Two years after an M&A boom driven by the exit of several oil majors from the oil sands, sellers of oil and gas assets are having trouble finding buyers. With persistent uncertainty about the future of Alberta’s crude oil pipeline network, sluggish capital markets, and high debt levels among potential buyers, the apparent shunning is only to be expected The pipeline problem seems to be the biggest, according to the Financial Post’s Geoffrey Morgan. In a recent analysis of the situation, Morgan quoted merger and acquisition advisers from the oil province as saying the lack of pipeline capacity and the continuing uncertainty about when—if ever—this capacity will get a boost is discouraging potential buyers from expanding their presence in the oil sands. Last year, M&A deals in the Canadian upstream hit US$11.2 billion, according to a survey by Evaluate Energy. This was a lot less than the US$32 billion […]