An oil and gas analyst says record low prices for oilsands crude could lead to up to 20 per cent of Canada’s thermal bitumen production being shut down over the next few months.
Analyst Matt Murphy of Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. says that would equate to about 340,000 barrels per day of the 1.7 million barrels produced each day by projects that use steam to pump the heavy, sticky oil from wells in northern Alberta. [ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ] Western Canadian Select oil, a blend of bitumen and lighter oils, fell to a record low of US$4.58 per barrel on Friday morning as New York-traded West Texas Intermediate dropped to US$21.55.