US shale oil growth hurts Canadians as well as Opec

Calgary

OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) isn't the only victim of the growth in US shale oil.

A surge of light oil from North Dakota and Texas is cutting into the earnings of Canadians who turn heavy oil sands into a lighter crude that fetches more from refiners. Producers in Alberta, home of the country's greatest reserves, upgraded 20 per cent less of the region's crude in October than four years earlier, according to the province's energy regulator.

Two of five plants under construction were cancelled and the pr…