Resource

Canadian oil and gas producers ‘looking through’ market volatility: CAPP CEO

The Canadian Press April 10, 2025

CALGARY, ALTA. — The long-term demand outlook for Canadian oil and gas is strong despite the recent plunge in crude prices and market upheaval, said the head of the country’s biggest oil and gas advocacy group.

“The entire planet is dealing with the current market volatility and certainly oil and gas is no exception to that,” Lisa Baiton, president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said.

“But I would say generally speaking…we’re looking through that and seeing that the fundamentals for Canadian oil and gas are still very, very strong.”

West Texas Intermediate crude prices have lost about US$10 over the last week to hover around US$60 per barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump unleashed a new wave of tariffs and the

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced a May production increase.

Despite the trade strife, the U.S. will always be a major customer for Canadian energy, Baiton said from Toronto, where the BMO CAPP Energy Symposium is being held this week.

She added that growth in artificial intelligence data centres, which are known for being voracious energy users, is expected to drive demand well into the future.

A research report from Enverus said expansions to existing oilsands projects that use steam wells instead of mining for extraction are viable with low oil prices, but brand new ones would need stable prices of US$80 or higher to be greenlit.

A note from S&P Global Commodity Insights says if WTI was to plunge to US$50 per barrel, there could be a decline of one million barrels a day of U.S. onshore production over the course of a year.

CAPP is calling for a “major policy reset” to enable development of Canada’s oil and gas resources, including the repeal of environmental review legislation some industry leaders say effectively stops any major projects from moving ahead.

“There’s been a wake-up call post the election of President Trump that the resources that Canadians are blessed with are the cornerstone not only to our economic security, but to our national security and to our sovereignty,” Baiton said. “It’s not just about current market volatility and today’s economy. This is about really shaping Canada’s future for generations.”