Rising oil prices, growing oilsands production and strong consumer demand propelled 2021 earnings by Imperial Oil Ltd. to a high that exceeded even its pre-pandemic performance in 2019.

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The recovery from the downturn in 2020 continued in the last three months of 2021, despite a severe, prolonged Western Canadian cold snap that disrupted operations and production.

President Brad Corson cited nearly C$3 billion ($2.4 billion) paid last year in dividends and share buybacks. “Imperial is actively evaluating options for further shareholder distributions,” he said.

Improved oilsands environmental performance also figures on the corporate agenda. Corson repeated a January pledge that Imperial would aim for a 30% reduction by 2030 from 2016 greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity, or...