Alberta set to flesh out details of new oil and gas royalty rules
The Canadian Press May 27, 2010 13:16:33 PM
CALGARY - The Alberta government is set to flesh out how exactly its new lower royalty rates will be calculated.
Energy Minister Ron Liepert is scheduled to hold a news conference after markets close to announce the details.
The province announced in March it would lower the range of rates it charges oil and gas companies to extract the resource, which belongs to the people of Alberta.
As of the beginning of next year, the low end will be five per cent; the top rate will be 36 per cent for natural gas and 40 per cent for oil wells.
For the past two months, energy producers have been anxious to learn more about how the province will decide where on that scale their wells will fall.
The changes were the result of a competitiveness review the province undertook last year after energy investment began to flee to neighbouring provinces.
