Rising costs will take toll, analysts say
BY LISA SCHMIDT
Even as they raked in record profits, Canadian oil and gas companies saw a weaker finish to 2006.
THE ARTICLE
After swelling for most of the year, earnings in the fourth quarter have dropped for all the largest energy firms amid retreating prices for oil and gas, and rising operating costs.
Analysts are keeping an eye on whether prices hold and costs start to ease after a frenzy of oilpatch activity drove up prices for labour and equipment.
“The tide has turned,” said John de la Mare, an analyst with Peters & Co. in Calgary.