The plan to ramp up Canadian crude oil exports to the United States received support recently, when some senior Oklahoma political leaders came out in favour of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project.
Governor May Mary Fallin and U.S. Senators James Inhofe and Tom Coburn penned a joint letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, calling for the State Department to approve the pipeline sooner than later. Project proponent TransCanada highlighted the letter (PDF) in a media release.
Keystone XL would provide the U.S. with an additional 500,000 barrels of crude oil each day. Canada is already by far the largest oil supplier to the U.S. And, as recent energy industry research results suggests, most Americans seem to be comfortable with this energy relationship.
A survey commissioned by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and the American Petroleum Institute showed that most Americans polled approve of Canada as an energy supplier.
Key findings included:
- The vast majority (80% or higher) give Canada good marks as a supplier of oil to the U.S., based on each of the following criteria:
- An ally that America can trust (95% say very good/good)
- Has a good human rights records (92%)
- Offers good social and living conditions (92%)
- Respects the environment and works to limit environmental impacts (88%)
- Has a democratic government that operates with clear laws (87%)
- Poses limited political risk of a disruption in the oil trade (79%)
- Buys a lot of goods and services from America (80%)
In other notable findings, 85% percent of those polled believed that the U.S. government should support the use of oil from Canada’s oil sands and 79% feel pipelines are the best way to move crude to markets in the south.
And while most Americans didn’t know that Canada already accounts for roughly a quarter of the total U.S. oil imports of 8 million barrels a day, (the average guess was only 100,000 barrels!), it’s clear they want Canada’s share increased. More than half of all poll participants said they would like Canada to supply over 4 million barrels a day.
What does all this mean for Canada’s oil sands? It's interesting to see that with all of the interest groups weighing in on our energy future, some political leaders and ordinary Americans believe what ordinary Canadians do as well. Energy development must perform well across economic, environmental and social considerations and, on balance, Canada and its oil sands resources should continue to be part of the energy mix.
