Bullish or bearish on Canada's oil sands?

International oil companies are fleeing the oil sands, but the Canadian producers that have plugged the gap have reason to be optimistic

For more than 130 years, sentiment around Canada's oil sands has swung erratically between exuberance and disregard. Just a decade ago, the oil sands was the darling of global investors, supermajors, and national oil companies. A flood of investment lifted output by roughly 2m barrels a day during the 2000-15 boom, with production to surpass 3m b/d in the next few months. A few early movers reaped handsome returns; Canadian Natural Resources (CNRL) and Suncor share prices, for example, each appreciated more than 400% from 2001-06. However, the frenzied expansion soon became a threat to further growth. Infrastructure bottlenecks threatened to trap production in Alberta, environmental oppositi