Thursday, May 19, 2022

Alberta premier says Canada could boost oil export to U.S., calls for major new pipeline


Alberta Premier Kenney addresses delegates at the annual
 UPC convention in Calgary

Tue, May 17, 2022,
By Nia Williams

(Reuters) -Canada could add over a million barrels per day (bpd) of oil export capacity to the United States over the next two years, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney told a U.S. Senate committee on Tuesday, while also calling for a new cross-border oil pipeline.

However, federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said there was little discussion in Ottawa or Washington about a new oil pipeline, and warned that narrowly focusing on fossil fuel security risked hindering climate goals.

Kenney and Wilkinson were in Washington addressing a Senate energy and natural resources committee on the issue of energy security, as countries around the world face rising crude prices and tight supply following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Their contrasting remarks illustrate how the federal Liberal government is often at odds with conservative politicians like Kenney over how best to manage Canada's vast oil and gas wealth while also reducing climate-warming carbon emissions.

"With political will from Washington we could also get another major pipeline built that would forever allow the United States to free itself from imports from hostile regimes," Kenney told the committee, adding Alberta is the largest source of U.S. energy imports.

The Canadian government has previously said Canada could increase oil pipeline exports by 300,000 bpd this year.

Kenney said an extra 200,000 bpd could be shipped south by rail, while technical improvements from midstream companies could add as much as 400,000 bpd of pipeline capacity by next year. The Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project is expected to be finished late next year, and will add another 600,000 bpd, he said.

Wilkinson told Reuters after the Senate hearing that this was the first he had heard of a potential increase in rail capacity or technical improvements, and any increase in oil exports to help offset lost Russian supply would need to be consistent with Canada's climate goals.

"The discussions I was having with White House were more forward-looking, about hydrogen, about critical minerals, about clean technologies," he said.

Canada exports around 3.8 million bpd of oil to the United States and until recently faced pipeline constraints that left crude bottlenecked in Alberta. U.S. President Joe Biden revoked a key permit for the Keystone XL pipeline in early 2021, infuriating the Canadian energy industry.

However with the start-up of Enbridge's Line 3 replacement project last year, Canadian export capacity is now broadly in line with production.

Energy analyst Rory Johnston, founder of the Commodity Context newsletter, said oil production is expected to only grow about 100,000 bpd a year going forward, meaning more export capacity would not necessarily mean more barrels crossing the border.

(Reporting by Nia WilliamsEditing by Bernadette Baum, Marguerita Choy and Nick Zieminski)

Roll Up Your Sleeves, Canada: The World Needs Our Energy

Speaking at the Canadian Club Toronto, Enbridge’s Al Monaco calls for a ‘fresh look’ at how Canada can lead the global energy transition


Wed, May 18, 2022
Northampton, MA --News Direct-- Enbridge


The post-pandemic “return to normal” many imagined did not include an incomprehensible conflict in Ukraine and global energy crisis.

Yet here we are. Decades-high inflation, major supply-chain issues, pain at the pump and rising home heating and electricity costs, and all the while questions about what it all means for climate objectives and the pace of the energy transition.

These remarkable energy challenges now in play were the focus of a “fireside chat” discussion today for an audience at the Canadian Club Toronto. Principals having the conversation were Al Monaco, President and CEO of Enbridge Inc., and Brian Tobin, the former premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, federal cabinet minister and currently Vice-Chair of BMO Financial Group.

Mr. Monaco and Mr. Tobin examined energy security, reliability and affordability, and the important roles that Canada—and North America overall—need to play moving forward.

“We have just crossed a major inflection point for energy markets and we are for sure in an energy crisis—and even if the war ends tomorrow, this is going to be a different energy market going forward,” said Mr. Monaco, who leads North America’s leading energy infrastructure company. “We’re going to need more energy than we thought, pre-Ukraine . . . to manage that security risk issue.”

Mr. Monaco called for a “fresh look” at the opportunity and responsibility Canada has in leading the energy transition globally. To be a true global leader, the country must reduce the 1.5% of global emissions created within its borders—“and we’re focused on that”—but also set its sights higher towards the 98.5 per cent of global emissions created outside of Canada. “The opportunity and responsibility are right in front of us.”

It will mean continued emphasis on natural gas and renewables.

“The single biggest factor in the U.S. reducing its emissions by 20% since 2005 has been natural gas. It’s a similar story here in Ontario—where we’ve replaced coal-fired generation with renewables and hydro,” Mr. Monaco said.

“This formula can be replicated with success in China, where there are 1,100 coal plants.”

Click here to listen to the full discussion between the two prominent Canadian business leaders.

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