Cline Defends NDP Approach On Oil Sands

Cline Defends NDP Approach On Oil Sands

Wednesday, September 28, 2005 at 15:46

Saskatchewan’s industry minister insists the government has a detailed plan on how to unlock oil deposits in the province’s northwest.

Eric Cline says recent criticism by the opposition regarding his party’s economic action plan is unfounded, and oil sands exploration is a topic he and his colleagues have spent a lot of time on.

Cline says, unlike Alberta, Saskatchewan’s oil deposits are situated in a very narrow strip of soil five hundred feet below the surface.

He says, so far, no one has figured out how to extract that liquid cheaply.

Cline adds the Petroleum Technology Research Centre in Regina was created for the very purpose of assisting oil exploration companies with their projects.

However, Saskatchewan Party leader Brad Wall insists the NDP government is at least 10 years late in exploring this opportunity, and maintains the government doesn’t have a plan to capitalize on Saskatchewan’s oil sands potential.