Oversupplying a global market that doesn’t need more bitumen (a cheap refinery feedstock) will lower prices for bitumen. That’s Economics 101. Incompetent governance by the NDP and the Conservatives has shielded industry from market forces and created a supply glut. Pipelines can’t secure higher prices in such an environment. Adding value and curbing production remain the only solution. Meanwhile Alberta continues to ignore Lougheed’s principles on resource development in a world where volatility dominates oil pricing and the dysfunctional politics of oil exporters.