Is Canada Finally Seeing the Light on Energy? Canada appears to have begun to get its act together for developing projects to tap global markets for the nation’s energy resources. These projects will be very important for the long-term future of the Canadian economy. IOW what are those damn Canadians doing with "our oil"? From
http://www.downstreamtoday.com/news/art ... a_id=44300 Pacific Future Energy Corp. is backed by Mexico’s Grupo Salinas and is proposing to build a C$10 billion refinery on the coast of British Columbia. Various energy companies were employing former politicians, bureaucrats or First Nations’ executives to help promote major energy infrastructure projects. More projects appear to be on the boards that could enable Canada to begin accessing world markets for its energy resources. The Pacific Future refinery proposal is one of three being discussed for B.C. The other proposals are being floated by B.C. newspaper magnate David Black and aboriginal businessman Calvin Helin. The Pacific Future refinery is designed to be built in modules of 200,000 barrels per day capacity up to a maximum of 1 million daily barrels. The idea for a refinery is that rather than exporting oil sands bitumen that sells at a low price and has citizens fearful of the environmental damage from a bitumen-ladened tanker accident, by refining the oil the value of that barrel will be much greater, while the environmental risk is considerably lower.
The increased environmental risk from a spill is a reason why Enbridge’s (ENB-NYSE) Northern Gateway oil line through B.C. is being fought by local residents. On the other hand, the battle with the United States over approval of the Keystone XL pipeline may have finally convinced Canadians that they need to work harder to access other markets for the country’s oil and gas or their economy will fail to grow as anticipated. The landscape for exporting western Canadian natural gas is also changing. There are 14 LNG terminals proposed for the coast of British Columbia, seven of which have been granted export permits by the Canadian government. It is thought that there is capacity for only three terminals – two at Kitimat and one at Prince Rupert, although it is possible that a smaller fourth terminal might be built such as Woodfibre LNG, proposed for Squamish near Vancouver. West Coast Canada LNG, the Exxon Mobil Canada/Imperial Oil Ltd. joint venture, in Prince Rupert harbor is considered the favorite in that region.
At Kitimat, the three terminals furthest along in development include Pacific NorthWest LNG headed by Malaysia’s Petronas, LNG Canada, a venture led by Shell Canada Energy, and Kitimat LNG, a joint venture of Chevron and Apache Corp. (APA-NYSE). The future of the latter project is questionable since Apache – under pressure from an activist shareholder – has announced its exit from the venture, plus the project has yet to secure any Asian customers for its LNG. The other two Kitimat terminals already have Asian customers.
OTOH we're doing it to ourselves also: U.S. Condensate Exports Likely to Be Duty Free in Japan
Reuters - More Japanese refiners are likely to buy U.S. condensate if the light oil is ruled to be not liable for customs duty, as is expected, industry and government sources said. The United States started allowing exports of the super light oil only in the last few months, and the ruling by Japan's customs bureau when the first cargo arrives in October is likely to give the shipment the same status as Middle East condensates. Japanese refiners have been concerned that U.S. condensate would be treated as an oil product subject to import duties. So far only refiner Cosmo Oil Co has decided to import the U.S. oil, and an official with the Tokyo customs office said it would likely be ruled a crude and thus not subject to tariffs. That means exports of the U.S. condensate to Asia could rise as long as they are priced competitively against similar oils from suppliers such as Qatar and Iran to offset the longer voyage. Government officials have said Japan is trying to wean itself from a roughly 84 percent reliance on Middle East oil.