Alberta on Friday said it would introduce a new oil-and-gas royalty rate system next year designed to penalize higher-cost producers. Oil-sands producers will be exempted from the new system and retain their existing rates, the oil-rich province’s government said. The highly anticipated royalty review , which Alberta’s left-leaning government had promised in last year’s provincial election campaign, keeps the current commodity price-based system, but will levy rates once the cost of a well has been recouped based on whether it is above or below industry expense averages. The move comes as Alberta producers, like others around the world, contend with sharply lower oil prices amid a global supply glut. The revised royalty rates, which will be calculated based on industry averages for drilling costs in Alberta, will apply only to new wells from 2017 onward, Alberta said. “Our new royalty framework recognizes the reality of our economy today,” […]