Stelmach In 'lose-Lose' Situation

While Stelmach lost support from those in the oil industry who thought he meddled in their affairs, "he also lost some support from those who really wanted to increase the royalties," Tremblay said. Stelmach's royalties strategy, announced Thursday, follows a government-appointed panel that recommended hiking royalties to ensure Albertans get a "fair share" from the development of publicly owned oil and gas resources. The new royalty framework, set to take effect Jan. 1, 2009, is expected to deliver an additional $1.4 billion in royalties in 2010 -- 20 per cent more than projected revenues -- but falls nearly $500 million short of what was recommended by the panel. ... http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=a9626862-2538-4b38-9875-43946ff555eb&k=44075

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