Global News Morning Saskatoon - December 5th 2018
CBC News Online - December 5th 2018
"Sask. announces 'aggressive' new program to encourage more drilling" by Janani Whitfield
"Alberta's heavy oil is facing a steep discount because of the challenges in getting it to market, which is having "catastrophic" effects on that province and forcing Alberta Premier Rachel Notley to act as she has done, Poelzer said. Saskatchewan's light oil also faces this price differential, but to a lesser extent, he said.
"So for us, it doesn't do our economy a lot of good to follow suit," said Poelzer. "It's probably the right decision for Saskatchewan to morally support Premier Notley but not to cut production on our light and medium oil here."
Price differentials in oil still have major implications for Saskatchewan, and not just because of less money flowing into provincial coffers.
The province is shipping four times as much oil by rail as it did in 2012, when oil prices were over $100 a barrel, according to Poelzer. He said this has a ripple effect over the agriculture sector by preventing grain from getting to the market in a timely manner.
"So over the last decade we've lost literally billions of dollars in this province alone."
For Poelzer and the industry representatives present at Wednesday's announcement, the answer comes back to the oft-repeated issue: the need for pipelines that would allow producers to sell to more than just the U.S.
"The stakes are higher than people realize," said Poelzer."
Excerpt from original story linked above.