No matter how much Canadian oil sands producers cut costs, John Stephenson argues it can never be enough. While the CEO of Stephenson & Co. noted some players in the sector will be able to squeeze out tiny profits in a US$50 per barrel oil price environment – Husky Energy and Suncor Energy, for example, can operate with at least some margin for profitably with prices above the US$30 level – he stressed the oil sands’ economic heyday is over. “I’m sure the last buggy-whip manufacturer had razor-thin margins and it would have done an excellent job of cutting costs,” Stephenson told BNN on Tuesday, “but it doesn’t really matter if there’s a systemic shift.” Oil sands producers in northern Alberta have among the highest operating costs in the world. At the same time, limited market access due to ever-increasing controversies surrounding new pipeline proposals, combined with the higher […]