Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) CEO Mark Wiseman spoke to a crowd at the World Economic Forum last week about why he is bullish on energy even as oil prices have plunged.
His remarks, according to Bloomberg:
“Part one, the world is consuming about 90 million barrels a day,” said Wiseman, chief executive officer of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. “Part two, God isn’t making any more.”
Wiseman said that simple supply and demand perspective all but guarantees oil prices will be higher 10 years down the road, offering investment opportunities now for the C$234 billion ($188 billion) fund.
“I’ll take that bet” on oil’s rebound, he said in an interview Tuesday at Bloomberg’s Toronto office.
Oil slid almost 50 percent last year as U.S. shale production surged while the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries resisted calls to cut supply. That’s had a dramatic impact on the value of oil companies around the world as prices fell to a five-year low at about $45 a barrel.
This has Toronto-based Canada Pension looking at a range of investments — from buying equity and partnering on acquisitions to outright takeovers, Wiseman said.
“We see a lot of value in the Western Canadian basin,” he said, noting that oil sands projects are on his radar.
The CPPIB manages $188 billion in assets.
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