The oil sands,Canada's equivalent of a supertanker,is listing quite badly.Capital costs for new projects are skyrocketing;a recent study showed that materials,labour and engineering have risen 50% since 2005 alone.Credit is hard to come by,making financing of new projects difficult to do.In addition,a new royalty regime will come into effect on 1 January 2009.Oil sands producers will pay 33% of net revenues after recouping start-up costs-up from 25%-plus a sliding scale of tax based on commodity prices.
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