2026-03-03 19:45
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2026-03-03 19:45
The Canadian Ministry of Energy is receiving more and more inquiries about the possibilities of supplying Canadian oil, said Tim Hodgson, head of the ministry on Tuesday. He added that more and more countries are interested due to the conflict in Iran, which is causing an increase in oil and gasoline prices.
“We're already seeing an increase in questions about how quickly Canada can expand its clean and conventional energy exports,” Hodgson said in response to questions on public broadcaster CBC.
However, he did not specify which countries are interested in purchasing from Canada, and added that it may take producers some time to create the possibility of larger supplies, because neither LNG nor oil production is increasing quickly.
Hodgson was attending a mining and resource extraction conference in Toronto. He noted that the war in the Middle East and threats to supply chains raise awareness of the need to develop mining in Canada and emphasized that critical metals are important both for Canada's sovereignty and for allies, CBC reported.
At the same time, critical minerals are an argument in trade negotiations, “giving us an advantage in dealing with the world as it is, not as we want it to be,” said Hodgson, quoting a well-known statement by Prime Minister Mark Carney. However, the minister assured that Canada will “never use its resources as a tool of coercion.”
Canada is the world's fifth largest oil producer. It is also an oil exporter, mainly to the USA. However, in May 2024, commercial operation of the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline began, which carries Canadian oil from Alberta to Canada's west coast and is sold to Asia. Ottawa also signed an agreement with Alberta regarding the possible construction of a new pipeline.
On Monday, the Prime Minister of Canada and the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, announced a “new partnership” of both countries, part of which is cooperation in the field of energy, including the export of energy carriers.
In February this year Hodgson said during a meeting with one of the parliamentary committees that Canada could become one of the largest suppliers of LNG in the world and export approximately 100 million tons of LNG annually. Hodgson noted that the current full capacity of LNG transport through the Canadian system allows for 50 million tonnes of exports per year – the media emphasized.
Last September, when Carney presented the first list of large infrastructure projects supported by the government, he indicated, among others: expansion of the LNG facility in Kitimat, British Columbia.
From Toronto Anna Lach (PAP)
lach / punishment /
