By Curtis Galbraith

UCP calls for cut in oil production

Nov 20, 2018 | 4:58 PM

The United Conservative Party is calling on all oil companies to voluntarily cut production in an effort to help with what the party describes as the current price differential crises.
 
Leader Jason Kenney says in a release some companies have already made cuts, adding that industry officials agree a cut of 250,000 barrels a day would be needed.

“It is preferable for the energy industry to act voluntarily in controlling production to avoid the precedent and potential unintended consequences of government action. I am therefore calling on Canadian upstream oil producers to act in the public interest by voluntarily reducing their production until inventories have been cleared, and the price differential alleviated,” added Kenney. 
 
He blames the Notley government policies for the current price difference.
 
“Much of the current price differential is the result of a failure of government policies, a failure which is damaging the public interest by reducing government revenues by billions of dollars. The resource that they are developing belongs to all Albertans, who have a right to expect that producers will not act in a way that makes Alberta poorer. I, therefore, believe that the Government of Alberta should keep the door open to using statutory tools to control production in the short term,” said Kenney in that same release from the party.