Alberta Sets Sight on North American Energy Leadership

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Written by Daniel Graeber for IIR Energy Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

While providing few specifics, Alberta's government said it could double crude oil production. Canada, meanwhile, is looking to expand trade outside of North America

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Alberta Makes its Case at CERAWeek

Alberta is establishing itself as a leader in North American energy security, with a doubling of crude oil production expected, delegates said from Houston.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith led a delegation to Houston to attend the annual CERAWeek energy conference. Before departing on Tuesday, Smith said that with global energy demand mounting and security a nagging concern, her province is ready to deliver.

"The province is doubling oil production and expanding access to tidewater to get more Canadian energy to market," she said in a statement.

The Alberta Energy Regulator put provincial crude oil production at 530,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) in 2024, a 3.5% increase from the prior year. That's on pace to expand another 4% this year, though production could drop off by the middle of the next decade.

Smith did not provide a timeline for the expansion, though the oil-rich province helps establish Canada as the top crude oil supplier to the U.S. market, the world's largest. Over the four weeks to March 13, deliveries averaged 4 million BBL/d, accounting for about 60% of total U.S. crude oil imports, U.S. federal data show.

U.S.-Canadian ties have soured since Donald Trump returned to the White House for a second, non-consecutive term in office last year after he put Canada in the crosshairs of his protectionist trade policies. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is pushing to cut U.S. trade in half, and Gitane De Silva, the former head of the Canada Energy Regulator, said current geopolitical issues in the Middle East means Canada has a strategic role to play internationally.

"The volatility of the current situation will make Canada more attractive as an investment location because we are seen as stable," she told the Canadian Energy Center.

Have Cake and Eat It Too?

Canada is making strides to tap markets outside North America. Alberta earmarked US$5.2 billion for local infrastructure needs, including roads, and said it was committing another US$11 million over the next two years to support the planning for a proposed crude oil pipeline to British Columbia.

The so-called Northwest Coast Oil Pipeline already includes Calgary-based energy companies Enbridge, Trans Mountain and South Bow on its advisory committee.

The Trans Mountain network is currently the only midstream network capable of delivering Canadian crude oil outside of North America. An expansion project completed in May 2024 nearly tripled the capacity on the pipeline system to a total of 890,000 BBL/d.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Database can learn more about the Trans Mountain Pipeline.

Colin Gruending, the president of liquids pipelines for Canadian pipeline company Enbridge, told the Reuters news service from the sidelines of CERAEnergy Week that as much as 400,000 BBL/d of Canadian crude, meanwhile, is re-exported from the U.S. Gulf Coast.

"But forecasts assume that will grow," he said.

Elsewhere, Canada is advancing in its efforts to build up the potential to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Pacific Coast. The LNG Canada project delivered its debut cargo last year and a handful of other projects are close behind.

Pembina Pipeline in early March said it had long-term supply agreements that underpinned its Cedar LNG facility planned for British Columbia. Belgian shipping company EXMAR is already advancing work on the necessary floating liquefaction unit.

Joint venture partners Pembina Pipeline and the indigenous Haisla Nation announced the final investment decision (FID) on the Cedar LNG project in 2024. The facility will consist of a floating LNG facility in Kitimat, British Columbia, with a nameplate capacity of about 3.3 million metric tons per annum (MTPA).

Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report and plant profile.

By the Numbers

• 60% of U.S. crude oil imports come from Canada
• 4% annual increase in Alberta oil production expected

Key Takeaways

• Alberta optimistic about its oil potential.
• Canada is making strides on trade diversification.

About IIR News Intelligence
IIR News Intelligence is a trusted source of news for the industrial process and energy markets, powered by Industrial Info Resources' Global Market Intelligence (GMI).

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 Trillion (USD).