Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) CEO Alex Pourbaix said friction between Canada’s federal government and Alberta’s provincial government is making it difficult to hold meaningful talks on funding carbon capture and storage projects needed to decarbonize the oil and gas sector, Reuters reported Monday.

Cenovus (CVE) is a member of The Pathways Alliance, a collaboration between Canada’s top six oil sands producers targeting net-zero emissions by 2050, which has unveiled plans to develop a CCS hub in Alberta that could cost C$16.5B (~US $12.3B) by 2030.

The group wants public money to fund two-thirds of the cost, and says government support would speed up decarbonization and help establish a competitive clean tech industry in Canada, but the federal and provincial governments both say the other should contribute more.

Pourbaix said the need for “significant discussion” between the federal and provincial governments and industry are still needed, and Pathways has set a target for early this year.

Pourbaix and Derek Evans, CEO of Pathways member MEG Energy (OTCPK:MEGEF) said their biggest concern is that Alberta will not have enough workers for decarbonizing the oil patch.

Cenovus Energy’s (CVE) strategy of reducing exposure to Western Canadian Select crude should continue into the future, Long Player writes in an analysis newly published on Seeking Alpha.