Conference Board sees another year in the red for Canada’s oil and gas industry

The Conference Board of Canada says Canada’s oil and gas industry is expected to be in the red for the second year in a row.

But the pre-tax losses for 2016 aren’t expected to be as severe as last year and the sector is on track to return to profitability in 2017.

The Ottawa-based economic think tank predicts Canadian oil producers will collectively lose more than $3 billion this year, an improvement from last year’s record $7 billion.

The price of West Texas Intermediate crude, the key U.S. benchmark, is projected to rise from US$39 a barrel this year to around $65 a barrel in 2020.

The natural gas extraction industry is expected to incur losses of $1 billion this year, a slight improvement from the $1.1 billion hole last year.

In 2017, the Conference Board sees oil producers turning a profit of $809 million and gas producers eking out $172 million.

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