OIlsands Quest Inc. (BQI)

[Argyll]

Saskatchewan plan targets its own oil sands industry

Toronto Globe & Mail
06-08-06
PATRICK BRETHOUR

Saskatchewan is hopeful that it may soon have its own oil sands industry, Eric Cline, the province's Minister of Industry and Resources, said yesterday. In Calgary to publicize his government's recent tax cuts, Mr. Cline said initial exploratory efforts by private company Oilsands Quest Inc. underscore the promise of the bitumen deposits in northeastern Saskatchewan. Unlike that of Alberta, the bitumen in Saskatchewan has not been commercially developed, with Oilsands Quest's effort breaking a 30-year dry spell in exploration. Mr. Cline said other firms have expressed informal interest. He vowed that taxation, including royalty rates, will not be an impediment to any development plans. Saskatchewan's bitumen deposits are thinner and buried deeper underground, than those in Alberta, and more costly to exploit.