Gasoline prices in Calgary are up, once again – rising by 7 cents a liter at most stations around the city.
The change came overnight.
And while it costs more to fill up at the pumps, the price Alberta gets for its oil is dropping.
It’s now at its lowest level in two years.
Premier Jim Prentice says so far, the drop in revenue hasn’t had a major impact on the budget.
“There has been some slippage in the international price of oil, but this is not entirely unexpected, and we are within tolerance in terms of Alberta’s finances at this point”, says Prentice.
But Prentice says the drop demonstrates the need for Alberta to find other markets, so that we’re not tied to just the North American price.
And that means building pipelines.
According to Prentice, “everyone in the energy business knows that access to tidewater is of such fundamental importance, because we need to achieve global prices”.
Prentice says pipelines to the East – to the coast of New Brunswick – and to the gulf coast in the South are necessary. But he adds the Northern Gateway through BC is vital to Alberta’s interests.
“Certainly our competitive advantage as a province lies in the Asia Pacific basin, and that will continue to be a strategic focus of mine as Premier.”
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