Friendly Energy - Message from the CEO
By Tom Olsen, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Wonder why the Canadian Energy Centre has put up billboards in New York and Washington, D.C.?
Out of necessity.
And to help guide our American friends to lower prices at the pump with cleaner, closer, committed to Net Zero energy from your northern neighbors.
You don’t need more OPEC+ oil. Your closest friend and ally has 168 billion barrels of proven reserves right here in Canada.
There’s a fair bit of fiction swirling around that the use of oil and gas can be eliminated in short order, with no economic or social impact to jobs and your standard of living. This is not true.
The world will move towards a lower carbon future, and Canada’s oil and gas producers – among the biggest spenders on clean technology research and development – will lead that.
In fact, Canada’s oil sands producers have set out Pathways to Net Zero, a commitment to environmental excellence that aims to reduce emissions from oil sands production to the equivalent of zero.
This factors in the huge potential for CCUS, which even the IEA says is essential. Canada is already recognized as a technology leader.
Here at the CEC, we’re promoting a realistic and pragmatic conversation about energy mix and a lower carbon future.
And a lower carbon future absolutely includes oil and gas.
We have great respect for the Office of the President of the United States.
But in a move that appeared to be more about sending a message instead of relying on facts, President Biden withdrew the permit for Keystone XL.
This cost U.S. jobs, provoked lawsuits from U.S. elected officials, and compromised U.S. energy security.
And now oil that could have safely passed through KXL is being supplied by OPEC+ nations.
Including Russia.
U.S. oil imports from Russia have doubled since December 2020, to 848,000 barrels per day.
Here’s an interesting fact – if KXL had been approved the first time President Biden was a key decision maker, (as VP under former U.S. President Obama) – that pipe would now be in full operation.
The U.S. could have eliminated Russian oil. And then, no need for the President to issue a plea to OPEC+ dictators to open up the taps to keep U.S. drivers from prohibitively high gas prices.
That’s the crux behind our billboards. An appeal to Americans to turn away from OPEC+ dictators, and work with your allies to the north to meet your needs for imported energy.
We all want a lower-carbon future.
And we owe it to ourselves and the world to discuss realistically how we get there.
There will be demand for oil and gas for decades. Other producing nations know that, and are getting ready.
Even if there is an eventual drop in demand for transportation fuels, fossil fuels will be required to produce many of the things we use regularly, on a day-to-day basis. Reading this on a smart phone? Thank fossil fuels.
We are your closest friends, here in Canada.
We have some of the world’s largest proven reserves of oil and natural gas.
Our producers work closely with Indigenous groups, pay strict attention to labor rights and are continuously improving environmental performance.
U.S. friends, if you can’t provide it domestically, look immediately north.
We are primed and ready to help.
This material is distributed by Copithorne & Blakely on behalf of the Canadian Energy Centre pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
