Canadian panel calls for major hike in Alberta’s oil sands royalties

EDMONTON, Alberta: A government-appointed panel reviewing Alberta’s energy royalties called Tuesday for the oil-rich Canadian province to increase its total take from the energy industry by 20 percent a year, or roughly $2 billion Canadian (US $1.97 billion;


Canada’s western region is home to vast reserves of the oil sands, a tar-like bitumen that is extracted using mining techniques. Industry officials estimate the oil sands will yield as much as 175 billion barrels of oil, making Canada second only to Saudi Arabia in crude oil reserves.

Last year, Alberta collected $10 billion (US $9.9 billion;