The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that for years, Alberta's deposits of bitumen attracted billions in investment from the world's oil giants, but those days are over. The Globe's Jeff Lewis writes that the sector is reeling amid a price shock that has sapped billions from corporate budgets and forced a dramatic rethink of the global energy markets. By one estimate, as much as 1.2 million barrels per day of future production capacity has been put on hold since the downturn began last summer. Some analysts say only a fraction of it will be resurrected. As well, the oil sands have lost ground as new technologies uncork a flood of cheaper shale oil in the United States and OPEC's Saudi Arabia pumps record volumes of low-cost crude, furthering a global glut. In Alberta the market is cooling for everything from labour to construction materials, a sharp reversal that stands to bolster oil-sands returns. Over the long term, analysts say, a slimmer production outlook will ease demand for pipelines designed to transport ever-increasing volumes of crude to Canada's coasts, potentially delaying projects such as Enbridge's Northern Gateway or TransCanada's Energy East well into the next decade.