Syncrude coker stinks. YUP!

Syncrude billion dollar Coker smells bad is the headlines.

You bet it does but more so than to the nose.

The Sun article puts the price tag of the Coker at 1 billion dollars. That would be 1 billion in start up costs that is deducted from the sale of crude. Royalties are taken after all start up costs is deducted. That is 1 billion dollars of Alberta Resource money that didn’t make it to the Alberta Taxpayer.

Let’s assume it costs 10 million dollars to fix the problem; it seems to be in engineering and a 10% cost is very light that being the circumstance.

That is 10 millions of taxpayer money; lost royalty that is added to the start up costs. Under a non protected system, that 10 million may be recoverable from who ever made the error or their insurers.

Under the Alberta Conservative system there is no need to peruse such a course; the Alberta Taxpayer is deaf and dumb. No hassle from them!

John Clark
cyberclark@shaw.ca