Joining forces on energy
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Leaders of Canada’s provinces, territories make breakthrough on energy strategy
Gary Park For Petroleum News
The Alberta government’s long-cherished dream of a national energy strategy in Canada is suddenly within reach, but it’s not quite what Alberta had in mind.
At their latest annual conference, Canada’s 10 provincial and three territorial leaders moved decisively in a pan-Canadian direction, with the balance tilted - inevitably - by the two largest provinces.
The newly elected premiers of Ontario (Kathleen Wynne) and Quebec (Philippe Couillard) played key roles in drafting the outline for a strategy, which puts the emphasis on climate change, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and clean energy.
That downplayed Alberta’s goal of achieving a national agreement on the transportation of oil crude across Canada and to export terminals on the west and east coasts.
Even so, if Canada is to develop a national strategy that meets with the approval of Alberta and Saskatchewan, there will have to be a national consensus on the importance of laying new pipelines to move crude oil as well as natural gas to liquefaction terminals.
Unresolved tensions Wynne acknowledged that there are unresolved tensions between those provinces that want progress on tackling climate change and the western provinces that are desperate to open new markets to offset the rapid decline in sales to the United States.
“I think that is tension that will continue to exist but the reason it is important to have a Canadian energy strategy is that we’ve got to manage that tension - it exists and we have to deal with the realities of the oil sands and transporting that fuel,” she told the Globe and Mail.
“The oil sands are very important to the economic well-being of this country, there’s no question about that,” she said, tossing a security blanket in Alberta’s direction.
“At this point in our history, we have businesses all across Canada, including Ontario, that are dependent on the oil sands,” Wynne said, adding she is certain the petroleum industry is committed to lowering its greenhouse gas emissions on a per-barrel basis, but not - as most environmentalists would prefer - as a flat limit on carbon output, regardless of how much the production of crude bitumen rises.
Climate-change issues Couillard had made it clear he would endorse a strategy only if climate change and clean energy were included.
At the closing news conference, he praised his peers for their willingness to make the “essential link between environment and an energy strategy.”
Couillard also announced he will be host to a climate-change summit next spring in Quebec.
If all the premiers (including a new leader in Alberta) accept that invitation it will be a dramatic reversal from a time when now-ousted Alberta Premier Alison Redford, in a scandal over her expense claims, tried to place all of the emphasis on oil sands development and new pipelines to carry Alberta’s oil and gas resources.
The document issued by the premiers outlines the vision and principles of a Canada Energy Strategy, declaring that it should “reflect the shared values of Canadians; strengthen our economy and create jobs; identify opportunities to develop, transport and transmit energy ... and maintain the highest degree of environmental safeguards and protection, including by addressing climate change, climate resilience and reducing greenhouse gas emissions globally.”
Concern over US production Northwest Territories Industry Minister David Ramsay said he has “seen a real willingness of people to work together, but it hasn’t morphed into a national energy strategy.”
“With the United States rapidly ramping up production and becoming less reliant on imports from Canada, we need to get our collective thinking in order in terms of how we will get our resources to market,” he said.
But Ramsay said he is uneasy that investors on Canada’s upstream and potential buyers of that oil and gas may already have lost patience.
He said it is “frightening” to realize that Canada may have lost an opportunity while other jurisdictions around the world have capitalized on new markets.
For the NWT, however, Ramsay clings to hope that oil should be shipped to the Trans Alaska Pipeline for export from Valdez, while gas from the Mackenzie Delta could finally get to market as feedstock for LNG projects in British Columbia.
Dylan Jones, chief executive officer of the independent Canada West Foundation, welcomed the progress made by the premiers at a time when he doubted they were capable of a breakthrough.
He said the leaders, by using their influence and credibility, have shown they are capable of playing a key role in moving Canada’s energy agenda forward.
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