Saskatchewan is now the preferred Canadian jurisdiction for oil exploration and development, according to the Fraser Institute's Global Petroleum Survey 2008.
The Global Petroleum Survey 2008, ranked Saskatchewan as the sixth most favourable jurisdiction out of 81 in terms of having low barriers to upstream oil and gas investment. Alberta was ranked 29th while British Columbia ranked 19th. Saskatchewan is the only Canadian province ranked among the top 10 jurisdictions.
And Newfoundland and Labrador?
Here are two quotes from exploration and development officials surveyed:
“We are bothered by political uncertainty, regulatory uncertainty, and business concerns regarding
government involvement and royalties.”
“The government needs to make a long-term commitment to create and enforce a stable business
structure.”
The funny thing with this survey is that if you take a look at the responses to specific questions on things like financial regimes and political stability, Newfoundland and Labrador gets positive numbers in every category. The existing situation is either no deterrent to investment or a mild deterrent to investment. In security, this province ranks alongside Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Nova Scotia as providing a secure environment that is a stimulus to investment. Newfoundland and Labrador ranked higher than Wyoming on security in this survey.
So if all that is the case, why isn't there more exploration investment?
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