KPMG's National Industry Leader for Energy in Canada, Michael McKerracher, was interviewed by the Daily Oil Bulletin to provide his thoughts on the future of the Canadian oil and gas industry. Michael's article appears in the Daily Oil Bulletin's Top Operators 2018 report, a yearly ranking of Canada's leading public oil and gas companies.

Highlights:

• Oil sands operators will continue to consolidate and vertically integrate
  
• More challenging years ahead for gas producers, and how LNG exports will affect them
• Effects of the Redwater court decision on debt financing
• The future for the junior producer and energy services sector

The Canadian oil and gas industry continues to grapple with a number of hurdles both globally and domestically. This, coupled with high levels of investment uncertainty, has made it difficult for upstream and energy service companies to survive, resulting in the number of publicly traded Canadian oil and gas companies on the TSX and the TSX Venture Exchange declining significantly along with the market capitalization of these TSX listed companies.

Noting the challenges, McKerracher is 'guardedly optimistic' on the future for Canadian oil and gas. There's been improvement in Canada's ability to meet growing demands and compete globally, but securing access to international markets and minimizing the regulatory burdens of the project approval process and taxation need work to provide the stability investors want to consider Canadian oil and gas a potential growth area.

"Globally, demand for energy continues to grow, and the Canadian industry is getting better at telling its energy story to the world", says McKerracher.

Download the full article including the company rankings

^{(Source: JWN Energy)}