CALGARY — The steep price discount facing Alberta crude is jeopardizing the Redford government’s projection of collecting $10 billion in bitumen revenue by 2014-15, as fewer oilsands projects are expected to graduate into paying higher royalties in the short term, says Energy Minister Ken Hughes.

In last spring’s budget, the Tory government predicted it would collect a gusher from the province’s 108 oilsands projects, with bitumen royalties hitting $5.7 billion this year and climbing by an average of 32 per cent in each of the following two years — driven by rising production and expectations of higher commodity prices.

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/a95ocg7