Canadians eye lucrative Asian markets

Asia is back on the radar screen of Canadian pipeline firms, as oil and gas producers look beyond their traditional US export markets. Companies are concerned that planned environmental measures from US President Barack Obama's administration will restrict the flow of oil-sands-derived crude to the US

Undeterred by the added challenges of raising capital, scaled-back production forecasts for Alberta's oil sands and the threat of a Canadian government ban on overseas bitumen shipments, pipeline firms and producers are on the verge of agreements affecting 1.35m barrels a day (b/d) of possible exports. Enbridge and Kinder Morgan are seeking commitments from producers and refiners for their rival pipelines from the oil sands to deep-water ports on the British Columbia (BC) coast. Meanwhile, a partnership of Kitimat LNG and Pacific Northern Gas is testing market interest in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from BC's rapidly expanding gasfields. Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline is back o