With so many livelihoods dependent on oil, all eyes here are on the expected opening this week of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, a years-in-the-making megaproject which will soon start shipping Canadian crude to export markets.
Western Canadian producers are moving to restore some oil production as crude prices rise with demand thanks to the gradual opening of the world economy and OPEC and Russian output cuts.
News that a deal was finalized by OPEC and other oil producing nations to cut production by nearly 10 million barrels per day is being welcomed in Canada, where provinces have suffered drastic revenue losses due to rock-bottom crude prices.
A new wave of cold water is about to hit Canada's much-buffeted oilsands industry but whether it will be a perfect storm or a tempest in a teapot is yet to be seen.
OPEC and other oil nations meeting on Thursday, May 25, 2017, appeared set to extend their production cuts in an effort to shore up prices. But the intended impact could be short-lived.
Cenovus' blockbuster $17.7-billion deal to buy most of the Canadian assets of Houston-based ConocoPhillips will likely stand as the biggest acquisition in the oilsands sector for years to come.