Pipeline impasse threatens Alberta's oil sands
The future of Alberta's oil sands hinges on two planned pipelines, but opposition is vocal and very influential
For all the wrong reasons, Enbridge is in the thick of two pipeline proposals – TransCanada's Keystone XL and its own Northern Gateway – that bear heavily on the scope and timing of oil-sands expansion. It is an unaccustomed role for a firm that has operated in a low-key fashion through most of its 60-year existence, while delivering billions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas to customers across North America and paying consistent dividends to its shareholders. Now, Canada's second-largest pipeline company figures large in the raging debate over plans to deliver oil-sands crude to the huge refining regions of the US Gulf coast and Asia (see Maps 1 and 2), which wou
Also in this section
20 February 2026
The country is pushing to increase production and expand key projects despite challenges including OPEC+ discipline and the limitations of its export infrastructure
20 February 2026
Europe has transformed into a global LNG demand powerhouse over the last few years, with the fuel continuing to play a key role in safeguarding the continent’s energy security, Carsten Poppinga, chief commercial officer at Uniper, tells Petroleum Economist
20 February 2026
Sempra Infrastructure’s vice president for marketing and commercial development, Carlos de la Vega, outlines progress across the company’s US Gulf Coast and Mexico Pacific Coast LNG portfolio, including construction at Port Arthur LNG, continued strong performance at Cameron LNG and development of ECA LNG
19 February 2026
US LNG exporter Cheniere Energy has grown its business rapidly since exporting its first cargo a decade ago. But Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin tells Petroleum Economist that, as in the past, the company’s future expansion plans are anchored by high levels of contracted offtake, supporting predictable returns on investment
