A new survey of Canadian oil and gas executives highlights two curious and conflicting currents.

On one side, most industry players surveyed by ATB Cormark Capital Markets last month are encouraged by a series of federal policy changes affecting the Canadian energy sector. They overwhelmingly anticipate an ambitious slate of proposed projects, including the Pacific Link oil pipeline to the southern British Columbia coast, will move forward.

Varcoe: Conflicting currents across oil and gas sector as Canadian energy projects prepare to set sail Back to video

Yet, the same group of executives sees federal policy as the greatest risk for the sector in the next three to five years.

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And industry views are decidedly mixed over what impact major decarbonization investments — such as the Pathways carbon capture and storage network — will have on the long-term competitiveness of Canada’s energy sector.

“There’s still good evidence in the survey that people want to see action and aren’t fully convinced yet,” ATB analyst Tim Monachello said in an interview Thursday.

“The industry for a long time has dealt with negative sentiment and rhetoric from the federal government that has shifted meaningfully under the Carney administration.”

The survey of 91 executives with oil and gas producers, oilfield service firms and investors was completed in the last two weeks of September, shortly before Prime Minister Mark Carney declared the West Coast pipeline proposal is a project of national interest, putting it on an accelerated track for necessary approvals.

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© Calgary Herald