CALGARY — Janetta McKenzie, director of the Pembina Institute’s Oil and Gas program, made the following statement in response to the new proposed crude oil pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta to Sarnia, Ontario:
“The proposed 3,300-kilometre pipeline route aimed to transport oil from Alberta to refineries in southern Ontario leaves many questions unanswered. It has striking similarities to the recently announced West Coast pipeline, with no private proponent interested in funding the project, long-term global demand for oil set to peak and decline, and no indication from oilsands producers that they intend to invest the tens of billions of dollars in building new sources of production that would be needed to fill this pipeline on top of all other expansions already planned.
“The fact that no private sector interest, construction cost estimate or ownership structures were revealed today demonstrate how early phase this particular pipeline project is.
“Like many countries in the world, Ontario is dependent on imported oil – and that dependence has become a vulnerability given how uncertain the world now is. As countries across Asia and Europe – both of which have experienced serious oil supply crises in the last few years – are actively demonstrating, the long-term answer isn’t to spend billions of dollars on new oil and gas infrastructure – it’s to reduce reliance on oil and gas overall.
“Instead of building a new pipeline, Ontario has better options to fortify its future. The path to improved affordability in Canada is electrification. Electric vehicles cost less to own and operate than internal combustion engine vehicles and can be powered with electricity that is generated in Ontario. Building out EV infrastructure to catalyze growth in Canada’s supply chains, including battery critical minerals – those are the real opportunities.
"Just like the West Coast pipeline project, the only way the Northern Shield Energy Corridor could reach capacity is if the oilsands industry invests billions to sufficiently expand production. That would only be possible through massive, costly greenfield development that would take years to pay off – something the oilsands producers have not indicated an interest in doing. Last week, Premier Smith suggested she would explore ‘fiscal’ frameworks to incentivize the oilsands companies to increase their production to fill the proposed West Coast pipeline. Today, she alluded to the same thing. It is not clear what the premier has in mind, but Albertans should be aware of the extent to which the province appears willing to go to compensate oilsands companies to produce more bitumen. This is the opposite of how it should work – where oilsands companies should pay Albertans for the benefit of developing the resources that the citizens of the province own.”
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Contact
Lorena Dexter Chaichian
Communications Manager, Industrial Decarbonization Pembina Institute
778-261-5005
