Yes!   Force them - financially - to make the break from oil and its   
   destruction.  What common sense and respect for our environment couldn't do,   
   the covid virus may finally have done.   
      
   Find a new game to play for money, Kenney.  Canadians are tired of yours.   
   _______________________   
   CBC News · Posted: Apr 27, 2020   
      
   Plummeting oil prices mean short-term gain at gas pumps, long-term pain for   
   producers, analysts say   
      
   Price of crude may never recover, experts say, putting pressure on finances in   
   Alberta, N.L., Canada as whole   
      
      
   Gas prices in Metro Vancouver plunged again over the weekend, to less than 80   
   cents per litre of regular, and some energy analysts say prices will stay low   
   for a while as the price of oil struggles to recover from unprecedented lows.   
      
   But while a cheap tank of gas is a perk for drivers, it's a blow to   
   jurisdictions that rely on oil sales for revenue, like the provinces of   
   Alberta, and Newfoundland and Labrador.   
      
   Economists and energy experts say the pandemic is changing the oil and gas   
   industry landscape, and oil prices may never bounce back to levels seen before   
   the COVID-19 pandemic.   
      
   Last week the price to deliver West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude plunged   
   below zero for the first time in history as traders engaged in a feverish   
   flurry to dump oil contracts. The U.S. benchmark oil price closed at -$37.63 a   
   barrel on April 20.   
      
   "This was a unique event. It certainly got people's attention," said Doug   
   Matthews, an Alberta energy analyst who worked in the Arctic oil industry for   
   40 years.   
      
   Although oil prices have risen since last week, with WTI crude venturing up to   
   about $17 per barrel, Matthews does not expect them to rebound fast. The price   
   this time last year was about $60 a barrel.   
      
   "We are still way in the hole. This is not a happy situation. It's a   
   bloodbath," Matthews told host Stephen Quinn on CBC's The Early Edition on   
   Monday.   
      
      
   Tax revenues down   
      
   Oil demand is down because of COVID-19 restrictions that have led to fewer   
   people travelling, along with a dispute between Russia and Saudi Arabia, and   
   growing fears of a global recession.   
      
   The volatile market has left buyers with no place to sell or store more   
   product, according to Matthews, who says North American storage tanks are full   
   or getting close.   
      
   At the very time prices for oil are falling, driving tax revenues down,   
   provinces are facing escalating costs and accumulating debt because of the   
   COVID-19 crisis.   
      
   Alberta was counting on up to $5 billion in revenue based on oil prices at $58   
   per barrel, Matthews said. "That simply is not going to happen," he added.   
      
      
   Time to transition, analyst says   
      
   Massachusetts economist Philip Verleger, who has followed the oil industry   
   since the 1970s, says the changes that COVID-19 have brought to transportation   
   alone mean it's time for Canadian provinces that rely on oil sales —   
   especially bitumen — to    
   transition.   
      
   He said it's not clear whether airlines currently grounded will return to   
   previous levels of service, or how many people will return to offices after   
   working from home during the pandemic.   
      
   "I am not sure oil prices will ever be back to $60 or even $40 per barrel,"   
   said Verleger.   
      
   He said Canada will face stiff competition to sell its reserves of oil, which   
   is expensive to process and move compared to oil elsewhere.   
      
   "The Stone Age didn't end because of a lack of stones. The oil age is not   
   going to end because of a lack of oil.  We are going to leave a lot of oil in   
   the ground," said Verleger.   
      
   Matthews hopes the oil crisis makes energy producers consider more renewable   
   energy.   
      
   However, he noted that Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball recently   
   asked for federal funds for new oil and gas exploration, while Alberta Premier   
   Jason Kenney has come out strongly against the idea of transitioning away from   
   oil and gas.   
      
      
   https://exploringthelateral.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/wealllivedownstream.jpg   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)