Analyst: Pipeline Projects Key for Canada to Win N. America Oil Export Race

Sharing a border that spans more than 5,000 miles, the United States and Canada are longstanding allies that maintain numerous cultural and economic ties. Even friends, however, can compete against each other from time to time – consider the two countries' famous rivalry in the sport of ice hockey.
Within the energy sphere, Canada and its southern neighbor are engaged in a different type of competition: the race to gain first-mover advantage for exporting crude oil to markets throughout the Atlantic and Pacific basins. According to the U.K.-based research and consulting firm GlobalData, Canada is outperforming the United States in this rivalry by advancing three critical pipeline projects.
- TransCanada's Energy East Pipeline, which would carry 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries and terminals in Eastern Canada
- Enbridge's Northern Gateway Pipeline, a twin pipeline that would carry up to 525,000 bpd of crude oil westbound from Northern Alberta to the Pacific port of Kitimat, British Columbia, and 193,000 bpd of condensate on the eastbound leg
- Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain Expansion Project, which would twin an existing pipeline from the Edmonton, Alberta, area westward to Burnaby, B.C., to boost its capacity from 300,000 to 890,000 bpd.

A U.S. law enacted in 1975 in response to the oil crisis earlier that decade – the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) - largely prohibits crude oil exports from that country. Given the dramatic changes in the U.S. oil supply situation as a result of new domestic production from prolific shale plays such as the Eagle Ford and Bakken, producers, refiners, policymakers and others have been engaging in a debate over whether to ease export restrictions.
"With a stroke of a pen, the Obama administration could ease and/or eliminate the ban on crude exports from the U.S.," noted Carmine Rositano, GlobalData's managing analyst covering downstream oil and gas. "The law was enacted…in a different era and is not representative of today's energy environment."
The highly fractious political environment in Washington, D.C., coupled with the disagreement on lifting the ban within the domestic oil and gas industry itself (producers largely favor the idea while some refiners oppose it), diminish the chances for a quick resolution on the issue. The proposed infrastructure projects north of the border, however, may give Canada the edge in shaping the North American oil export scene, Rositano said:
Rigzone caught up with Rositano to discuss the crude oil export race underway in North America. Read on for his insights.
1234
View Full Article
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.
- New SPR Bill Passes House
- Biden To Support ConocoPhillips Alaska Oil Project, Defying Greens
- Shell CEO Says World 'Desperately In Need' Of Natural Gas
- Energy Services Sector Will Grow To $1 trillion In 2025
- USA Oil and Gas Employs Almost 1 Million in 2022
- Fate Of $8Bn Alaska Oil Project To Be Resolved In Next 30 Days
- Winter Storm Mara Update
- New Discoveries Make 2022 Highest Value Year In Over A Decade
- Exxon Beats Earnings Record With With Massive $56 Billion
- European Union Debuts First-Ever Carbon Border Tax
- Valaris Employee Reported Missing from Rig
- Gasoline and Diesel Prices Expected to Fall
- Is the USA Shale Boom Over?
- New SPR Bill Passes House
- Higher Oil Prices Have Not Led to More Exploration
- Shell Finds Gas In Pensacola High-Impact Well Off UK
- Iran Oil Gushes Into Global Market
- Will Oil Hit $100 Per Barrel in 2023?
- Eni, Chevron Make Significant Gas Discovery Off Egypt
- What Bad Habits Should Oil and Gas Jobseekers Avoid?