Canadian Natural Resources says tariffs not changing appetite for acquisitions

A pumpjack draws out oil from a well head near Calgary, Alta., Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY — Oil and gas heavyweight Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., fresh off two major deals, says volatility from U.S. tariffs isn’t making it hungrier for more acquisitions.

On its fourth-quarter conference call Thursday, an analyst asked Canadian Natural president Scott Stauth whether there may be opportunities for more acquisitions, given the company’s strong balance sheet and the possibility of 10 per cent tariffs on Canadian energy shipments to the U.S. eating into the stock prices of potential targets.

“It’s going to take time to sort some of that out, but we’re quite happy,” Stauth replied.

Through a recently announced asset-swap deal with Shell and the US$6.5-billion acquisition of Chevron’s Alberta assets late last year, the Calgary-based company is poised to become the sole owner of the Albian Mines in northeastern Alberta’s oilsands, adding a total of more than 93,000 barrels a day of production. The Chevron deal also included a 70 per cent interest in light crude and liquids-rich natural gas assets in western Alberta’s Duvernay shale.

“If you look at our reserve base, we have ample opportunity to grow organically,” he said.

For example, a 100,000-barrel-per-day expansion to the Jackpine Mine, one of two that make up the Albian assets, has regulatory approval, Stauth said.

“Over the past 35 years, that’s been one of our strengths — organic growth and taking advantage of opportunistic acquisitions. Unless there’s something that changes significantly in the environment going forward, I don’t see our strategy changing.”

In February, Canadian Natural saw its highest monthly gross production from its oilsands operations at 640,000 barrels per day.

Earlier Thursday, Canadian Natural reported a fourth-quarter profit of $1.14 billion, down from $2.63 billion. The profit amounted to 54 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, down from $1.21 per diluted share in the last three months of 2023.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $9.47 billion, down from $9.55 billion.

The drop in profit and revenue came as the price of West Texas Intermediate, the main benchmark for U.S. light oil, dropped to US$70.27 a barrel during the last three months of 2024 from US$78.33 a year earlier.

The price gap between WTI and Western Canadian Select, the less valuable heavy oil produced in Western Canada, tightened to US$12.55 per barrel in the fourth quarter from US$21.90 per barrel a year earlier.

Also Thursday, Canadian Natural raised its dividend to 58.75 cents per share, up from 56.25 cents per share.

The results came as it produced a record 1,470,428 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the quarter, up from 1,419,313 a year earlier.

Desjardins analyst Chris McCulloch wrote in a note to clients that Canadian Natural “continued displaying its operational prowess and the high quality of its heavy oil assets” during the fourth quarter, adding the mining segment posted record production despite outages for maintenance and efficiency improvements.

---

Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 6, 2025.