Petro-Canada
is one of the largest oil and gas companies
currently based in Canada, with their headquarters
in Calgary, Alberta. The company trades on both the
Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges. In 1975, Petro-Canada
was created as a Crown corporation to gain a strong
Canadian presence in the world’s oil industry. This
was a part of the federal government’s plan to
promote Canadian ownership of Canada’s resources and
to invest in exploration programs all over Canada. The company’s creation was politically
charged, however, as it was a part of the government’s new
energy policy. The National Energy Program began in
1980 to promote the Canadianization of the oil and
gas industry, but the creation of Petro-Canada was
seen by many as a way for the federal government to
control the oil industry instead of the provinces.
In the 1980s, Petro-Canada started
drilling its first offshore wells off Labrador. The
company discovered a massive oil field at Valhalla,
Alberta in 1982. To become viable in 1983, Petro-Canada
purchased the refining and marketing assets of BP
Canada in Ontario and Quebec.
The mandate of the company
changed in 1984 in response to the political issues
surrounding the new energy program. It was now to
conduct business in a solely commercial manner, not
as a gate-keeper of the federal government
interests. Petro-Canada’s new focus was demonstrated
in the discovery of the Terra Nova oil field off
Newfoundland.
The political stigma surrounding
the company also abated with Petro-Canada organizing
and sponsoring the 1988 Winter Olympic Torch Relay.
The Olympic flame was carried through every province
and territory on the way to the Calgary, and boosted
the company’s image. The final step for the
company’s redemption was when the federal government
announced that it would privatize Petro-Canada
commencing in October of 1990. By July 1991, the
first shares were released and sold to the public
with the federal government selling its last shares
in 2004.
Petro-Canada continues to
diversify with the acquisition of natural gas assets
in the US Rocky Mountain region in 2004. Petro-Canada
acquired 60 percent interest in the Fort McMurray,
Alberta Fort Hills oil sands mining project in 2005.
Internationally, Petro-Canada is involved in
exploration, development, production, and marketing
of oil and natural gas in Northwest Europe, North
Africa, Near East, and Latin America. Petro-Canada
continues to pursue new opportunities to explore and
develop oil and gas resources around the world.
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