One reporter’s take on our oil and gas industry

Newfoundland's future is slipping into the hands of Alberta, largely because of Premier Danny Williams' unrealistic expectations.

That’s the opinion of Financial Post reporter and commentator Claudia Cattaneo, writing in today’s paper. You can read the full text here.

Last week, Cattaneo wrote an in-depth piece about the stalled oil and gas industry in this province. You can read the full text of that article here. But these first two paragraphs set the tone:

Barely a year ago, St. John's was a signature away from Alberta-style prosperity -- with a lineup of big oil and gas projects, a cascade of high-paying jobs, membership in the exclusive club of oil-producing hubs feeding off the global energy supply crunch, tantalizingly just out of reach.

Instead, a sequence of 'For sale' and 'For lease' signs jars the core of this quaint port city on the rocky shores of the Avalon peninsula, as Alberta employers host job fares almost weekly, snaring its youth by the planeload, and oil-industry operators quietly downsize.

Cattaneo follows up that article with today’s more subjective commentary, which concludes with this stark observation:

The bottom line: While Mr. Williams now tries to revive Hebron discussions and says he is optimistic its partners will accept a deal, warning terms will tougher with his new energy plan, his province is sitting out the biggest boom in the commodity's history, while Alberta is milking it for all it's worth.

He will need to beat Alberta -- not live in the past -- to get in on the next round.