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The NDP government formally launched its review of Alberta’s oil and gas royalty rates on Friday by offering reassurances to an energy industry currently hammered by low crude prices and mounting layoffs.

Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd pledged at a news conference in Edmonton that no changes to the current royalty structure will be brought in until the end of 2016 to help provide stability to the oilpatch.

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“To those investors currently looking for opportunities in Alberta, we are an energy province and we will continue to be a great place to do business,” McCuaig-Boyd told reporters at the legislature.

“This commitment to not change rates until the end of next year should serve as a clear signal that our government … wants to be a reliable partner in supporting the success of our oil and gas industry in Alberta.”

She reiterated the NDP’s promise made during the spring election campaign that any incremental revenues earned from royalty changes in the future will go to the Heritage Fund, not into the province’s general revenues.