British Columbia Could Become A Major Oil Player

British Columbia, which has so far been skewed more toward natural gas than oil, could become a major player in the North American oil market in coming years. Raymond James analyst Kurt Molnar believes that oil companies and even the British Columbia government are beginning to recognize the opportunities.

The recent successes of ARC Resources (ARC RESOURCES COM NPV AETUF ARX) and Crew Energy (CREW ENERGY INC COM NPV CWEGF CR) in British Columbia have already gone a long way in changing the perception of the region.

“We think that the likes of Crew and ARC are going to meaningfully increase the aerial scope of lands that are the focus of true black oil — running from Tower towards Goose and the Attachie going from southeast to northwest,” Molnar explained.

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Raymond James expects that the local government will do everything in its power to pave the way for the oil industry, including sweetening the royalty regime.

Molnar noted that there will be a great deal of new infrastructure needed in the region, as well as oil price recovery in coming years.

Although many of Raymond James’ top Canadian oil picks are listed on the Toronto exchange, some top names also have dual listings in the United States.

A Few Names

The firm has Outperform ratings on Pembina Pipeline Corp PBA, Canadian Natural Resource Ltd (USA) CNQ, Suncor Energy Inc. (USA) SU and Crescent Point Energy Corporation Ordinary Shares (Canada) CPG.

Disclosure: The author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.