Yes but in regards to this thread, how many people moved here and were relying on those terrible producers and the companies that service them for money to pay their mortgages?
The same can be said for a lot of industries in different parts of the country over the years .... forestry, auto, mining, fishing, aerospace, construction, etc. Not unique to the oil and gas sector.
Yes but in regards to this thread, how many people moved here and were relying on those terrible producers and the companies that service them for money to pay their mortgages?
What were really dealing with here is the profitability of the oil sands. And yes, many people have moved into Alberta and Calgary specifically due to that opportunity.
The unfortunate truth is that if that industry does not return to a profitable state, there is no way to diversify the Alberta economy in a meaningful way that will overcome that shortfall. You can lessen the blow via diversification, but there's nothing inherent about Alberta that is going to give it such an edge over other locations that will attract some new kind of super industry.
IMO Calgary has actually done a good job at trying to diversify. You have a large number of people in Calgary employed in non-energy related sectors. Calgary has done its best to attract various corporate head offices. However, you simply aren't going to get certain kinds of industries to open shop in a place like Calgary anymore. If you're setting up a manufacturing plant, it's going to Mexico, many financial jobs are better off in Toronto/NYC, etc..
The idea that government employees (and worse elected officials), have any inclination about what "diversify" actually means is nonsense.
Speaking of nonsense, did you know that the Alberta conservatives have diversified our dependence on oil from it being 80% of our provincial budget in 1979 to being only 6% of the provincial budget last year.
The Following User Says Thank You to stampsx2 For This Useful Post:
Speaking of nonsense, did you know that the Alberta conservatives have diversified our dependence on oil from it being 80% of our provincial budget in 1979 to being only 6% of the provincial budget last year.
So why are we posting a massive deficit this year?
So why are we posting a massive deficit this year?
Overspending and poor policies. A 2% reduction in oil revenues of Alberta's total gdp is still a lot of money. Added to that, higher unemployment and more e.i. claims means less people paying into the economy and more money out of the governments pocket. Trickle down effect.
The Following User Says Thank You to stampsx2 For This Useful Post:
Speaking of nonsense, did you know that the Alberta conservatives have diversified our dependence on oil from it being 80% of our provincial budget in 1979 to being only 6% of the provincial budget last year.
Is that an indication of diversification, or just slashing royalties? Seam to remember they were much higher in the 70's. I'd think a better indicator would be % of GDP.
However, when the cost of a tear down on the East side is 1.5 million, it's not the average Vancouver resident who is capable of buying and then renovating a property like that.
And the price of a tear down in Elbow Park is $1,000,000
As long as interest rates stay low we will avoid a housing crash. We could see a slight correction from the oil and gas bust but not crash type levels.
I'm too lazy (or incompetent) to adjust it for inflation or to look it up to confirm, but in the late 90's the Canadian dollar was around $0.65 US and I believe oil was below $20. Oil companies existed and made money then, they will still going forward.
The Alberta economy has managed to putter along on the back of convention oil and natural gas in the past. The difference is that today the oilsands accounts for a much higher portion of Alberta's energy industry - and economy - than was the case 20 years ago. And the natural gas market, which was responsible for lifting Alberta out of its malaise in the mid-90s, is now in the tank too.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by fotze
If this day gets you riled up, you obviously aren't numb to the disappointment yet to be a real fan.
The Alberta economy has managed to putter along on the back of convention oil and natural gas in the past. The difference is that today the oilsands accounts for a much higher portion of Alberta's energy industry - and economy - than was the case 20 years ago. And the natural gas market, which was responsible for lifting Alberta out of its malaise in the mid-90s, is now in the tank too.
Net migration to Calgary last year was still + 35,000.
It will be interesting to see where that figure is for this year. I assume there is still positive migration, but not as much as last year.
You would have to be all sorts of stupid to move here in hopes of finding work. I'd be shocked if it's positive. The number of patch workers going home has to be larger than the number of people that would move here for reasons besides work.
The Alberta economy has managed to putter along on the back of convention oil and natural gas in the past. The difference is that today the oilsands accounts for a much higher portion of Alberta's energy industry - and economy - than was the case 20 years ago. And the natural gas market, which was responsible for lifting Alberta out of its malaise in the mid-90s, is now in the tank too.
The Alberta economy has managed to putter along on the back of convention oil and natural gas in the past. The difference is that today the oilsands accounts for a much higher portion of Alberta's energy industry - and economy - than was the case 20 years ago. And the natural gas market, which was responsible for lifting Alberta out of its malaise in the mid-90s, is now in the tank too.
Natural Gas is dead and had been dead since early 2000s and so is conventional oil. The O&G industry of Alberta should rename themselves to the OilSands industry of Alberta. The 2009 downturn didn't affect much of the Oilsands spending which is the grave danger we are facing now. If Oilsand investment doesn't come back, we don't need to worry about pissing away another fortune because there ain't gonna be one.
Over the last few years there has still been a lot of money spent going after natural gas liquids, heavy oil has been steady and I have even seen companies license a few vertical gas wells recently. Add in the Duvernay plays and there is definitely more to the economy than just oil sands.
