Alberta hires CIBC to help divest the province's crude-by-rail program

The Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission has contracted CIBC Capital Markets to help oversee the divestment of the province's crude-by-rail program and the transition of that business to the private sector.

Although the future of crude by rail in Alberta is "very bright," that business will continue to grow without government interference, said Alberta Minister of Energy Sonya Savage in a statement issued late last week.

"We have said from the beginning that shipping crude by rail is something that the private sector is in the best position to be doing itself," she said. "Our government is taking the next step in shifting the former government’s crude-by-rail program to the private sector."
 
The transition process involves commercial negotiations and the province anticipates the divestment to be completed in fall.

"As a government, we are accountable to the taxpayer,” Savage said. “We will leave crude by rail in the hands of the private sector while making decisions that ensure the best outcomes for Albertans and our energy sector.”