Greg Rickford, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, delivered remarks during a ceremony in Freeport, Texas, on 16 January marking the completion of the Seaway and Flanagan South pipelines. Minister Rickford attended the ceremony with Jim Prentice, Premier of Alberta. Minister Rickford highlighted the importance of working together to enhance North American energy security and its benefits for the respective economies and global competitiveness. These pipelines will have the ability to move approximately 600 000 bpd into the Gulf coast, from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, North Dakota and Montana.
It is estimated the completion of these pipelines is expected to help double the amount of Canadian oil supplied to the United States Gulf Coast each day — from just over 200 000 bpd currently, to more than 400 000 bpd during the next year. The Canadian heavy oil moving through these pipelines is expected to help replace heavy oil currently imported by the US from Venezuela and the Middle East.
The US Energy Information Administration estimates that the US will need to import almost 8 million bpd of oil by 2040 – up from 7.5 million bbls today. Late last year, Canadian oil exports to the US were estimated to have surpassed 3 million bpd for the first time ever, more than Saudi Arabia and Venezuela combined.
The recently reversed Seaway pipeline runs from Cushing, Illinois, to Freeport, Texas. The new Flanagan South pipeline, which has recently come into service, runs from Pontiac, Illinois, to Cushing, Oklahoma. Minister Rickford noted in his speech today that it has been one year since the southern link of the Keystone XL pipeline has been in service.
Adapted from press release by Rosalie Starling