CALGARY -- The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) is forecasting a $2 billion increase in upstream oil and gas investment in 2020, which the province says will support 8,100 jobs in Alberta and 3,700 jobs across the country.
The increase represents a four per cent jump in capital investment on the conventional side and an eight per cent jump in the oilsands, according to CAPP.
Conventional oil and natural gas capital investment for 2020 is forecast at $25.4 billion, up from an estimated $24.4 billion last year.
Capital investment in the oil sands is forecast at $11.6 billion in 2020, up from an estimated $10.7 billion in 2019.
This is the first time in five years capital spending is expected to increase.
In a press release, CAPP officials said the expected increase is the result of a number of factors, including the lowering of the corporate tax rate in Alberta by one point, to 10 per cent, the province allowing producers to ship more crude by rail under curtailment and allowing new conventional oil drilling without restriction on production.
"I am extremely pleased to see capital investment beginning to return to our province," said Energy Minister Sonya Savage in a release.
"Government is taking concrete steps to show that Alberta is open for business and results like this prove our plan is working."
Saskatchewan has also announced a plan to increase oil production by 25 per cent to 600,000 barrels per day by 2030.
Capital investment in that province is expected to increase 10 per cent in 2020, going up to $4.4 billion.
