At least five countries \u2014 Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and Slovenia \u2014 are rationing fuel and implementing mandatory purchase limits to conserve supply. <\/p>\n
Major oil-importing nations are seeking Middle East workarounds to preserve a steady supply of oil and natural gas.<\/p>\n Wood Mackenzie, a commodities consultancy, estimates the biggest loser from the Hormuz closure will be South Korea, the world\u2019s fourth largest oil importer, while Italy will be the hardest hit in Europe. <\/p>\n If the war continues and fuel costs remain high all year, South Korea would face a 74% increase in the cost of a kilowatt-hour of electricity, while Italy would see an 80% jump, CBC News reports<\/a>. Japan and the UK, respectively, could face a 41% and a 27% increase.<\/p>\n Until recently, the United States was the only destination for Canadian crude, buying an eye-popping 96%. <\/p>\n The reason Canada had one single customer for its oil was not out of choice but because most oil pipelines run north-south, to refineries in the US Midwest and the Gulf Coast.<\/p>\n Related: South Korea Locks In 273 Million Barrels of Crude That Won’t Touch Hormuz<\/a> <\/p>\n Attempts to build pipelines east to west \u2014 Energy East, a proposed line to move Alberta crude to New Brunswick and Quebec, along with the Northern Gateway pipeline that would have run across northern Alberta and British Columbia to tidewater \u2014 both failed due to local opposition. <\/p>\n The Americans effectively held Canadian oil hostage. Alberta crude, which is heavy and contains impurities like sulfur, was sold at a discount to the US benchmark WTI, sometimes up to $20 a barrel less. <\/p>\n As a video explains<\/a>, Billions of dollars\u00a0evaporated every year, simply because Canada had no exit. That\u2019s the problem Trans Mountain\u00a0was built to solve. When it came\u00a0online in May 2024, TMX pushed capacity from 300,000 to 890,000 barrels per day. For the first\u00a0time, Canadian oil could reach the Pacific coast at genuine commercial scale.<\/p>\n Skeptics complained that the ballooning cost of the pipeline \u2014 nearly CAD$34 billion \u2014 and projected lower demand for oil due to electrification and renewables \u2014 would make TMX a white elephant. <\/p>\n That, high shipping fees and the fact that Vancouver\u2019s port could only handle Aframax-class tankers, too small for the VLCC supertankers that Asian markets typically rely on, all seemed to spell doom for TMX.<\/p>\n Then came the re-election of President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n When the mercurial POTUS slapped a 10% tariff on Canadian energy imports in early 2025, it hurt Alberta oil exporters and sent a chill through the Canadian oil patch. Suddenly Canada\u2019s guaranteed energy customer didn\u2019t look so reliable. <\/p>\n Enter TMX, the pipeline many loved to hate, strengthened by a change of direction by the Canadian government in favor of resource development, and diversification of Canadian exports away from the United States. <\/p>\n When the US and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world\u2019s daily oil supply passes through, was blocked within 72 hours. <\/p>\n South Korea, which gets nearly 70% of its oil supply from the Middle East, suddenly faced an energy crisis. Big Korean refiners like HD Hyundai Oil Bank and SK Energy activated emergency diversification plans. They needed oil, fast. The product needed to be price-competitive, available immediately, and most importantly, didn\u2019t have to run any geopolitical gauntlets. <\/p>\n Canada\u2019s TMX pipeline and the oil stored at Westridge Terminal was seen as a good option because it fit all three criteria. Moreover, Korea was already doing business with the terminal. <\/p>\n To explain, we need to go back to 2023, when Canada exported exactly $0 worth of oil to South Korea \u2014 despite sitting on the world\u2019s fourth largest proven oil reserves.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n After the TMX pipeline was completed in May 2024, Asian buyers started making enquiries. South Korea was front of the line. <\/p>\n GS Caltex took the first test cargo back in September 2024, 300,000 barrels\u00a0shared with Japan’s ENEOS. HD Hyundai Oil Bank followed with 548,000 barrels in April 2025. SK Energy is currently in long-term contract negotiations.<\/p>\n Total Canadian oil exports to\u00a0South Korea from May 2024 through September 2025 reached CAD$411 million \u2014 from zero to 411 million dollars in under 17 months.<\/p>\n In TMX’s first year\u00a0of operation, Canadian oil exports to markets outside the United States jumped nearly 60%,\u00a0hitting a record of roughly 183,000 barrels per day. China overtook the US to become the\u00a0pipeline’s single largest customer.<\/p>\n Japan, India, Brunei, Taiwan are all taking deliveries.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/book.jpg\"\/)
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Everything changed in 2024 with the completion of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, a twinned pipeline that extended from Edmonton, Alberta, to the Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby, a suburb of Vancouver. <\/p>\n