Oilsands giant Cenovus Energy Inc. reported a third-quarter profit $1.29 billion, up from $820 million a year ago, as it saw record production.
The increase in profits came despite lower reported revenue of $13.20 billion, compared with $13.82 billion in the same quarter last year.
Upstream production also increased in Q3 to 832,900 barrels per day, up from 642,900 a year earlier.
Profit per share of 72 cents was also up from 42 cents per share a year earlier.
The financial situation at Calgary-based Imperial Oil is more mixed.
While Imperial reported a jump in upstream production to an average of 462,000 barrels per day, the highest in over 30 years, the company’s Q3 income plunged to $539 million, compared to $1.237 billion in the same quarter of 2024.
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The company’s increased production was offset by lower crude costs and restructuring costs after the company announced in Sept. that it plans to cut its workforce by 20 per cent by the end of 2027.
The restructuring plans include relocating most of its remaining Canadian jobs to its Strathcona Refinery on the east side of Edmonton, and outsourcing other work to Exxon’s operations to India.
It follows Cenovus Energy Inc. confirming layoffs in May, and Suncor Energy Inc. cutting about 1,500 staff in a streamlining push in 2023.
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Companies have always pushed for efficiencies, but technology is making those efforts much more possible.
An EY report from 2020 predicted that by 2040, drilling and equipment operators as well as trades and technicians in the industry could see a more than 60 per cent drop in employment because of AI.
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The report said that the more technical the job, the more at risk it is because of its predictability.
The report predicted many of the jobs will be phased out through natural attrition rather than direct cuts.
Employment in the oil and gas industry has already been on a downward trend, at least when measured compared with output.
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The oilsands industry has for years been moving to self-driving trucks in mining operations, for example, but the growth of artificial intelligence means a wide swath of jobs could be increasingly automated.
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The EY report said a focus on maximizing returns over big new sources of production, along with automation and offshoring engineering and design work, means there will likely be fewer new jobs created going forward even when production does increase.
Imperial CEO John Whelan addressed the layoffs on a Friday conference call, saying the company must adapt to a rapidly advancing technology environment by taking advantage of its
relationship with its parent company —Houston, Texas-based Exxon — and the growth in Exxon’s global operations.
On Friday Exxon also announced Q3 profits that beat analyst estimates.
The company credited higher oil and gas production in Guyana and the Permian Basin in the southwest United States for helping to offset lower oil prices.
Exxon’s total oil and gas production in Q3 was an equivalent of 4.8 million barrels of oil per day, up from 4.6 million in the second quarter.
Exxon also recorded US$510 million in restructuring costs during the quarter after it announced plans to cut its workforce by 20 per cent by the end of 2027.
The company’s Q3 earnings of US$1.88 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of US$1.82 per share.
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2:16
OPEC predicts jump in oil demand at Calgary energy show
Global oil producers have experienced a rocky year as the group of oil-producing nations known as OPEC+ has increased oil output while a U.S.-led tariff war has clouded the outlook for global growth and oil demand, driving down oil prices.
However, average U.S. natural gas prices rose about 38 per cent in the quarter, compared with last year.
Members of OPEC+ are scheduled to meet again on Sunday and are expected to agree to another small hike in oil output in an effort to increase their market share.
Oil prices fell to a five-month low of about US$60 per barrel on Oct. 20 on concerns that a supply glut was building, but have since recovered to about US$65 on news of additional sanctions on Russia and optimism over global trade talks.
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“Oil prices in 2025 are being shaped by a delicate balance of supply growth, modest demand, and geopolitical uncertainty,” said Tobias Keller, an industry analyst with UniCredit, an Italian multinational banking group headquartered in Milan.
— with files from Reuters and The Canadian Press.
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