The conclusion;

For all the political strife over cost overruns of the two projects as they were built, and their initial struggles, the added provincial royalties in the 21st century made up for that in spades. And the further investment in northwest Saskatchewan’s heavy oil patch has far outstripped the money spent on the Bi-Provincial Upgrader, even when you adjust for inflation.

That, unequivocally, proves the investment in the upgraders was sound, and visionary. It just took a while to get there.

And in the meantime, tens of thousands of people have fed their families and paid their bills as a direct result of those upgraders. I was one of them. Literally hundreds of thousands of Saskatchewan people have had their health care, or schools, or roads paid for directly from the royalties from the development of heavy oil.

Would heavy oil have been developed without the upgraders? Perhaps, but nowhere near the extent that they were, and are, to this day. Would Husky have spent up to $350 million each on their 10,000 barrel per day Lloyd thermal projects without the Lloydminster Upgrader? Doubtful.