Alberta salting away oil profits as a cushion

People seem to understand that OPEC must save for the day its oil runs out. But when Canada's oil-rich Alberta Province does it, that, apparently, is another matter.

The largest private nest egg of its kind in any capitalistic country, including Switzerland, the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund holds and invests about 30 percent of the royalties earned from Alberta's booming oil and gas industries.

It began in August 1976 with $1.5 billion in the kitty. This had grown to $5 .8 billion by the end of 1979 and could reach an estimated $30 billion by the year 2000, if its present growth rate persists.

This rich cash load, though fascinating to other countries, has touched off regional jealousies in other parts of Canada which do not have Alberta's oil and raised the hackles of Toronto's financial barons, who have no direct say in its operations or growth.