 | |
| Industry | Petroleum |
|---|---|
| Founded | 18 September 1973 |
| Defunct | 4 April 2002 |
| Fate | Merged with PanCanadian Petroleum |
| Successor | EnCana Corporation |
| Headquarters | |
The Alberta Energy Company Ltd. was a Canadian independent petroleum company that existed from 1973 to 2002. The AEC was created by the Government of Alberta under Premier Peter Lougheed as a mechanism for Albertans to invest in the Syncrude oil sands project. Besides its participation in Syncrude, the AEC also received the rights to produce gas in the Suffield Block. The company was established as a mixed enterprise and at its inception was half owned by the provincial Crown and half owned by the public. A restrictive charter, which prevented individual shareholders from acquiring more than one percent of the company and mandated directors be residents of Alberta, ensured control remained within the province. Until 1982, the company was barred from participation in conventional oil and gas exploration, but after that time was given the right to compete with private companies in that area. In 1983 the government began to decrease its equity, and in 1993 divested of its remaining shares.
The AEC grew to become a global oil and gas producer and a highly profitable company. After Canadian Pacific Limited divested of PanCanadian Petroleum in the fall of 2001, AEC president Gwyn Morgan and PanCanadian chairman David P. O'Brien began negotiations for a merger. In April 2002 the two companies merged to create EnCana Corporation, which became the world's largest independent petroleum company.