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Alberta Records First Surplus in Seven Years on Oil Surges

  • Province earns surplus of $3 billion amid higher royalties
  • Government to pay down debt, invest in provincial trust fund
Alberta’s oil sands hold the world’s third-largest reserves of crude.

Alberta’s oil sands hold the world’s third-largest reserves of crude.

Photographer: Gavin Bryan John/Bloomberg
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Alberta, Canada’s oil-producing province, recorded its first fiscal surplus in seven years after oil and gas prices surged in the first months of the year.

The province completed its fiscal year on March 31 with a surplus of C$3.9 billion ($3 billion) after West Texas Intermediate crude traded at an average price of $77 a barrel, $31 more than budgeted, according to documents released Monday. Non-renewable resource revenue, including oil and gas royalties, totaled C$16.2 billion, or C$13.3 billion more than budgeted.