The Government of Alberta is taking advantage of surging oil and natural gas prices to pay
down its debt by $13.4 billion, the biggest one-time repayment in the western province’s history.
The Alberta government is flush with cash as higher oil prices have boosted its coffers and
given the province a $13.2 billion budget surplus.
The government announced that it will pay off $13.4 billion in debt due in the year that ends on
March 31, 2023, and allocate $5.2 billion to debt due in the next fiscal year.
As a result, taxpayer-supported debt is forecast to fall to $79.8 billion by March 31 of next year,
which is $10.4 billion less than originally forecast in the current provincial budget.
Alberta, which holds the world’s third-largest oil reserves, is experiencing a financial boom from
oil prices that rose as high as $130 U.S. per barrel after Russia invaded Ukraine this past
February.
The latest projected surplus of $13.2 billion is 25 times bigger than the originally forecast $515
million surplus. This year’s boom represents a fiscal turnaround for Alberta, which ran a $17
billion deficit in the 2020/21 fiscal year due to depressed oil prices during the global pandemic.
The province’s revenue in the current fiscal year is forecast to reach $75.9 billion. The latest
budget projections assume that prices for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil, the U.S.
standard, will average $92.50 U.S. a barrel for the remainder of this year.
