The Edmonton Journal

January 16, 2009

Future of bitumen upgraders gloomy

Bankruptcy threat of BA Energy casts pall on plans

By Dave Cooper

The possible bankruptcy of the builder of a partially completed $4-billion bitumen upgrader near Fort Saskatchewan is part of a larger picture of gloom faced by firms hoping to process Alberta’s bitumen within the province, says a group representing local municipalities.

“Companies are now talking just about extraction, not upgrading. And that’s a real challenge to us,” said Neil Shelly, executive director of Alberta’s Industrial Heartland….([1] Full Story)