Canada has a “one-buyer” problem with the oil and gas it produces and sells abroad. Because there is a lack of pipeline infrastructure carrying oil to market, and since the United States purchases over 90% of Canadian energy exports, millions of dollars every day are being left on the table that Canadian energy companies, governments and citizens don’t benefit from. There is a clear and pressing reason for why Canada needs to diversify its energy markets. And there are also other reasons as to why the world would benefit from more Canadian oil. Take a look below:
- Global oil demand is increasing and is expected to reach 100 million barrels a day by 2021. Demand isn’t expected to even peak for several more decades.
- According to Greenpeace International’s 2014 annual report this stunt driven lobby group has an annual budget of more than $400,000,000 CAD and only has 6 offices in the world’s top 10 oil reserve countries. 4 in Canada and 2 in Russia. These top 10 countries account for more than 80% of global oil reserves.
- Canada produces less than 5% of world oil and is the only top oil producing nation that doesn’t have global free trade access to sell its oil globally using oil tankers. Approximately 99% of Canada’s oil is sold to the USA due to lack of pipelines and tanker export terminals. Every day tens of millions of barrels of oil is transported by oil tanker from countries like the USA, Norway, the U.K., Venezuela, Mexico, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, Kuwait, Nigeria, Libya, Ecuador, Brazil and more (but not Canada).
- Every new barrel of oil production that doesn’t come from Canada is replaced elsewhere. By 2030 Wood Mackenzie predicts the world will need 30,000,000 barrels of new supply not currently producing, just to meet the depletion of existing production, before any new demand is factored in.
- Canada is the best ranked top 10 oil reserve country for measures of transparency, democracy, social progress, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, equality, climate change regulations, environmental innovation and environmental leadership.
- Canada is the only major oil supplier to the USA with climate regulations on oil production, Canada has been a world leader in this regard since 2008. The USA imports about 2 million barrels a day of heavy oil from other countries like Venezuela and Equador that Keystone XL could have helped replace.
- Of the world’s top 15 oil producers only Canada, Norway and the USA are considered “free” by the NGO Freedom House.
- Canada imports more than 500,000 barrels of oil each day, costing over $100 billion since 2012. The groups opposing Canadian pipelines and free trade have never opposed these oil imports from foreign countries. Many of whom have inferior standards for environmental protection and no climate change regulations.
- Canada is the best ranked top 10 oil reserve country for renewable energy investment and production, showing continued global leadership. Canada was ranked 7th in the world for renewable investment in 2013, one spot behind Germany and one spot ahead of India in 2013 and 2014. Canada leads the G-20 in electricity generated from zero emission sources such as hydro, wind and nuclear.
- Canada has the highest quality of life among the world’s top 10 oil reserve countries counting 3 of the world’s 5 most liveable cities according to The Economist. Our oil reserves are ranked 3rd in the world and contribute a massive amount of funding to our social services in Canada and employing hundreds of thousands of Canadians across the direct, indirect and induced supply chain.
Sources: IEA, EIA, Financial Post, Reuters, Bloomberg, NRCAN, Wood Mackenzie, Rystad, Canadian Wind Energy Association,