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Western alliance targets Asian markets Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, in initial consultations on joint strategy; Liepert — could be 1st step to national plan Gary Park For Petroleum News
The petroleum leaders of Western Canada want to become world players, with their sights squarely fixed on Asia.
Energy ministers from Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan have set a mid-March target to complete their initial round of consultations on a possible joint strategy that will also cover harmonized regulatory policies and greater industry collaboration.
Alberta’s Ron Liepert said his government has already started informal talks with the industry on ways to open up markets in Asia and ease a growing surplus of natural gas in North America.
He said greater cooperation among the three provinces could be a first step toward a national plan for developing oil and natural gas resources — a topic that is expected to dominate a July conference of Canada’s energy ministers in Alberta.
Liepert said the fact that the three western governments are prepared to work together should make it easier to develop a national strategy and possibly agree on the importance of developing Alberta’s oil sands.
He said it is “not good business” to rely exclusively on sales to the United States, “however, we are aware there will be serious competition and it will not be simple to find a footing in China and India for our crude, but we would like to be part of that competition sooner than later.”
Tankers a barrier The push to expand Canada’s export markets beyond the United States faces a formidable barrier if it hinges on tankers operating out of British Columbia ports — especially the opposition to Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway project to export oil sands-derived crude.
Liepert said Alberta is pleased with the way the National Energy Board is handling the proposal, by putting an emphasis on the “long-term and strategic benefits the pipeline will bring to Canada.”
On the gas side, he said current prices at the Henry Hub on the New York Mercantile Exchange “keep us awake at nights,” making it imperative to look for markets in Asia.
“We can work with the industry to figure out how we can get our product to more than one customer,” he said. “If there’s an opportunity to get our gas producers into the international marketplace, that’s obviously a benefit for them.”
Vast resources an opportunity British Columbia’s Steve Thomson said the growing worldwide demand for energy is a chance for the three Canadian provinces to take advantage of their vast resources, which include 170 billion barrels of extra-heavy crude in Alberta, the prospect of medium-grade crude reserves of 100 billion barrels in Saskatchewan and 100 trillion cubic feet of tight gas in British Columbia.
He expressed confidence that British Columbia ports will ultimately make his province the gateway for oil and gas exports to Asia.
Liepert was emphatic that Alberta has no intention of adjusting its royalty structure and has no interest in building pipelines, as it did in the 1970s to create an extensive collection system in Alberta, although his government is open to other ways of getting over the infrastructure hump.
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