Soaring oil, gas prices lift earning expectations

www.canada.com Tuesday, January 21, 2003 CREDIT: ADRIAN WYLD, CANADIAN PRESS

Oilsands producer Suncor Energy is expected to release strong fourth quarter and year-end profits today as rising oil and natural gas prices fatten the bottom line for the entire oilpatch.

Suncor's results will launch the start of earnings season in the energy sector.

And buoyed by both sky-high oil and strong natural gas prices, profits are expected to nearly double over last year.

The simple answer to the soaring profits expected in the oilpatch lies in commodity prices.

Because of concerns about a war in Iraq and the turmoil in Venezuela, oil hovers at $34 U.S. a barrel, nearly double the $18 a barrel it traded at this time last year.

"That really describes the year in a nutshell," Greg Stringham, vice-president of markets for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said yesterday.