Photo: The Canadian Press

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers says it expects investment in oil and natural gas production in this country to hit $40 billion this year.

The industry group says that’s 11% higher than last year and also surpasses pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

Upstream oil and natural gas investment in Canada reached a low of $22 billion in 2020, as prices collapsed due to the pandemic.

CAPP says conventional oil and natural gas capital investment for 2023 is forecast at $28.5 billion, while oilsands investment is expected to reach $11.5 billion.

CAPP says much of this year’s increased spending will go towards maintenance and incremental growth projects as well as managing inflationary pressures.

The lobby group says spending is also expected to go towards emission reduction technologies such as advancing the development of carbon capture utilization and storage.