A Baytex analyst observation on the Clearwater from: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4692030-baytex-energy-some-patience-needed Basin Profitability
The above consideration is extremely important because the heavy oil Clearwater play is very profitable as shown below: [chart in the original]
Clearly, the Clearwater Play is easily the most profitable place to drill in the portfolio. If there was not the worry of the heavy oil discount expanding, then all of the capital budget would likely head to Clearwater, as nothing else is close to as profitable as that play. But since any heavy oil play can have negative cash flow during times of weak commodity prices, there are limits upon how much heavy oil production the company can manage with the current debt load.
That means that the priority has to be to have an acceptable level of light oil production so that there is adequate cash flow throughout the business cycle which enables the company to enjoy the Clearwater returns when heavy oil is profitable. [More Charlie Lake for TVE?]