Petro-Canada owns offshore businesses in Algeria, Syria, Tunisia, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. These businesses are operated by its overseas business wing, whose location is in London. In January 2019, Petro-Canada made a step further into being the first company to install electric vehicle charging points in parts of Ontario, Canada.
Petro Canada has grown from a single entity as crown cooperation to an unlimited company, expanding its sales and revenues, mergers, which have contributed to a more significant market share and general operations throughout Canada.
Its rapid growth has been attributed to the strength and opportunities that this company possesses, which put it at a competitive advantage against its competitors. The following study shows exclusive Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis that has put Petro-Canada in its current position.
Strengths
Petro-Canada enjoys a significant market share and a group of supportive employees, who team up to execute company objectives and strategies. Petro-Canada has employed close to one million employees in all of its subsidiaries. The employees are loyal and trustworthy in accomplishing company objectives
Petro-Canada is the largest oil producer, refiner, and supplier in Canada, with the principal position in the local upstream sector. With the help of a strong balance sheet worth 10 billion Canadian dollars, the company has continued to increase its operations outside of mainland Canada to offshore wells, which is becoming more profitable.
Petro-Canada has managed to build and establish quality oil transport, refining, and separation facilities and equipment to enable the company to produces superior products to its esteemed customers.
Petro-Canada has also proved capable of partnering with some of the most strategic investments like Suncor Energy, KiyaMaka Consultants to promote its productivity and market share. This partnering has enabled the company to make significant milestones towards its purpose.
Weaknesses
Petro-Canada has had multiple oil spill incidents due to substandard pipelines, causing lawsuits and enormous environmental damages.
Opportunities
Petro-Canada has managed to partner with adjacent indigenous business communities to create new opportunities for these communities and enhance business competitiveness beyond the standard service delivery and business model. By doing this, the company can involve and positively influence its city and other businesses in both professional and social ways.
Additionally, Petro-Canada has also come up with inventive business engagements, such as new prospects for equitable contribution in prearranged development schemes. These are essential since they provide cash flows that are perpetual and sustainable to native communities to offer support in the provision of education, infrastructure, and health care. Such relationships have proved fruitful given time and trustful relations between the company and the natives.
Petro-Canada has had to fight its way up on the success ladder in foreign markets because of the presence of structural rigidities present in any international market and fierce competition from the existing homogenous companies.
Besides the challenges present in the foreign market entry, Petro-Canada is doing reasonably well, in line with its vision and objectives. Its products are gaining a positive reputation in all areas where its subsidiaries and stores are present.
The company’s prospects are bright as the company is preparing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30%. The company is taking this step to uphold environmental sustainability, which is best achieved by using a low carbon economy. Additionally, the company plans on reducing its emission intensity, especially in its refining stations, to preserve the environment and the global ecosystem.
Through sane governance and dedicated leadership, the company is also preparing to venture into more foreign markets, given that most of its current ventures are doing exemplarily well. The company is also planning to extend its social relations with the natives who live in areas close to all its branches. This preparation is in line with the mission statement, which seeks to transform the lives of the communities that support them through providing community health centers, community colleges, dams, and clean water supply for household usage[1]. With that, the company will have met one of its objectives.
China is a perfect foreign market opportunity for Petro-Canada. This conclusion is derived from the fact that China is welcoming and willing to treat all market players equally despite existing differences. Through its goodwill commission, China has put in place numerous reforms to create a favourable business environment, which guarantees all investors’ prosperity. China has also put in place reforms to liberalize its state-owned national oil companies, to provide favourable competition grounds for both foreign and domestic oil firms. The desirable competition is through equalizing tax regimes, payments associated with the industrial entry, and equal treatment in the justice collider in case of lawsuits.
China has also made vital reforms in improving business index scores, such as economic and monetary scores, which have made the business environment smooth for operation. It is beyond a reasonable doubt that firms operating in China are in an excellent position to make consistent profits after fulfilling their tax obligations, enhancing their contentment level[2]. China has also placed fairer regulations that have allowed many foreign firms to enter the Chinese market. Due to its excessive demand for petroleum and oil products, international petroleum firms have had tax holidays and subsidies to attract them into the Chinese market. Therefore, the excellent relationship between Petro-Canada as a foreign investor in China and the Chinese government can be said to be mutually beneficial as both entities derive substantial benefits from their association.
[1]Šahović, Nikola, and Patricia Pereira da Silva. “Community renewable energy-research perspectives.” Energy Procedia 106 (2016): 46-58.
[2]Giest, Sarah, and Ishani Mukherjee. “Behavioral instruments in renewable energy and the role of big data: A policy perspective.” Energy Policy 123 (2018): 360-366.