Gary Mar, Alberta’s envoy in Washington, is telling lawmakers that it’s likely that the BP oil spill could result in more Alberta oil coming stateside. The reason is that President Obama’s six month moratorium on deep-sea drilling in the Gulf of Mexico will likely translate into a longer de facto interruption since rigs will not sit idle but move elsewhere to drill, says Mar. Getting them back will take time – perhaps a year or more. In the meantime, Gulf area refineries will need to get their feedstock from somewhere.
Gary Mar, Alberta’s envoy in Washington, is telling lawmakers that it’s likely that the BP oil spill could result in more Alberta oil coming stateside. The reason is that President Obama’s six month moratorium on deep-sea drilling in the Gulf of Mexico will likely translate into a longer de facto interruption since rigs will not sit idle but move elsewhere to drill, says Mar. Getting them back will take time – perhaps a year or more. In the meantime, Gulf area refineries will need to get their feedstock from somewhere.
Meanwhile, the Alberta government wants to make sure that American states which are studying the adoption of a Low Carbon Fuel Standard will not follow in the footsteps of California and design one that Alberta considers discriminatory. On Monday, Mar and Alberta’s environment minister, Rob Renner, are traveling to Boston to press their case at a low carbon fuel standard forum of NESCAUM and on Tuesday and Wednesday are meeting with governor’s staffs and lawmakers in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Trenton, NJ, to argue that the existing environmental regulations of the oil sands are stringent.
Meanwhile, there will be more Canadian energy promotion in DC on Tuesday when Robert McLeod, the Minister of Industry, Tourism & Investment for the Government of the Northwest Territories, gives a speech on “The Role of Arctic Gas in North America’s Transition to a Cleaner Energy Future” at noon at the University Club.