Drillers in Canada Shift to Gas as Trade War Hammers Oil Prices
A natural gas facility in Kitimat, British Columbia.
Photographer: Jennifer Gauthier/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Drillers in Canada’s energy heartland of Alberta are shifting their focus to natural gas as the global trade war and an OPEC+ plan to increase output hammer crude prices.
The number of licenses for new gas wells issued in the first quarter rose 26% from the previous quarter to 308, the highest quarterly total in two years, Alberta Energy Regulator data show. For oil wells, the number fell 24% to 293, the lowest since 2021. Licenses for bitumen wells fell by six to 37.