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The Notley government has been trying to build the case for taking aggressive action to create more value and find new markets for Alberta’s energy bounty.

Its interventionist blueprint calls for more petrochemical facilities to be built in Alberta by offering royalty tax credits, more refineries to be constructed and more upgrading to occur at home, with incentives acting as a lure to hook private-sector investment and jobs.

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Some of it — such as last month’s sudden call for expressions of interest for more refineries — offers scant detail and seems to be built more on hope than homework.

The latest step in this “made-in-Alberta” energy strategy centres around the partial upgrading of bitumen and holds much more promise.

But it’s not without risk.

Premier Rachel Notley announced Tuesday in Calgary her government signed a letter of intent to provide a $440-million loan guarantee to Value Creation Inc., which is looking to construct a $2-billion partial upgrading facility east of Edmonton.