EnCana's
roots are in the Canadian Pacific Railway and it’s
exploration of oil and gas. The CPR created Canadian
Pacific Oil and Gas Company (CPOG) in 1958 to hold
its mineral rights and began an exploration and
production program. From the amalgamation of CPOG
and Central-Del Rio Oils companies, PanCanadian
Petroleum Limited was created in 1971. One of the
first projects the new company embarked on was the
development of shallow gas in southern Alberta in
1972. PanCanadian’s holdings increased over the next
twenty years making it the largest independent
producer of crude oil and natural gas in Canada. In
1996, PanCanadian purchased the Cohasset and Panuke
oil fields offshore in Nova Scotia, marking the
company’s expansion into Canada’s East Coast. Three
years later, PanCanadian maked a significant
offshore natural gas discovery under the Panuke oil
field. In the new century, the company launched a
CO2 miscible flood projects at Weyburn,
Saskatchewan. In 2001 PanCanadian Petroleum Limited
became PanCanadian Energy Corporation. Having
expanded across Canada, PanCanadian decided to
undergo the biggest change in their history.
In 2002, PanCanadian merged with
the Alberta Energy Company Ltd. (AEC). The AEC had
been created by the Government of Alberta to provide
Canadians with an opportunity to participate through
ownership, in the petroleum industrial growth of
Alberta. In 1975, the Alberta Government sold a
one-half interest in AEC, and the company continued
to operate successfully. By the end of the twentieth
century, AEC was ranked as Canada's largest natural
gas producer and the largest independent operator of
gas storage in North America. The decision was made
by PanCanadian and AEC shareholders to accept a
merger between these two equal powerhouses to form
EnCana Corporation. Currently, EnCana is the leading
natural gas producer with 85 percent of
their operating cash flow derived from natural gas
and natural gas liquids.
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The Largest Independent Producer
An Albertan and Canadian success story, the EnCana Corporation is a world leader in energy production. In this excerpt from the JuneWarren publication, The Great Canadian Oil Patch: The Petroleum Era from Birth to Peak, author Earle Gray traces the rise of EnCana to its status as Canada’s largest natural gas producer. Read more… |
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