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Energy

Bipartisan groups in Congress introduce bill to protect strategic petroleum reserve

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From The Center Square

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A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced a bill to limit, not prohibit, the sale of crude oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

The Banning SPR Oil Exports to Foreign Adversaries Act was filed in the U.S. Senate by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, John Fetterman, D-Penn., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. U.S. Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Penn, Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, and Jay Obernolte, R-Calif. filed the bill in the U.S. House.

Instead of repealing provisions of a 10-year-old law to ban the sale or export of SPR oil, the bill seeks to amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to prohibit the sale or export of SPR oil to certain countries and entities. It would ban SPR oil from being sold or exported to the People’s Republic of China, North Korea, Russian Federation, Islamic Republic of Iran, any entity owned or controlled by these countries or the Chinese Communist Party.

The SPR is the largest publicly stored emergency supply of petroleum in the world – solely supplied by the U.S. oil industry, led by Texas. The SPR was created after a U.S. energy crisis erupted from a 1973 Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil embargo and Carter administration inflationary policies.

Underground tanks in Texas and Louisiana have the capacity to hold more than 700 million barrels of petroleum. Instead of passing balanced budgets, in 2015, Congress mandated that the U.S. Department of Energy sell SPR oil to fund its deficit spending.

Since then, the DOE has sold SPR reserves to the highest bidder through competitive public auctions to anyone in the world. During the Biden and Trump administrations, foreign companies with direct ties to American adversaries purchased SPR oil for anti-democratic regimes.

In 2022, in response to energy policies he implemented that directly contributed to high energy costs and inflation, President Joe Biden instructed the DOE to release 1 million barrels of SPR oil a day for 180 days. Chinese companies benefited from the sale, purchasing large quantities. The 2022 release was the largest SPR sale in U.S. history, according to US Energy Information Administration data.

Biden left the SPR with less than 395 million barrels of crude oil. Under the first Trump administration, the SPR exceeded 695 million barrels. Under the Obama administration, it exceeded 726 million barrels.

“The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is meant to protect the U.S. during crises, not supply our adversaries,” Cruz said. “Under President Biden, part of this reserve was sold, benefiting China’s strategic interests. There is strong bipartisan consensus around preventing such a sale from being repeated.”

“The Strategic Petroleum Reserve protects America’s energy, economic, and national security,” Fetterman said. “We must prioritize the safety of America and our allies – we cannot allow our adversaries to purchase oil from our critical energy reserves. This is a commonsense bill with strong bipartisan support.”

Their efforts follow a bipartisan initiative to protect the SPR that was incorporated in the Fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Cruz and Houlahan introduced amendments to their respective chamber’s version of the NDAA, which included similar provisions to this bill. Cruz’s amendment received bipartisan support in the Senate. Houlahan’s amendment unanimously passed in the House.

2025 Federal Election

MORE OF THE SAME: Mark Carney Admits He Will Not Repeal the Liberal’s Bill C-69 – The ‘No Pipelines’ Bill

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From EnergyNow.Ca

Mark Carney on Tuesday explicitly stated the Liberals will not repeal their controversial Bill C-69, legislation that prevents new pipelines being built.

Carney has been campaigning on boosting the economy and the “need to act forcefully” against President Donald Trump and his tariffs by harvesting Canada’s wealth of natural resources — until it all fell flat around him when he admitted he actually had no intention to build pipelines at all.

When a reporter asked Carney how he plans to maintain Bill C-69 while simultaneously building infrastructure in Canada, Carney replied, “we do not plan to repeal Bill C-69.”

“What we have said, formally at a First Ministers meeting, is that we will move for projects of national interest, to remove duplication in terms of environmental assessments and other approvals, and we will follow the principle of ‘one project, one approval,’ to move forward from that.”

“What’s essential is to work at this time of crisis, to come together as a nation, all levels of government, to focus on those projects that are going to make material differences to our country, to Canadian workers, to our future.”

“The federal government is looking to lead with that, by saying we will accept provincial environmental assessments, for example clean energy projects or conventional energy projects, there’s many others that could be there.”

“We will always ensure these projects move forward in partnership with First Nations.”

Tory leader Pierre Poilievre was quick to respond to Carney’s admission that he has no intention to build new pipelines. “This Liberal law blocked BILLIONS of dollars of investment in oil & gas projects, pipelines, LNG plants, mines, and so much more — all of which would create powerful paychecks for our people,” wrote Poilievre on X.

“A fourth Liberal term will block even more and keep us reliant on the US,” he wrote, urging people to vote Conservative.

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Alberta

Energy sector will fuel Alberta economy and Canada’s exports for many years to come

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From the Fraser Institute

By Jock Finlayson

By any measure, Alberta is an energy powerhouse—within Canada, but also on a global scale. In 2023, it produced 85 per cent of Canada’s oil and three-fifths of the country’s natural gas. Most of Canada’s oil reserves are in Alberta, along with a majority of natural gas reserves. Alberta is the beating heart of the Canadian energy economy. And energy, in turn, accounts for one-quarter of Canada’s international exports.

Consider some key facts about the province’s energy landscape, as noted in the Alberta Energy Regulator’s (AER) 2023 annual report. Oil and natural gas production continued to rise (on a volume basis) in 2023, on the heels of steady increases over the preceding half decade. However, the dollar value of Alberta’s oil and gas production fell in 2023, as the surging prices recorded in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine retreated. Capital spending in the province’s energy sector reached $30 billion in 2023, making it the leading driver of private-sector investment. And completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project has opened new offshore export avenues for Canada’s oil industry and should boost Alberta’s energy production and exports going forward.

In a world striving to address climate change, Alberta’s hydrocarbon-heavy energy sector faces challenges. At some point, the world may start to consume less oil and, later, less natural gas (in absolute terms). But such “peak” consumption hasn’t arrived yet, nor does it appear imminent. While the demand for certain refined petroleum products is trending down in some advanced economies, particularly in Europe, we should take a broader global perspective when assessing energy demand and supply trends.

Looking at the worldwide picture, Goldman Sachs’ 2024 global energy forecast predicts that “oil usage will increase through 2034” thanks to strong demand in emerging markets and growing production of petrochemicals that depend on oil as the principal feedstock. Global demand for natural gas (including LNG) will also continue to increase, particularly since natural gas is the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel and more of it is being traded in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Against this backdrop, there are reasons to be optimistic about the prospects for Alberta’s energy sector, particularly if the federal government dials back some of the economically destructive energy and climate policies adopted by the last government. According to the AER’s “base case” forecast, overall energy output will expand over the next 10 years. Oilsands output is projected to grow modestly; natural gas production will also rise, in part due to greater demand for Alberta’s upstream gas from LNG operators in British Columbia.

The AER’s forecast also points to a positive trajectory for capital spending across the province’s energy sector. The agency sees annual investment rising from almost $30 billion to $40 billion by 2033. Most of this takes place in the oil and gas industry, but “emerging” energy resources and projects aimed at climate mitigation are expected to represent a bigger slice of energy-related capital spending going forward.

Like many other oil and gas producing jurisdictions, Alberta must navigate the bumpy journey to a lower-carbon future. But the world is set to remain dependent on fossil fuels for decades to come. This suggests the energy sector will continue to underpin not only the Alberta economy but also Canada’s export portfolio for the foreseeable future.

Jock Finlayson

Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute
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