The Saskatchewan government will be implementing relief measures for the oil and gas industry to help with the current economic struggle due to the coronavirus pandemic and price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
The relief measures will be in the form of administrative changes, rather than funding, and are meant to focus on companies retaining as many workers as possible.
“The Saskatchewan energy sector is the second largest contributor to provincial GDP and, directly or indirectly, employs more than 34,000 people; so doing what we can to protect jobs in a major priority,” said energy and trade resources minister Bronwyn Eyre in a press release.
The province has extended deadlines for filing, to stabilize operations while workers make the shift to working from home when possible.
Mineral rights, which were set to expire in 2020, have also been extended for one year. This includes any rights under an oil and gas lease and any exploration permits or licenses, so companies can properly evaluate their properties.
The government has also committed to a 50-per cent reduction of the industry portion of the Oil and Gas Administrative Levy and delayed invoicing until October, giving the oil sector another $11.4 million to address immediate challenges.
Also announced was the conclusion of a draft agreement with the federal government regarding regulations of methane productions in the oil and gas sector.
The Methane Action Plan set forth has committed to a reduction of emissions of 4.5 million tonnes by 2025, regulated by the province. The draft agreement will now move into the federal review process.
“We are very pleased that the federal government has agreed with the strength of our Methane Action Plan, and that we have regained provincial jurisdiction over our regulations,” Eyre said, in a press release.
The federal government is also working on a support package for the oil industry, that will be announced soon. The provincial government had indicated any further relief for the sector will only be decided on after the federal program is released.
