The Alberta government said it’s granting extensions for oil and gas leases for one year and paying the industry’s regulatory levies as a first step in providing relief to the oilpatch.

The measures are part of the support package for the industry, which saw Canadian benchmark oil prices plunge below US$8 at one point this week.
The Financial Post had reported early on Friday that these measures were expected soon.

The government said it will pay $113 million in Alberta Energy Regulator levies for a period of six months and extend the mineral agreements by one year to give the industry additional time to raise capital and plan future activities.