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Layoffs, a major company moving its headquarters south and a low price tag to acquire an established petroleum producer — these are not healthy signs for Canada’s oil and gas sector as it endures a bumpy ride throughout the fall.

“There is a lot of fear in this town still and it’s accelerating,” Pengrowth Energy Corp. CEO Pete Sametz said in an interview.

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“We’re not the only ones in this boat…There’s a bunch of them out on the ocean, bobbing around still.”

On Friday, Pengrowth agreed to be purchased by Cona Resources Ltd. for five cents a share, 75 per cent below the stock’s closing price the day before. The total acquisition cost, including the repayment of debt, is pegged at $740 million.

The news came a day after Encana Corp., once the largest public company by market capitalization in Canada, announced it will shift its corporate headquarters out of Calgary to the United States.

And two weeks ago, Husky Energy laid off hundreds of employees, coming a day after the federal election.