Pumpjacks draw oil out of the ground in a canola field near Olds, Alta., Thursday, July 16, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh Canadian oil and gas companies are expected to increase spending in 2023, but analysts say it will be another year of modest growth and not a return to boom times. For Canada’s energy industry, 2022 was the year that finally snapped a decade of weak commodity prices and brought prosperity back to the sector. With the lifting of global pandemic restrictions, the war in Ukraine, and the cumulative impact of years of under-investment in oil and gas, energy prices hit record highs in 2022 and Canadian companies reaped record profits. But most of these profits went to paying down debt and rewarding shareholders, not into major construction or infrastructure projects. And even though commodity prices are expected to remain healthy in 2023, that theme is likely to remain. "The oil producers have become far more financially disciplined over the last six or eight years," said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management, adding the threat of a looming recession in 2023 is one factor preventing oil and gas companies from getting carried away with spending […]
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