ATB Capital Markets releases its Fall 2025 Energy Sector survey
ATB Capital Markets has recently released a report which showed that the Canadian energy sector is treading a new phase as producers are optimistic yet cautious and investors are taking a more calculated approach amid the growing challenges in energy services.
In its Fall 2025 Energy Sector Survey, it was found that gas-weighted producers were leading the expectations in growth, which was supported by the LNG expansion. On the other hand, oil-weighted producers were much more careful and have set their focus on the strength of balance sheets.
Energy services companies were also facing challenges since margins were facing a growing pressure. While investors were still supportive, they were becoming more selective as they are emphasizing more on capital discipline.
"Natural gas is becoming the primary demand growth engine for the industry, while producers continue to grapple with near-term commodity price headwinds and investors turn more selective,” said Patrick O’Rourke, managing director at ATB Capital Markets.
Respondents were also found to be expecting modest production and spending growth in 2026. While energy services companies believed that they’ll be seeing flat to slightly higher activity levels, cost inflation and limited pricing power continued to be their anticipated challenges.
Meanwhile, most of the respondents were expecting oil and gas prices to rise in the short term. About 38% of the respondents believed that the WTI crude will average more than $104 (US$75) per barrel while 45% expected that Henry Hub gas will average more than $4.87 (US$3.50) per mcf.
While the current government were seen as more supportive than the previous one, many still admitted to being skeptical over its effectivity in actively promoting oil and gas growth. Federal energy policies were still the top-ranked risk for the industry, taking the spot for the seventh consecutive survey.
The Fall 2025 survey was led by Tim Monachello, managing director at ATB Capital Markets. It gathered the responses from participants in energy services, exploration and production companies, and institutional investors.
