Canada’s oil and gas sector looks to reduce carbon emissions and focus on ESG

Torys partner Peter Danner sat down with Lexpert for its Special Edition: Energy publication to discuss the current oil and gas landscape, as well as a look ahead at what’s to come.

“If you look at any of the M&A announcements recently, there’s certainly a focus on the emissions intensity of the production of the acquired company and the impact that has on the overall emissions intensity of the acquirer,” Peter said.

Investments in new technologies are tied to new government regulations—as well as an investment climate focused on environmentally sustainable energy production. Peter mentioned that this has spurred companies to really focus on ways to reduce the carbon emissions.

“We’ve seen most of the major oil and gas companies in Calgary have pledged to net-zero by 2050, but for many years … the oilsands producers have been major investors—if not the largest investors in Canada—in cleantech. We’ve actually had dramatic emissions reductions in the last couple of decades,” he said.

Peter also noted that there has been a wave of consolidation from across the oil patch, which has led to a number of spin-off transactions.

“It’s been very busy of late, and I suspect that will continue for a while,” he added.

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