Alberta Raising Oil Royalty Rates By 20 Per Cent!
Premier Ed Stelmach bit the bullet and hiked Alberta's oil royalty rate this afternoon. In Calgary, it was reported that people could hear 'wailing and gnashing of teeth' from some of the oil towers.!
The new rate structure will allow the oil companies a timeline to adjust but will give Albertans an extra $1.4 billion by 2010.
The new royalty rate structure still falls about 1/2 Billion below the recommendations of the special panel.
-CBC has more...
-CBC Alberta has in depth ...
Even with a small 20% increase Canada will still have the lowest oil extraction royalties in the World. The greatest royalty short fall is with Tar Sands Oil, not drilled oil.
I would like to see the royalty rates details. I expect companies like Syncrude and Suncor, will extract a lot of cheap oil by 2016. Which means Alberta will still lose out and not receive its due for this precious oil.
Posted by tdwebste | 5:49 pm, October 25, 2007
Yeah, I doubt there was that much gnashing. The "Our Fair Share" report was already a compromise position between the public interest and oil companies' wishes. Look at Diana Gibson's report at the Parkland Institute.
Stelmach said he'd stand up for Albertans when he was running for the PC leadership, but instead he sold us out.
Posted by Kuri | 8:59 pm, October 25, 2007