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chemgear · 01-30-2016, 01:43 AM

http://business.financialpost.com/ne..._lsa=fb0b-a9c6

The Alberta government’s $3 million royalty review, which had the energy industry tied in knots for months, turned out to be an expensive lesson.
In the end, Rachel Notley’s NDP government left the oilsands’ royalty model largely untouched on Friday.

“There was this deep suspicion that somehow the industry was just ripping off the province,” said Dr. Robert Skinner, an executive fellow at the University of Calgary. He was referring to the NDP’s successful campaign pledge last year that Albertans should get fair compensation for their resources. But the review process showed that the province is a high-cost jurisdiction and there is not much more to trim off the profits.

“The other good thing is, surely, it’s a lesson to other governments who make promises in elections campaigns.”

However, Michael Scholz, president of Canadian Oil Wells Drilling Association, said the report did not address Alberta’s competitiveness gap with Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

“It’s ironic that the Alberta Government wants to encourage cost leadership by the industry when it has effectively increased industry’s costs through increased corporate taxes, carbon levies and minimum wage. The Alberta Government should show its own cost leadership in order to support lower costs in the basin,” Scholz said.

01-30-2016, 01:43 AM	#1156
chemgear Franchise Player Join Date: Feb 2010 Exp:	http://business.financialpost.com/ne..._lsa=fb0b-a9c6 The Alberta government’s $3 million royalty review, which had the energy industry tied in knots for months, turned out to be an expensive lesson. In the end, Rachel Notley’s NDP government left the oilsands’ royalty model largely untouched on Friday. “There was this deep suspicion that somehow the industry was just ripping off the province,” said Dr. Robert Skinner, an executive fellow at the University of Calgary. He was referring to the NDP’s successful campaign pledge last year that Albertans should get fair compensation for their resources. But the review process showed that the province is a high-cost jurisdiction and there is not much more to trim off the profits. “The other good thing is, surely, it’s a lesson to other governments who make promises in elections campaigns.” However, Michael Scholz, president of Canadian Oil Wells Drilling Association, said the report did not address Alberta’s competitiveness gap with Saskatchewan and British Columbia. “It’s ironic that the Alberta Government wants to encourage cost leadership by the industry when it has effectively increased industry’s costs through increased corporate taxes, carbon levies and minimum wage. The Alberta Government should show its own cost leadership in order to support lower costs in the basin,” Scholz said.