Canada Looks to Accelerate Energy Permitting

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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Looking to build an economy that's more resilient to external economic shock, Canadian ministers said they'd streamline permits for projects necessary to establish the nation as an energy superpower.

"First ministers are committed to immediately begin to address project approval and permitting efficiency and timelines for all projects," they said Monday in a joint statement from Saskatchewan.

Prime Minister Mark Carney told provincial leaders the federal government would ensure that projects of national interest are approved within two years, down from the current five-year timeline.

It took government intervention to facilitate the expansion of the Trans Mountain crude oil pipeline to British Columbia, the only significant artery carrying petroleum to Canada's western coast. The expansion was proposed in 2013 and only completed last year.

"First ministers agreed that Canada must work urgently to get Canadian natural resources and commodities to domestic and international markets, such as critical minerals and decarbonized Canadian oil and gas by pipelines, supported by the private sector, that provide access to diversified global markets, including Asia and Europe," they added in a joint statement from meetings in Saskatchewan.

Energy sector leaders, along with those in the oil-rich province of Alberta, are pressing for trade opportunities outside North America. Apart from Trans Mountain, several projects in British Columbia could start exporting liquefied natural gas to the expanding economies in Asia.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, however, led a delegation to the United States this week to discuss cross-border energy flows, saying that strong bilateral ties would be maintained "through advocacy."

Trade diversification efforts took on new meaning with the return of Donald Trump to the White House. Revising the North American Free Trade Agreement during his first term, Trump is now pursuing tariffs that have upended bilateral ties with Canada.

Carney took office earlier this year after long-tenured Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau stepped down amid internal political bickering over Trump's policies. First ministers in their statement said they would work to create a new trade relationship with the United States with the aim of removing "the unjustified American tariffs."

Nearly US$2.5 billion worth of goods and services cross the U.S.-Canadian border each day. The United States, for its part, is heavily dependent on Canada for natural gas and crude oil, despite its own riches. The United States is a net importer of natural gas from Canada. And because U.S. refineries are largely tailored to run the heavier type of crude oil found largely in Alberta, Canada is the top oil exporter to the U.S. economy by far.

Those deliveries could be curtailed by wildfires raging across the Canadian Rockies. Cenovus Energy (Calgary, Alberta) is among those evacuating non-essential staff from operations in Alberta. The company said Saturday that 238,000 barrels per day worth of production was impacted by blazes at its Christina Lake facility.

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