the crisis to know what the enduring changes to the market are going to be.
Jon McKenzie says his company makes plans based on lower oil prices to ensure it’s just as resilient at US$100 a barrel as it is at US$40.
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Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd. isn’t changing its 2026 capital budget at this stage, but chief executive Brian Schmidt says it’s speeding up some already planned oil drilling in order to keep its options open for later in the year.
Tourmaline Oil Corp. is enjoying much higher cash flows from its liquids-rich natural gas production in British Columbia and Alberta.
But Jamie Heard, vice-president for capital markets, says Tourmaline’s ability to ramp up output is limited by the available space on pipelines and at the LNG Canada export facility on the B.C. coast, which enables sales to Asian buyers.
The executives made their comments in interviews during the 2026 BMO CAPP Energy Symposium taking place in Toronto this week.
whats the piont in exploring for oil or gas when the pipes are full. also the cap means they cant expand. the separatists are the ones who want the oil companies to drill. if we didnt pay royalties to the feds then we could afford to sell at a discount to the us, no need for bc pipeline. probably cheaper too because of all the fns along the way. gooo carney
Energy companies aren’t planning investments until after the October separation referendum. They want to know who they will be dealing with and the uncertainty scares away investors.