CALGARY – The Alberta government says Premier Danielle Smith has been in talks with a multinational oil and petrochemical player about selling two million barrels per month of province-owned heavy oil.
It said in a news release that there was a meeting on Monday, but it did not identify the company or say what part of the world it is based in.
The province has announced it will collect bitumen royalties in the form of the heavy oil itself, as opposed to cash, which Alberta’s arm’s-length commercial oil and gas agency can then sell.
It says it will now be able to combine bitumen royalty barrels with conventional ones it already collects to bring significant petroleum volumes to market and spur private-sector investment.
Smith says the bitumen royalty-in-kind program gives Alberta a greater say in where it sells its oil and will help it become one of the most significant players in the heavy oil market.
The move comes as Canada’s trade relationship with the United States — the biggest buyer of Canadian oil exports — deteriorates amid a confusing flurry of tariff announcements in recent weeks from President Donald Trump.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2025.