Alberta has a long history of trying to fix what it sees as problems vexing the province’s oil and gas system through government intervention.

Think about the bi-provincial upgrader, the Sturgeon refinery, an ill-fated investment in Keystone XL or leasing rail cars to move more crude by train.

Each was meant to address a significant issue, such as trying to expand access for a clogged oil transportation system or creating more value for Alberta’s bitumen bounty.

“Some of those ones (were) longer-term issues. You can see a problem, as government, and you’re trying to find a way to deal with it,“ Richard Masson, former chief executive of the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission, said Monday.

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“The first rule of government is do no harm — you’ve always got to think about that.”

Yet, as former Alberta energy minister Sonya Savage put it, there’s often a natural tension on exactly what role governments should take, noting companies strive to enhance shareholder returns, while governments want to generate more royalties and create jobs.

Any intervention needs to be done carefully.

“It makes me very nervous, because there is not a great track record,” Savage said.

“But (if) the private sector is not prepared to invest in projects that are in the public interest — and have public merit and benefits — then I’m not opposed to the government looking and researching.”

And that leads us to a leaked cabinet document, first reported by the Narwhal last week, that shows Alberta Energy is looking at possible solutions to natural gas pipeline constraints in the province,........

© Calgary Herald