CALGARY -- A new deal signed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is good news for Alberta and the world as a whole, the province's energy minister said Friday.
Earlier this week, OPEC agreed to cut its production by a tenth of the global in order to help boost oil prices. That would come out to approximately 10 million barrels a day.
Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage said the agreement to new measures on oil production by OPEC+ brings energy producers in line with the same rules the province has had to live by since early last year.
"Reliable energy is the lifeblood of any modern economy, and Alberta is home to the third largest oil reserves in the world. Our energy sector represents almost one-tenth of Canada’s gross domestic product and supports over 500,000 jobs across the country," she wrote in statement.
She added a number of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have driven down oil prices considerably. At times, the price for a barrel of Western Canadian Select went as low as three dollars a barrel.
However, Savage said things will get better.
"Demand will return as economies around the globe recover from this pandemic. Life will return to normal. In the interim, we hope that the measures taken by OPEC+ will stabilize the global price of oil and prevent further stress to energy workers in Alberta.
“Albertans are resilient. Our energy sector has seen high and lows in the past and it has prevailed," she said.
On Friday, federal Natural Resource Minister Seamus O'Regan would not comment about any possible production cuts on Canada's end in order to bring up prices. Trudeau, during his daily update from Ottawa, said Alberta had already been reducing its production "and has been for some time now."
Canada is the world's fourth largest oil producer and the sector employs directly or indirectly more than 830,000 people.
(With files from the Canadian Press)
