Top Ten Energy M&A Trends In Canada For 2013

It's generally agreed that 2012 was a difficult year for the oil and gas industry in Canada. No part of the industry was spared from challenging times. Indications of these difficulties included:

• Persistent wide differentials in prices for Canadian oil and gas production compared to North American and international benchmarks;  
• Decreases in capital spending by producers; and  
• Declines in Alberta land sale bonuses and aggregate drilling days from 2011 levels.

At the same time, the industry's initiatives to increase oil pipeline and refinery capacity and to develop alternatives to the US market for the oil and natural gas produced in Canada were frustrated by organized and effective opposition from First Nations, environmental and other special interest groups and by the reactions of governments to those political pressures.