First Nations losing oil revenue amid fall in consumption, drilling

In a windswept corner of the Blood Tribe land in southwest Alberta is a pumpjack that towers more than three storeys off the ground and reaches three kilometres deep. It's one of only two new wells to be drilled on the First Nation in the last year, as the downturn in the industry has resulted in reduced drilling across Western Canada.

The well was drilled in December and began operating in February, less than one month before oil prices crashed further as the pandemic spread across the globe. Fuel consumption has fallen sharply as countries continue to react to the virus, while oil production remains relatively high around the globe.

For First Nations that rely on collecting royalties and rent from oilpatch activity on their reserve land, those funds have quickly dried up. In fact, it's becoming costlier to manage oil and gas production on First Nations land than the amount of money collected from industry.

https://oglinks.news/canada/news/first-nations-losing-oil-revenue-amid-fall-consumption-drilling