The number of active oil and gas producing companies in Western Canada declined by nearly 17.5 percent between December 2014, when oil prices were already crashing, and December 2018, a new report from XI Technologies, a Calgary-based research company for the Western Canadian energy industry, showed. According to XI Technologies, the number of active oil and gas companies with reported production in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) dropped from 1,616 in December 2014 to 1,334 as at the end of December 2018—a drop of 282 companies. Most of the decline could be attributed to industry consolidation, which is typical of any downturn in an industry, the research company said. “Industry consolidation is a natural occurrence in any downturn, and this is certainly not the first time Canada’s oil and gas sector has experienced it. Some weaker players fail and disappear,” XI Technologies said. “Juniors and mids merge to […]