The Alberta government says Premier Danielle Smith has been in talks with a multinational oil and petrochemical player about selling two million barrels per month of province-owned heavy oil.

It said in a news release that there was a meeting on Monday, but it did not identify the company or say what part of the world it is based in.

The province has announced it will collect bitumen royalties in the form of the heavy oil itself, as opposed to cash, which Alberta’s commercial oil and gas agency, the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission, can then sell. That means it can combine bitumen royalty barrels with conventional ones it already collects to bring significant petroleum volumes to market and spur private-sector investment.

“This program gives the province greater say in where we sell our oil,” Smith said in the news release.

“Receiving bitumen royalties in-kind is another tool in our investment tool box and will give us the opportunity to maximize our resource potential, become one of the most significant players in the heavy oil market and garner more value for Albertans.”

Energy Minister Brian Jean said the move will allow Alberta to “promote increased pipeline capacity and grow our global markets, which is good for Albertans, for industry, and for global energy security.”

Adrian Begley, CEO of the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission, said the agency will seek deals that are commercially prudent and make sense for Alberta and its energy industry.

“The opportunity exists to find transactions that will directly and indirectly secure extra value for Albertans, and the experienced team at APMC is committed to doing just that.”

The move comes as Canada’s trade relationship with the United States — the biggest buyer of Canadian oil exports — deteriorates amid a confusing flurry of tariff announcements in recent weeks from President Donald Trump.

On March 4, Trump imposed a 10 per cent tariff on energy imports and a 25 per cent tariff on all other goods. Two days later, a month-long pause was put on goods that meet the rules-of-origin requirements under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade, and potash fertilizer tariffs were lowered to 10 per cent.

On Tuesday, Trump said he will double the tariff on steel and aluminum imports coming from Canada to 50 per cent in response to Ontario’s surcharge on electricity exports to the United States.