Canada to Invest C$1.6 billion in Oil and Gas Sector
The Canadian government will pump C$1.6 billion (US$1.186 billion) into the country’s oil and gas sector, which has been grappling with record low oil prices, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources Amarjeet Sohi announced on the 18th December.
The investment will go to support jobs and workers in Canada’s oil and gas sector as the country looks to diversify export markets for its resources beyond the United States.
“The oil and gas industry is core to Canada’s economy. These investments will help protect jobs and restore competitiveness during this difficult time,” Mr Sohi said
“We know that getting our resources to non-US markets is the long-term solution to ensuring every barrel of oil gets its full value. That remains our focus, and we will continue to work hard to deliver results.”
The investment will include:
- C$1 billion (US$741,575,000) in commercial financial support from Export Development Canada to be made available to exporters of all sizes to assist companies looking to invest in innovative technologies, address working capital needs or explore new markets
- A new C$500 million (US$370,746,600) Energy Diversification commercial financing envelope over three years from the Business Development Bank of Canada to help higher risk but viable oil and gas small business enterprises weather current market uncertainty
- C$50 million (US$37,074,660) investment through Natural Resources Canada’s Clean Growth Programme in oil and gas projects projected to generate $890 million (US$659,992,583) in investment
- C$100 million (US$74,160,000) through Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund in energy and economic diversification-related projects.
Last month, crude prices in Canada created the worst pricing environment in the country’s oil history, Bloomberg reported, prompting many producers to shut down their production.
Source: Rigzone