OPENING THE VAULT

摘要

Even through the depths of the downturn, big companies and intermediates with the right management teams and assets in the right plays had access to capital. The financial system wasn't broken like it was in 2008-09. Investors simply fled the sector because of the commodity price rout. It was only a matter of time before things turned around, and 2017 has brought a lot more optimism to the picture, according to investment experts. Industry cash flow is more than double today what it was this time last year. There's more money for operations and a sense that debt and equity markets will open up to less proven explorers and producers (EPs) looking to move beyond cash flow budgets. But whether that optimism becomes reality remains to be seen. "It's still too early tell if the constraints around capital access will fall away in the course of 2017," says ROB COOK, managing director of Calgary's ARC Financial. "Everyone's cautiously optimistic that there will be more debt and more equity available, but that's really going to just depend upon the willingness of the banks to extend credit."