Canada STUNNED as Imperial CUTS OFF Oil Production - CARNEY LOSES IT!

After more than a century there,

Imperial Oil is drastically cutting back

in Calgary. The company controlled by

Exxon Mobile axing 20% of its total

workforce.

>> This is what happens when you have

uncertainty and this is part of the

reason why we have to work very quickly

to to get to a resolution with Ottawa so

that we can start building again.

>> Canada is stunned as Imperial just cut

off oil production at one of the

country's oldest fields and the shock is

hitting harder than anyone expected.

After more than 100 years of pumping

crude, the decision feels less like a

business move and more like a historic

rupture. And now the pressure is

exploding in Ottawa with Carney facing

the kind of political heat that can

redefine a leadership moment.

>> Some do feel more hopeful about the

future, at least in the medium to long

term. The reclamation work to clean up

the oil fields could take decades and

generate revenue throughout. But the gap

between now and then adds some

uncertainty.

>> And then it happened. After more than a

100red years of oil flowing out of the

ground in Norman Wells, the announcement

dropped. Imperial oil is ending

production in the third quarter of 2026.

Just like that. No dramatic shutdown, no

slow goodbye. A century of history

wrapped up in a corporate statement.

>> The ripple effects are expected to

spread across the Sautu region, hitting

businesses with ties to Imperial Oil and

their subcontractors. Imperial Oil

confirms it will shut down operations at

Norman Wells this summer.

>> When I first read it, it didn't feel

real. This isn't some small test site

shutting down. This is one of Canada's

oldest production oil fields. A place

that helped shape the country's northern

energy story. For generations, Norman

Wells wasn't just an oil operation. It

was jobs. It was purpose. It was the

reason that the town existed in the

first place. Now, the wells are heading

towards silence. thinking they were

doing their best to keep the field going

like through line 49 repair and so

forth, but head office was just quite

frankly

>> and here's what makes that hit harder.

Across all operations, Imperial produces

around 400,000 barrels of oil per day.

That sounds massive, but Norman Wells

about 6,500 barrels per day. That's it.

If you do the math, that's barely over

1% of the company's total output. A

hundred years of production reduced to a

rounding error on a spreadsheet. After

more than 100 years, oil production in

Norman Wells Northwest Territories is

coming to a close. Discussions around

the closure of Imperial Oil has been

ongoing for years, but until now, no

timeline had been confirmed. In a

statement today, Imperial Oil says

production is slated to end in the third

quarter of 2026. That's the brutal part.

When analysists talk about this, they

use calm phrases like portfolio

optimization or asset rationalization. I

mean, it sounds clean, logical,

responsible, but let's be honest, behind

those words are real people who built

their lives around this field. You can't

tell a community that their century of

work just doesn't move the needle

anymore and expect it not to sting. I

don't know where the business community

is going to be able to pick up the

additional business to pay what are in

my opinion they're they're already

horrendous bills to tell you the truth.

That's my biggest concern. Power.

>> Yesterday we learned Imperial Oil will

lay off about 20% of its workforce by

2027.

>> From a corporate standpoint of view, the

decision almost makes sense. Oil

companies chase efficiency. If a field

is aging, it's expensive and

contributing a tiny slice of total

production, it becomes vulnerable, and

Norman Wells has been aging for a very

long time.

>> It's really a sign towards a dying

economy. And do you think it's a buyer's

economy? somebody with a business and

mortgages are going to be hugely

impacted and they won't have the

likelihood of resaling their property or

real estate because there is no

industry.

>> The they're going to close their Quarry

Park campus. So that's where a lot of

the engineers and other technical people

uh were employed. They're going to

transfer the rest of the workers up to

Edmonton and all of the technical

operations uh that were done in Corey

Park will be transferred outside of the

country presumably down to Houston where

it's uh the biggest shareholder Exxon

Mobile uh is located. One of the biggest

issues was something called line 490.

It's a flow line that needed replacing.

Infrastructure like that is not cheap,

especially in the north where everything

costs more. Replacing it would have

required serious capital. But even if

they replaced it, analysis say it likely

wouldn't have changed the overall

economics in a big way. The field would

still be small, still aging, and still

expensive. They are highly skilled jobs.

There are people that have most of them

probably university degrees that have

been uh making good money and have been

spending in the local economy. So there

will be some uh spillover impact.

>> So when you combine declining output

with infrastructure problems, the

writing on the wall starts to look very

clear.

>> The federal minister of energy posting

online that he's deeply disappointed to

learn of Imperial Oil's decision. And

now we move into that part that most

people don't fully understand, closure

and reclamation. The official estimate

to shut down and clean up the site is

around $180 million. That's the number

being talked about right now. But

experts are already warning that this

could climb much higher. Some believe

costs could eventually reach into the

billions. That's not a small gap. That's

the difference between a manageable

project and a financial shock wave.

>> Doug Matthews is an oil and gas analyst

specifically on Northern Energy issues.

He says Norman Wells wasn't adding much

to the company's portfolio. While the

total of Imperial Oils operations were

sitting at around 400,000 barrels a day,

Norman Wells accounted for about 6,500

of those. Still, Matthews says workers

on the ground were looking for ways to

keep it running. Right now, the

reclamation of the field is estimated at

around $180 million, but Matthews says

most observers and himself believe the

costs will be well into the billions and

that the work could take around 20

years. Cleaning up a century old oil

operation in the Northwest Territories

is not simple. You're dealing with a

harsh climate, remote logistics,

environmental sensitivity, and

infrastructure that's been in place for

generations. This isn't flipping a

switch and walking away. This is

dismantling, restoring, and monitoring.

It takes time. It takes money, and it

takes political will. That is maybe the

scariest part of it all if I were to

say, you know, I mean, we're here, we're

ramped up, we're servicing Imperial and

everything that it brings with with them

being here. And that LOL is for sure. I

think it would create a little bit of a

slowdown in town. I don't who really

knows what to say until they really

release their plans and stuff. Which

brings us to Ottawa. Because when a

historic oil field shuts down, it

doesn't stay a local story. It becomes

national. It becomes political. It

raises uncomfortable questions about

Canada's energy future and

competitiveness. And yes, it puts

pressure on leadership, including Prime

Minister Mark Carney.

>> This business owner says he's worried

about his employees and is now bracing

for a shift to a new power source once

Imperial Oil stops supplying the

community. People are already debating

what this means. Is this responsible

corporate discipline? Or is it a sign

that parts of Canada's traditional

energy sector are quietly shrinking? Is

this a smart transition move? Or is it

the beginning of a slow retreat from

marginal fields across the country?

>> The response shouldn't be to blame a

corporation for acting like a

corporation. This is what they do. The

response should be how can we attract

more jobs, more firms, more economic

development. At the same time, there's

talk of opportunity. Reclamation work

could turn into a $1 billion economic

development phase tied to restoring the

site. That sounds hopeful. It suggests

jobs, contracts, and activity. But let's

be real, cleanup jobs are not the same

as long-term production. They are

finite. They eventually end.

>> And what Exxon and Imperial are doing is

trying to be the lowest cost barrel in

the oil sands and also globally uh

competitive. And so they aren't shutting

in production. They have no intention of

of producing less oil.

>> It's kind of not going to happen if you

don't start the projects. 10 years of

climate virtue signaling that pushed

away capital investment, scared off

partners, and left companies in limbo.

So the community is left in a difficult

space. On one hand, there's a promise of

investment during the reclamation phase.

On the other hand, there's uncertainty

about what comes after. And that

uncertainty is heavy. But the company

isn't blaming Ottawa and says it's about

efficiency and restructuring. And

industry watchers have said Imperial Oil

is a healthy business. For over 100

years, oil flowed from Norman Wells

through world wars, recessions, booms,

and busts. It survived shifts in

technology and politics. Now, it's

ending not because the oil completely

vanished, but because it no longer fits

the economic model of a modern energy

giant. most of them in southern

Alberta's largest city.

>> This is a painful week.

>> Though energy analysts point out these

layoffs are part of a global trend.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at least

partly blaming Ottawa for the pending

layoff. And that's what makes this

moment feel bigger than just one town.

If a field with this much history can be

shut down because it only produces 6,500

barrels a day, what does that say about

the other aging assets across the

country? Yesterday we learned Imperial

Oil will lay off about 20% of its

workforce by 2027. Nearly a thousand

jobs, most of them in Alberta. That is

devastating news for workers, families,

and communities. I mean, this isn't just

about the numbers. It's about identity.

It's about how quickly legacy can lose

to efficiency. And it forces us to ask

something pretty uncomfortable. When the

wells stop pumping in 2026, are we

watching the responsible evolution of an

energy company?

>> Ottawa has strangled one of Canada's

most important industries and left

companies like Imperial Oil with no

choice but to downsize. And then you've

got the Calgary exit strategy. Or are we

watching the quiet closing chapter of a

much larger story in Canada's energy

landscape? Earl says oil production

touches almost every business in Norman

Wells and he fears companies that

directly service Imperial Oil won't

survive the gap between the shutdown

this summer and reclamation work which

isn't expected to begin until after

2030.

>> Now the story shifts and honestly this

is where it gets complicated. When

Imperial Oil stops production in Norman

Wells the focus turns to something that

sounds hopeful on paper reclamation.

There is talk of a $1 billion economic

development wave tied to cleaning up the

site, and that number is huge, but it's

almost being presented like a lifeline.

>> Imperial says most of any remaining jobs

in Calgary could move to an Edmonton

refinery, but it's still a net loss. I

mean, I really want to believe in a

lifeline. I do. But a billion dollars

flowing into restoration work sounds

like a second chance for the town.

Instead of drilling for oil, the

community would be rebuilding land and

infrastructure. It feels poetic in a

strange way, like the industry cleaning

up after itself.

>> More positive news on the other side is

that over time, as we move into final

closure and reclamation, there will be a

$1 billion economic development project

sitting right there on the steps of

Northern Wealth. And the transition to

be fair will be difficult. But having

said that, there is a future to the town

of Normal Wells, not an end.

>> That's not just about saving money.

That's a signal. That's a warning flare.

>> But here's the part that bothers me.

Cleanup jobs are not the same as

long-term production jobs. Reclamation

has an end date. Once the land is

restored and the contracts are finished,

the question becomes very simple and

very scary. What's next? Basically, how

can I produce extra barrels from the my

current installations by using

technology, using new methods? Between

now and the third quarter of 2026,

people are living with uncertainty

hanging over them. Workers know the

countdown has started. Families are

quietly discussing whether they stay or

move. Local businesses are trying to

calculate how long demand will hold

before things slow down. The layoffs are

the direct end result of Bill C69.

There, Timbo. The so-called no more

pipelines bill your government created.

Endless liberal rhetoric, too, about

making Canada an energy superpower

without ever actually building the

infrastructure to execute on that. In

resource towns, industry is not just an

employer. It is their identity. When oil

leaves, it feels personal. feels like

the ground is shifting under your feet.

I've seen how quickly confidence can

turn into anxiety when the main economic

pillar disappears.

Because if you still doubt that the bill

C69's getting in the way, look at what

Imperial is doing in Calgary. They

aren't just laying off workers. They've

announced that they are selling their

multi-build multi-building Calgary

office complex and leasing back only a

fraction of the space. Community leaders

are pushing hard to make sure that their

voices are heard during this transition.

They want guarantees, transparency, and

real support plans. Nobody wants vague

promises when livelihoods are on the

line. The fear is not just about losing

jobs. It is about losing the future of

the town itself. Imperial also says it

tenatively plans to sell its head office

here in a city it's had operations in

since 1923. And of course, the shutdown

does not stay local. It reaches Ottawa

fast. Prime Minister Mark Carney now

finds himself under pressure as the

historic winds wind down. The optics are

tough, especially during a fragile

economic period. This fuels a much

bigger debate about Canada's energy

competitiveness. Are we managing a smart

and controlled transition, or are we

quietly watching parts of our

traditional energy sector shrink? That

tension between the environmental goals

and resource stability becomes very real

in moments like this. It is no longer

theoretical. It is happening on the

ground.

>> The NWT's MP, Rebecca Alti, also

released a statement saying that work is

being done to ensure community voices

are heard throughout the transition

process.

>> And then I zoom out even further and I

asked something bigger. If a field

producing 6,500 barrels per day can be

cut because it's no longer fitting the

efficiency model, how many other aging

assets across the country are

vulnerable? Infrastructure across Canada

is getting older. Markets are

unforgiving.

>> Line 490 was a flow line that needed

replacing, but Matthew says even with

replacing, it would likely not have made

a huge difference. Now though, he says

there will be a shift to reclamation

work, which will bring opportunity to

the community as well.

Global energy markets don't reward

sentiment. They reward scale and

profitability. Marginal fields get

squeezed first. Investors move quickly

when returns weaken. That is the reality

that companies operate in, even if the

communities experience it as a shock.

>> The NWT Premier R.J. Simpson says the

government is looking at next steps as

well, engaging with the community, the

company, the federal government, and

indigenous governments to understand

impacts and ensure appropriate supports

are in place. The NWT's MP, Rebecca

Alti, also released a statement saying

that work is being done to ensure

community voices are heard throughout

the transition process. Canada has

always leaned heavily on natural

resources, oil, gas, minerals. These

industries shaped entire regions. When

one of the oldest producing oil fields

goes silent after more than a century,

it feels symbolic. It feels more just

like a business decision. And there is

something emotional about the silence

itself. For generations, machinery

hummed in Norman Wells, that sound meant

work, stability, purpose. So when that

fades, it leaves more than quiet behind.

We are left with a hard question. Is

this responsible modernization?

Or is it the early sign of something

deeper shifting inside Canada's energy

landscape? When a century old well runs

dry, it doesn't just end production. It

forces us all to think about what kind

of future replaces it.