The pipeline shortage that has been strangling the Canadian oil industry is weighing on spending plans for next year, with one major producer slashing its capital budget for 2019 by C$1 billion ($750 million). Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., citing a lack of shipping options, said on Wednesday that it’s targeting a base capital plan of C$3.7 billion for next year, about C$1 billion less than its normalized plan. Of next year’s spending, only 16 percent is aimed at increasing output, and the remainder is allocated to keeping it flat. The oil-sands producer, which is projecting 2019 output equivalent to as much as 1.12 million barrels of crude a day, is the first major Canadian energy company to announce its spending plans for next year. With Western Canada’s pipelines overflowing, its crude selling at deep discounts and the province of Alberta mandating industry-wide production cuts, the company’s reduced […]