Stelmach’s morning thought balloon: “Uh oh.”

Ever since Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach announced the province’s new royalties framework, which in 2007 changed the way oil and gas outfits pay dues to the provincial government, Calgary energy sector execs have bemoaned the flight of capital to Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Well, fasten your seat belts, people, you may be in for an even bumpier ride. B.C. Energy Minister Blair Lekstrom this morning unveiled a package of stimulus instruments designed to rocket his province’s oil and gas industry, including "a one-year, two per cent royalty rate for all wells drilled in a 10-month window," a 15 per cent increase in existing royalty deductions for deep gas drilling and a $50-million top up to the Infrastructure Royalty Credit Program, slated to arrive this fall in an effort to stimulate investment in oil and gas infrastructure, reports the Calgary Herald’s Shaun Polczer.

Calgary Herald