Late on Monday, the Alberta government said it would start accepting heavy oil royalties in the form of barrels rather than cash, which will let the province sell that heavy oil directly to international buyers. (The Logic)

Talking point: The move is aimed at helping Alberta diversify its energy markets in the face of Trump’s tariff threats. Oil producers in Alberta often pay royalties to the government for the product they sell, and the province has long accepted royalty payments from conventional oil producers in the form of oil, an arrangement known as “royalties in-kind.” Monday’s announcement widens that arrangement to include heavy oil, which the province can sell directly to buyers. Premier Danielle Smith met with Spanish energy giant Repsol on Monday to discuss such a deal, which would amount to about 65,000 barrels-per-day of in-kind heavy oil. Alberta’s oilsands, by comparison, produces around 3.3 million barrels-per-day.