Energy risk in all shapes, all sizes

Geopolitics may be bullish or bearish. But it will almost certainly bring volatility to the oil market

The beverage options in Calgary restaurants just narrowed. On 6 February, Alberta's premier Rachel Notley announced that her province was now banning imports of wine from British Columbia (BC). It is the first shot in a budding trade war between the neighbouring provinces. BC is blocking the expansion of a pipeline from the oil sands to the Pacific Coast. Notley now says that unless BC lifts its objections, Alberta might stop trading electricity across the border. For Alberta, the BC foot-dragging over Kinder Morgan's C$7.4bn ($5.8bn) plan to almost treble capacity of the Trans Mountain pipeline, to 890,000 barrels a day, is serious stuff. Evacuation capacity from the oil sands will be insuf