Another year in the red

Photo: Contributed

The Conference Board of Canada says Canada's oil and gas industry is expected to be in the red for the second year in a row.

But the pre-tax losses for 2016 aren't expected to be as severe as last year and the sector is on track to return to profitability in 2017.

The Ottawa-based economic think tank predicts Canadian oil producers will collectively lose more than $3 billion this year, an improvement from last year's record $7 billion.

The price of West Texas Intermediate crude, the key U.S. benchmark, is projected to rise from US$39 a barrel this year to around $65 a barrel in 2020.

The natural gas extraction industry is expected to incur losses of $1 billion this year, a slight improvement from the $1.1 billion hole last year.

In 2017, the Conference Board sees oil producers turning a profit of $809 million and gas producers eking out $172 million.