Because of oil price increases after 2003, producing bitumen became highly profitable, but as a result of the decline after 2014 it became uneconomic to build new plants again.
bɪkˈʌz ʌv ˈɔɪl pɹˈaɪs ˈɪŋkɹiːsᵻz ˈæftɚ tˈuː θˈaʊzənd θɹˈiː, pɹədˈuːsɪŋ bɪtˈuːmɛn bɪkˌeɪm hˈaɪli pɹˈɑːfɪɾəbəl, bˌʌt æz ɐ ɹɪzˈʌlt ʌvðə dᵻklˈaɪn ˈæftɚ tˈuː θˈaʊzənd fˈoːɹtiːn ɪt bɪkˌeɪm ʌnˌiːkənˈɑːmɪk tə bˈɪld nˈuː plˈænts ɐɡˈɛn.