Minister of Energy Marg McCuaig-Boyd in a Postmedia file photo. Ed Kaiser / 20080325A The province is in the process of notifying the 25 companies that will have to make production cuts to reduce the oil differential, says Alberta’s energy minister. “Right now we’re working with each individual company,” said Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd on Wednesday. “There wasn’t agreement before but I think companies realize these are extraordinary times.” Premier Rachel Notley announced Sunday that Alberta would slash oil production temporarily by 8.7 per cent starting in January, amounting to about 325,000 barrels per day (bpd). The move aims to ship out 35 million barrels of oil currently sitting in storage and reduce the oil glut. The price differential between Western Canadian Select (WCS) and West Texas Intermediate has fluctuated in recent weeks, peaking at around C$45 a barrel. After the weekend announcement, the value of WCS heavy crude shot up, to the relief of investors . Cuts will be determined on an operator basis, not by well or project. The baseline will be calculated by averaging the six months of highest production level over the past year for each company. The first 10,000 bpd for each company will […]