TC Energy gave the go-ahead for the construction of its US$8-billion Keystone XL Pipeline project on Tuesday, with a helping hand from the Alberta government.

Oilsands producers are likely losing money or barely breaking even as prices for Western Canadian Select bitumen-blend crude dipped as low as US$3.82 per barrel on Monday, analysts said.

Some Canadian organizations are asking the federal government to focus any bailout of the oil industry on workers and families, not corporations.

TC Energy said Wednesday it has started preliminary work along the route of the proposed Keystone XL oilsands pipeline through the U.S. in anticipation of starting construction next month.

When premiers meet with Justin Trudeau next week, some will demand the federal government support instead of impede resource development, Roy Green says.

The fire was detected in one of the bitumen upgrader's hydroprocessing units and it was shut down, resulting in the fire going out by the time firefighters arrived.

A boost in output from oilsands mines formerly operated by Shell Canada has sparked a $70-million expansion at a Shell oilsands upgrader, the president of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. reported Thursday.

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada is inviting public and Indigenous comment on a Suncor Energy Inc. project to open a new mine in order to extend the life of its base oilsands processing facilities near Fort McMurray in northern Alberta.

Since last June, 50,000 full-time jobs have been lost and unemployment is hovering around seven per cent.

The application withdrawal the Teck Frontier project means that existing producers with approved projects or those planning expansions have a decided advantage over new entrants, said oilsands analyst Phil Skolnick of Eight Capital.