Oil price drop 'threatens 23,000 jobs in Canada'

[OTTAWA] Some 23,000 jobs in Canada's oil sector and supporting industries could go because of the fast-falling price of oil, an influential association warned Thursday.

The Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors forecast that the collapse in the price of oil would see a signficant drop in the number of rigs in service, resulting in an industry-wide slowdown and heavy employment losses.

The association's report projects that the number of active wells on any given day in Canada will drop from 370 last year to 203 in 2015.

This would result in the loss of 3,400 oil sector jobs and 19,500 indirect jobs that support drilling activities.

The dire predictions are based on a price of US$55 a barrel of oil.

AFP