Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada's natural resources minister, reports that his country is looking at ways to increase pipeline utilization to boost crude exports as Europe seeks to reduce its reliance on Russian oil.
Enbridge Inc., the operator of the Southern Lights pipeline (part of the Mainline pipeline system), is in talks with the government, looking for ways to ease the current energy crisis. Network capabilities are the main point of discussion, as well as how fully they are utilized. Increasing exports to Europe is a key goal of the Canadian government.
At the moment, oil exports from Canada to the U.S. are approximately 4 million barrels of oil per day, with a small portion reexported to other countries. And this number is poised to rise.
In addition to Enbridge's Mainline pipeline, TC Energy's Keystone pipeline carries another 590,000 barrels/day of crude oil to the United States. However, no comment was provided by TC Energy as of yet.
What is known in the meantime, is that Enbridge's liquids and natural gas pipelines are near or at capacity, but the company has begun examining potential ways to supply more energy to U.S. and European markets. That strategy includes using facilities on the Gulf Coast for crude oil and natural gas export as one of the most feasible options.
This situation unveils following the geopolitical crisis in Eastern Europe. The Canadian government and other nations vowed not to import Russian oil. European leaders agreed to cut their reliance on Russian fossil fuels on March 10.
Ukraine's war has shown all of the European countries that they cannot be dependent on Russian oil and gas for long, which has sped up discussions about transitioning from natural gas to hydrogen. However, this cannot be done overnight.
Together with industry, the Canadian government is also analyzing how pipeline flows can be increased in response to such violence, but the extent of what can be done will not be known for another week.
Despite the fact that Canada is willing to increase pipeline export capacity, many producers have been reluctant to adjust their spending plans, which could significantly increase output.
There are currently no LNG export terminals in Canada, but a consortium led by Shell Plc and Petroliam Nasional Bhd is building a large facility on the west coast that will be open by the middle of the decade.
This will come in handy, as even by the end of 2021 Canadian oil companies exported a record amount of crude from the U.S. Gulf Coast, mostly to big importers India, China, and South Korea.
