WASHINGTON – With pipeline plans facing opposition in the West, the East, and the South, a Canadian premier is in the U.S. this week promoting an alternate route for exporting oil: the North.
The premier of the Northwest Territories is in Washington, D.C., this week promoting an “Arctic Gateway” to carry oil through his region to international markets.
Bob McLeod has been promoting the plan in meetings with the Exxon oil company, the American Petroleum Institute, the Canadian embassy, and in appearances before two Washington think-tanks in the presence of numerous members of the Obama administration.
He told one audience today that it’s become a real problem to get pipelines approved — and not just the famous Keystone XL example that Americans keep hearing about.
He says even getting oil through Canada’s own provinces is becoming difficult. So he’s promoting a 2013 Alberta government study that says an Arctic route could be technically feasible.
McLeod says oil could be shipped out from Tuktoyaktuk to Asia, Europe, or Canada’s east coast on existing infrastructure as early as next summer — and he says more elaborate year-round facilities could be set up within a few years.