CERI does some great research and analysis, this is their publication which everyone in Canada should know about, get the facts on energy in Canada and how key it is to our economy and prosperity. In a low cost environment for both oil and natural gas, the future of Canada’s conventional oil and gas development is being questioned. The last two years have seen significant declines in drilling and production as Canadian supply costs are high relative to the commodity prices. CERI’s “Canadian Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production and Supply Costs Outlook (2016 – 2036)” breaks down drilling and production forecasts as well as supply costs across the various producing regions in Canada. Total natural gas production is expected to start to rise by 2019 as the price of gas increases and drilling rates overcome well decline rates. The rise in the gas production is totally dependent on whether LNG projects will be constructed. While oil prices are expected to rise as well, conventional crude production is expected to drop slightly and remain stable throughout the study period, as growth is concentrated in the oil sands. The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin will see the vast majority of both natural gas production and conventional crude oil production, however, offshore Newfoundland will contribute approximately one-tenth of the crude oil over the study period.

The Calgary Chamber published a great position paper on this issue and it really is a call to action for the government to take a new approach if it wants to diversify and create a new more robust economy for Alberta. Talk is cheap, they need to take this type of action to make things happen. The old approach of having their own fund and betting on their own horses has been a failure every time, so time to do something new (for Alberta). The inaccessibility of early-stage capital investment is a major impediment to the growth and sustainability of Alberta’s small businesses. Often lacking the resources and administrative capacity to raise capital via debt financing, these businesses rely heavily on equity investments made by angel investors and venture capital firms. Despite this need, Alberta is currently one of the only provinces in Canada without an income tax credit for those who invest in local small businesses.1 The province lacks an incentive structure aimed specifically at encouraging private sector agents to purchase equity in local—capital starved—enterprises. Without policies that foster small business growth, the province’s productivity, level of innovation, and overall competitiveness stand to suffer.