Alberta is regaining the confidence of energy executives around the world, but is still considered one of the least attractive Canadian provinces for oil and gas investment. The only province ranked lower in this year’s Global Petroleum Survey was British Columbia.
The annual survey done by the Fraser Institute placed Alberta in 33rd place out of 96 jurisdictions, up from 43rd in 2016. That’s still far behind 2014, when the province was ranked 14th out of 156 jurisdictions.
Survey takers were asked about factors like taxes, environmental regulations and enforcement, trade barriers, infrastructure quality, and political stability. More than 50 per cent of respondents said Alberta’s high taxes deterred investment in the province’s oil and gas sector.
This year, B.C. dropped from 39th to 76th, which senior director of the Fraser Institute’s Centre for Natural
Resources largely blames on the province’s recent election of an NDP government.
“Investor confidence matters, and having a government that’s openly hostile to resource development has apparently sent a chill throughout the oil and gas industry.”
Newfoundland and Labrador was the top ranked province in Canada, moving up from 25th to 4th place. Saskatchewan moved down from 4th to 7th this year.