Alberta backs incremental crude oil exports to Asia: premier

The Alberta provincial government is in favor of increasing volumes of heavy barrels exported to refiners in Asia, with India emerging as "potential" destination, according to Premier Danielle Smith.

"We have a heavy variety of oil and we know there are three [South] Korean refineries that are tooled to be able to receive that," Smith told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, in Abu Dhabi late Nov. 2. "China clearly is another very thirsty consumer and they are looking for more products."

India too is "another potential" primarily due to Reliance Industries Ltd's refinery on India's West Coast that has the capability to process heavy crude, she said.

Smith is in the UAE to attend the annual Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, or ADIPEC 2025, that runs Nov. 3-6, the provincial government said statement Nov. 3. Alberta also announced the opening on an office in Abu Dhabi to drive partnerships that advance technology in traditional and emerging sectors, including oil and natural gas, artificial intelligence, data analytics, agriculture and manufacturing.

Any refinery that runs heavy is a potential destination for Western Canadian Select, Smith said.

WCS is the benchmark heavy crude that typically sells at a $11/b to $13/b differential to WTI.

TMX

"Average exports out of the [Trans Mountain expansion] docks to Asia is about 450,000 b/d and those volumes are set to grow," Greg Stringham, a former vice president for markets with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, told Energy separately from Calgary. A bulk of those volumes are destined for China, he added.

TMX is the 890,000 b/d crude oil pipeline from Alberta to the West Ridge Marine Terminal in British Columbia.

In line with producers seeking incremental access from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, Alberta is also backing a 1 million b/d pipeline to the Canadian Pacific Coast, Smith said.

"We are working with our Prime Minister [Mark Carney] to get a bit more pragmatism on some of the policies. We have to get rid of the emissions cap and net-zero power regulations and we think that will attract the investments," Smith said.

Midstream players and private sector investors are seeking regulatory and policy certainty in Canada as a precursor to investing dollars.