Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel says the last 10 years, under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, have been a ‘competitive disaster for Canada.’Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
The head of the country’s largest pipeline operator challenged the federal government to turn words into action on energy infrastructure projects, or see Canadian utilities continue to put their money in U.S. expansion.
A day after the Alberta government launched a campaign for a new pipeline connecting the oil sands to the B.C. coast, Enbridge Inc. ENB-T chief executive officer Greg Ebel used a speech in Toronto to outline steps Prime Minister Mark Carney needs to take to deliver on promises to make Canada an energy “superpower.”
Enbridge and two pipeline operators, South Bow Corp. SOBO-T and government-owned Trans Mountain Corp., are unpaid advisers to the Alberta government on its application for the new pipeline.
The Alberta government is putting $14-million into the project for early planning work on a pipeline that it hopes the private sector will eventually take over, with potential Indigenous ownership. Alberta will act as the project’s proponent and aims to file a regulatory application to the new federal Major Projects Office in the spring.
Mr. Ebel pushed Ottawa to encourage investment in energy infrastructure across the country by simplifying regulation, speeding up project reviews and repealing emissions caps and the industrial carbon price.
“I am skeptically optimistic” the government is open to changing its approach, said Mr. Ebel in his speech to the Empire Club.
Alberta to draw up proposal for new oil pipeline to B.C. coast by May
A decade ago, Enbridge championed the Northern Gateway Pipelines, which would carry bitumen produced in Alberta’s oil sands to an export terminal in Kitimat, B.C. Court decisions and the federal government blocked the project.
On Thursday, Mr. Ebel said: “We have tried to build nation-building pipelines and we have the scars to prove it. About 500 million scars.”
Enbridge took a significant financial loss on the Northern Gateway project. Since then, the company has made significant investment in U.S. energy infrastructure, including a US$9.4-billion acquisition of three U.S. natural gas pipelines in 2023. Mr. Ebel said the company is looking at numerous other opportunities to invest in the U.S. market.
In a recent report, analyst Robert Hope at Bank of Nova Scotia said Enbridge is expected to bid for a 45-per-cent interest in the EPIC pipeline in Texas, which private equity fund Ares Management Corp. ARES-N is selling. The stake is worth an estimated US$1.3-billion.
Mr. Ebel said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been lobbying Enbridge for support on a new deep-water pipeline since he became CEO three years ago. He said the province decided to spearhead the early stages of development because no private company can consider the project.
“The previous government’s tanker ban effectively makes that export pipeline illegal. No company would build a pipeline to nowhere,” he said in the speech.
“The tanker ban is a great example of how things will have to change to allow our country to maximize its economic potential,” he said. “Let markets and real demand guide routes and capacities while government focuses on enabling the conditions for success.”
Opinion: Alberta gets oil pipeline politics bouncing again
Ms. Smith assembled a technical advisory group that included Indigenous leaders and industry executives, such as former Enbridge CEO Al Monaco, former Cenovus Energy Inc. CEO Alex Alex Pourbaix and Hal Kvisle, chair of South Bow. Mr. Ebel said the group has the engineering, political and finance skills needed to kick-start a pipeline that can win social licence.
“We need to keep in mind that on these major projects, not everyone will be happy,” said Mr. Ebel.
He said the last 10 years, under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, have been a “competitive disaster for Canada.” He said Mr. Carney and Energy Minister Timothy Hodgson need to undo legacy policies such as the emissions cap, which hold back investment in energy production.
The emissions cap “threatens to arbitrarily limit production, even in cases where Canadian oil and gas producers are reducing emissions per barrel and investing in cleaner operations,” said Mr. Ebel.
On Thursday, a CIBC report cast doubt on Alberta’s pipeline plans bearing fruit.
“While we applaud Alberta Premier Smith’s efforts to promote the energy industry through the development of a new liquids pipeline to the West Coast, we are doubtful in the success of such a plan,” the bank wrote.
“While we remain open-minded to the possibility, the political and economic realities may be difficult to overcome, as evidenced by industry experience with similar projects, including Northern Gateway, Keystone XL and Energy East.”
With a report from The Canadian Press