Dear John,

Today, the Fraser Institute released a new study, the Canada-US Energy Sector Competitiveness Survey.

This study finds that Texas is more than twice as attractive for oil and gas investment than Alberta. Specifically, uncertain environmental regulations, regulatory inconsistencies and pipeline constraints are major deterrents to greater energy investment in Alberta and across Canada. In fact, the study also ranks 20 North American jurisdictions based on policies affecting oil and gas investment, and Saskatchewan was Canada’s highest-ranked province at 13^th out of 20. Alberta ranked 16^th, and Texas ranked 1^st overall.

Below is the news release and accompanying infographic. Please share with your colleagues and friends.

Best,

Megan

Megan McElwain | Associate Director of Development, Central Canada
The Fraser Institute
Suite 2215, 500 4th Avenue SW
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Texas more than twice as attractive for oil and gas investment than Alberta

CALGARY—Texas is more than two times as attractive than Alberta for oil and gas investment, according to a new survey of petroleum-sector executives released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan, Canadian public policy think-tank.

“Canada’s onerous and uncertain regulations, along with our dearth of pipeline capacity has created a competitiveness chasm between Canada and the United States—particularly between Alberta and Texas,” said Ashley Stedman, senior policy analyst at the Fraser Institute and co-author of the Canada-US Energy Sector Competitiveness Survey.

The survey, conducted between May and August of this year, ranks 20 North American jurisdictions (15 states and five provinces) based on policies affecting oil and gas investment.

This year, Texas ranked 1^st while Alberta ranked 16^th out of 20.

Specifically, 80 per cent of survey respondents cited uncertain environmental regulations as a deterrent to investing in Alberta compared to only nine per cent for Texas.

Likewise, 65 per cent of respondents identified regulatory duplication and inconsistencies as a deterrent to investing in Alberta compared to eight per cent for Texas.

Rounding out the top five most attractive jurisdictions for oil and gas investment are Oklahoma (2^nd), Kansas (3^rd), Wyoming (4^th) and the US-Gulf of Mexico region (5^th).

Among the survey’s 20 jurisdictions, Saskatchewan (13^th) was the most attractive Canadian province followed by Newfoundland and Labrador (15), Manitoba (17^th) and British Columbia (19^th). Colorado (20^th) was the least-attractive jurisdiction.

“Policies matter, and when the oil and gas sector is very clearly indicating that American jurisdictions are more attractive for investment, policymakers should take note,” said Kenneth Green, resident scholar and chair of energy and natural resource studies at the Fraser Institute.

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