Alberta Premier Rachel Notley will make an announcement this morning about the oil-price differential that has become a serious economic concern in recent weeks.
You can watch Notley’s remarks here beginning at 11:30 a.m.
On Facebook Monday, Notley said she has an “important announcement” to make. On Twitter, she promoted her speech using the hashtag #fightingforyou.
A spokesperson in her office confirmed the topic of her address will be the oil-price differential.
Last week, Notley said the low price of western Canadian crude has become a serious problem for the country’s economy, adding her government is “furiously” seeking solutions.
The price of Western Canadian Select closed at $14.68 US a barrel on Friday. Meanwhile, the American benchmark price, West Texas Intermediate, closed at $56.71 US.
Western Canadian oil prices crashed in September because of a backlog of oil in Alberta.
Oilsands production has increased throughout the year, but export pipelines are full and several refineries in the U.S. that process heavy oil from Alberta are shut down for maintenance.
One estimate pegged the cost to Alberta’s energy sector at $100 million a day.
The situation prompted Cenovus Energy CEO Alex Pourbaix to call for the Alberta government to mandate temporary production cuts to help correct what he termed an “emergency.”
Other companies, including Suncor, Husky Energy and Imperial Oil, said they believe the market is working and the government should not get involved in production cuts.