The Saskatchewan government says proposed federal regulations for the oil and gas industry would be devastating for the province’s economy.

The government has voiced its opposition to the proposed Oil and Gas Emissions Cap and Methane 75 regulations saying compliance with the emissions cap would cost the oil and gas sector between $7 and $9 billion by 2030.

Referring once again to Saskatchewan’s constitutionally protected right to develop its natural resources, the government’s preliminary economic analysis suggests a combination of the emissions cap and Methane 75 puts 20 to 30 per cent of Saskatchewan’s total production at risk.

The provincial government says from 2015 to 2022, greenhouse gas emissions in Saskatchewan from venting and flaring at upstream oil facilities are down 64 per cent and methane emissions are down 70 per cent. However, research in 2023 from Carleton University in Ottawa shows methane emissions from those sites were 3.9 times as much methane as was reported to government inventories.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers reports Saskatchewan as the second largest oil producer in Canada in addition to being home to a significant portion of the Bakken Formation, one of the largest conventional oil plays in North America. CAPP estimates payments to the government from the oil and gas industry in the 2021/22 fiscal year rang in at $911 million and the industry spent $2 billion on exploration and development in 2018.

A news release from the Government of Saskatchewan says the federal government has also indicated there are no plans to apply similar treatment to imported energy products and it predicts the consequence would be increased reliance on oil and gas from countries that “do not have strong environmental records, at the expense of domestic production and the associated economic benefits.”