Alberta hopes for better, prepares for worst
Conservatives’ first budget forecasts a slight uptick in most oil and gas industry measures, but also includes planning for a ‘doomsday scenario’
The governing United Conservative Party (UCP) released its first Alberta government budget in late October 24. The party’s focus is very much on fiscal discipline, as it sees better times ahead for the province’s economic bellwether oil and gas industry, but only slightly. And it also scenario planning a worst-case scenario for the industry. Conventional Albertan oil and gas production is forecast to remain relatively flat over the 2019-2022 fiscal years period (April 2019-March 2023), but raw bitumen production is expected to increase by 500,000bl/d to 3.5mn bl/d. This assumes Canadian midstreamer Enbridge’s 370,000bl/d Line 3 Replacement coming online by early 2021, the federally-owned 59
Also in this section
19 January 2026
Newfound optimism is emerging that a dormant exploration frontier could become a strategic energy play and—whisper it quietly—Europe’s next offshore opportunity
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026






