Over $2 billion invested into Fort St. John oil and gas

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A new report from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) reveals Fort St. John’s oil and gas industry saw an investment of over $2 billion over a four-year period.

The report outlined the investment into the oil and gas industries of communities in British Columbia between 2018 and 2021.

Industry invested the most money into Fort St. John over the four years at approximately $2.5 billion— over half of the $4.7 billion spent across the province.

Dawson Creek was ranked second, attracting $632 million, and Pouce Coupe was third with $408 million.

A majority of the top ten list was made up of communities in northeast B.C., including Wonowon (ranked 5th), Charlie Lake (ranked 6th), Rolla (ranked 8th), and Fort Nelson (ranked 10th)

Fort St. John also had the most number of businesses involved in oil and gas at 870 individual companies, with 50 of those being Indigenous-affiliated.

Dawson Creek was again second place with 440 oil and gas businesses, and Vancouver came third with 120 businesses. 

The northeast dominated the list of the greatest number of businesses involved in the sector as well. The list included Charlie Lake (ranked 4th), Fort Nelson (ranked 5th), Chetwynd (ranked 6th), Taylor (ranked 9th), and Pouce Coupe (ranked 10th).

In a release, Fort St. John’s mayor, Lilia Hansen, said she is proud that Fort St. John has become an economic engine for the province. 

The Our Communities Care report used analytics collected with iTOTEM Analytics over 10 months. The study looked at spending on goods, materials, and services for natural gas operations and the impact the industry had on 140 communities across British Columbia.