Media Advisory - Natural gas outlook bleak for producers in the short term - Conference Board of Canada media availability

OTTAWA, Oct. 15, 2014 /CNW/ -  Michael Shaw, Economist, Industrial Forecasting, The Conference Board of Canada, is available to comment on Canada's natural gas industry.

The impacts of low prices and a shrinking export market have had a sharply negative effect on Canadian gas producers. As recently as 2005, the gas industry generated $55 billion in revenue and employed 30,000 workers. Revenue is expected to drop to $17 billion this year, and employment tied to gas production will fall below 20,000 workers.

The developments of this past winter and summer only underscore the weak position of the Canadian gas industry. As the long winter of 2014 drained our spirits, it also drained gas inventories, and Canadian producers benefited from higher prices, spurring a temporary jump in revenues and activity. But higher prices also spurred drilling activity south of the border, and U.S. producers were able to quickly restore storage levels.

While the short-term outlook remains bleak, LNG and global sales provide the Canadian natural gas industry with an opportunity to forge a consistent and predictable growth path.

For the Conference Board's analysis of the natural gas industry, visit: http://tinyurl.com/mm3z4g5

SOURCE: Conference Board of Canada

Yvonne Squires, Media Relations, Tel.: [phone], ext. 221. E-mail: [email protected]