The Alberta government is set to take in fewer bitumen and oil royalty dollars in the 2026/2027 fiscal year, with the province forecasting a ballooning deficit.

The Alberta government’s budget tabled today includes a $7-million expense to support a pre-feasibility study of a bitumen pipeline to the West Coast of British Columbia.

The Alberta government is forecasting “robust” growth in oil production, while it’s predicting a more positive outlook for natural gas on the strength of higher prices as AECO comes off of historic lows.

Here are some other items of note from the Alberta budget.

Strong land sale activity in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin during 2025 continued to be focused on Duvernay, Montney and Mannville targets — representing an array of deep to shallow intervals, dry to liquids-rich gas, light to heavy oil, and well designs from intensely fractured to open hole multilaterals, with horizontal lengths ranging from one mile to up to 3.5 miles.

Ovintiv Inc. has spent the last five years remaking its portfolio, resetting its balance sheet, and building its long-term inventory, president and chief executive officer Brendan McCracken said on its year-end 2025 earnings call.

Whitecap Resources Inc. says drilling longer lateral lengths for the company’s conventional wells is leading to improved productivity.

Cenovus Energy Inc. extended the terms on two gas sales contracts in China early this year, keeping the cash flowing from the high-return offshore assets into the next decade, president and chief executive officer Jon McKenzie said during its year end 2025 earnings call.

Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd.’s Clearwater assets delivered average production of 50,049 boe/d in Q4 2025, a 16 per cent increase compared to 43,288 boe during the same period in the prior year.

Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd. delivered significant reserves growth and capital-efficient replacement through the company's 2025 drilling and development programs.

The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) has launched the CER Portal, a secure, one‑window access point for certain regulatory filings.

Pulse Seismic Inc. reported net earnings of $23.1 million ($0.46 per share basic and diluted) in 2025, as compared to net earnings of $3.4 million ($0.07 per share basic and diluted) for 2024.

PHX Energy Services Corp. has set a preliminary 2026 capital expenditure program of $60 million, of which about 40 per cent is anticipated to be spent on growth.

ARC Resources Ltd. has closed its previously announced offering of C$950 million aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes.

Cenovus Energy Inc. announced it will exercise its right to redeem its 2.577 per cent Series 1 preferred shares and its 3.948 per cent Series 2 preferred shares on March 31, 2026.