Does Slow Growth in Oil Sands Output Justify New Pipeline Capacity? -- RBN Energy -- May 3, 2017

Active rigs:

	5/3/2017	05/03/2016	05/03/2015	05/03/2014	05/03/2013
Active Rigs	49	27	86	185	192

RBN Energy: does slow growth in oil sands output justify new pipeline capacity?

Production volumes in the Alberta oil sands continue to inch up as production expansion projects sanctioned in better times — almost all of the projects small in scale — come online. However, several major pipeline projects remain on the drawing board; taken together, they would appear to provide far more pipeline takeaway capacity than the oil sands will need. Which raises two questions: how much incremental pipeline capacity is needed, and which pipeline project or projects are most likely to advance? Today we continue our series on stagnating production growth in the world’s premier crude bitumen area, the odds for and against a rebound any time soon, and the need (or lack thereof) for more pipelines.

Scott Adams: using persuasion to create assets out of nothing.