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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery lost 35 cents to $56.77 on the New York Merc, while Brent for January lost nine cents to $62.28 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $18.85 to WTI, unchanged. Natural gas for December added five cents to $2.65. The TSX energy index lost a fraction to close at 133.53.

It was another rough day for Canadian energy bulls, with yet another forecast bearing gloomy predictions for the year ahead. The Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors (CAODC) is projecting that 4,905 wells will be drilled in 2020, an increase of just nine wells -- less than 0.2 per cent -- over 2019. That compares with over 11,200 wells drilled in 2014. For some more recent comparisons, CAODC noted that since 2017, the Canadian oil and gas industry has lost an estimated $30-billion in foreign capital, and since 2018, it has lost over 13,700 jobs (a nearly 40-per-cent decrease). The association was not shy in assigning blame. President and chief executive officer Mark Scholz lambasted "punitive policy measures from our own federal government," specifically citing bills C-48 and C-69, as well as a perceived lack of support for building pipelines. "If we do not create an environment where the oil and gas industry can compete internationally, we won't have an industry left in this country," warned Mr. Scholz. Even with that dire warning attached, CAODC's drilling forecast was actually more optimistic than some of the others that have turned up lately. Two weeks ago, the Petroleum Services Association of Canada predicted that the number of drilled wells will actually drop by a full 10 per cent in 2020 compared with 2019.

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