Alberta’s energy producers are pivoting toward developing gas reserves rather than oil after crude lost half its value last year. The number of gas development rigs in Canada’s biggest energy producing province almost doubled in December to 157, the most for that month since at least 2010, the Alberta Energy Regulator said in data posted on its website late Wednesday. The number of crude development rigs fell by 4.3 percent to 134. Alberta’s gas prices dropped 35 percent last year while oil fell 46 percent. U.S. crude prices have plunged below $50 from last year’s high above $107 after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries resisted calls to cut output amid a surge of U.S. crude production. While most conventional petroleum rigs in Alberta produce both gas and oil, the collapse of crude prices is prompting drillers to focus on wells with higher gas volumes, Mark Oberstoetter, […]