Oil producers trade shares for growth but investors hard to impress: Reuters

Depressed Canadian oil prices are forcing energy companies to use their shares as a currency to fund acquisitions, but investors have been hard to win over to the strategy, Reuters reported. Unusually large price discounts for crude, due to clogged pipelines, and faltering prices have made growth hard to realize. Some producers have reduced output and lower cash flow has left consolidation using stock as the main option. The Canadian oil patch has made 29 deals so far in the second half, worth US$9.5 billion, the busiest half-year period since the first half of 2017. Further deals may have to rely on shares and private equity, said Andy Mah, CEO of Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd.

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