WASHINGTON — Alberta owns its natural resources and has the constitutional right to produce them, Premier Jason Kenney said Tuesday, as he encouraged US lawmakers to invest in Alberta oil to solve their energy crisis. .The premier made the comments in Washington, D.C., at the US Senate committee on energy and natural resources..Alberta developed huge expertise on oil and gas production, which can be leveraged to create North American energy independence, Kenney said..“The province of Alberta owns those resources, and has the exclusive constitutional power to regulate their production,” Kenney said. .“It turns out the solution to the challenge of energy security is your closest friend and ally.” .He was responding to questions from Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, who said the US government owns and manages nearly 70% of minerals within his state borders..“This makes for a very inefficient system,” Barrasso said. .Kenney and key ministers are in Washington D.C. to pitch Alberta’s clean oil and gas as America’s solution to oil supply constraints and soaring gas prices. The hearing comes one day ahead of his leadership review results..Barasso said President Joe Biden's policies are placing the US-Canada partnership at risk. The Biden administration made the US an unreliable partner by killing the Keystone XL pipeline, which was proposed in 2008 to bring 830,000 barrels of Alberta oil sands crude to Nebraska per day..The US bought 670,000 barrels a day from Russia last year..Kenney told senators he was confused when Biden cancelled the Keystone XL and then asked the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to produce more oil following sanctions on Russia energy..“Calgary is a lot closer to Washington than Riyadh,” Kenney said. “And you don't need US navy fleets to patrol the Great Lakes.”.It's not just Kenney who's confused by Biden’s approach to energy. Alaska Sen. Lisa Ann Murkowski said “there are many of us who are also having a hard time understanding why the administration has taken the approach that they have.”.Virginia senator and committee chairman Joe Manchin said it was embarrassing Alaska and Alberta producers were not approached to help with the US energy crisis, while OPEC was..“We cannot just sit back and let other countries fill the void and find ourselves in a more dire situation in the years ahead,” Manchin said. .On Tuesday, The Post Millennial reported US gas stations are running out of fuel..When senators asked why prices in Canada are still higher, Kenney attributed the costs to federal taxes, like the carbon tax. Kenney removed the provincial fuel tax for Albertans last month. .Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson testified virtually, speaking about his government's goal to meet its 2030 Paris climate targets by cutting emissions and increasing hydrogen exports. .Wilkinson told senators unused pipeline capacity totals 400,000 barrels per day, but Kenney said he disagreed with the minister’s assessment. .The premier said there’s 300,000 barrels daily unused capacity, which they expect to fill this year. Then crude by rail would allow for another 200,000 barrels per day, and technical improvements through pipeline optimization would allow for another 400,000 barrels per day..Quebec’s associate deputy minister of mines, Nathalie Camden, and Francis Bradley, president of Electricity Canada, also testified.
WASHINGTON — Alberta owns its natural resources and has the constitutional right to produce them, Premier Jason Kenney said Tuesday, as he encouraged US lawmakers to invest in Alberta oil to solve their energy crisis. .The premier made the comments in Washington, D.C., at the US Senate committee on energy and natural resources..Alberta developed huge expertise on oil and gas production, which can be leveraged to create North American energy independence, Kenney said..“The province of Alberta owns those resources, and has the exclusive constitutional power to regulate their production,” Kenney said. .“It turns out the solution to the challenge of energy security is your closest friend and ally.” .He was responding to questions from Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, who said the US government owns and manages nearly 70% of minerals within his state borders..“This makes for a very inefficient system,” Barrasso said. .Kenney and key ministers are in Washington D.C. to pitch Alberta’s clean oil and gas as America’s solution to oil supply constraints and soaring gas prices. The hearing comes one day ahead of his leadership review results..Barasso said President Joe Biden's policies are placing the US-Canada partnership at risk. The Biden administration made the US an unreliable partner by killing the Keystone XL pipeline, which was proposed in 2008 to bring 830,000 barrels of Alberta oil sands crude to Nebraska per day..The US bought 670,000 barrels a day from Russia last year..Kenney told senators he was confused when Biden cancelled the Keystone XL and then asked the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to produce more oil following sanctions on Russia energy..“Calgary is a lot closer to Washington than Riyadh,” Kenney said. “And you don't need US navy fleets to patrol the Great Lakes.”.It's not just Kenney who's confused by Biden’s approach to energy. Alaska Sen. Lisa Ann Murkowski said “there are many of us who are also having a hard time understanding why the administration has taken the approach that they have.”.Virginia senator and committee chairman Joe Manchin said it was embarrassing Alaska and Alberta producers were not approached to help with the US energy crisis, while OPEC was..“We cannot just sit back and let other countries fill the void and find ourselves in a more dire situation in the years ahead,” Manchin said. .On Tuesday, The Post Millennial reported US gas stations are running out of fuel..When senators asked why prices in Canada are still higher, Kenney attributed the costs to federal taxes, like the carbon tax. Kenney removed the provincial fuel tax for Albertans last month. .Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson testified virtually, speaking about his government's goal to meet its 2030 Paris climate targets by cutting emissions and increasing hydrogen exports. .Wilkinson told senators unused pipeline capacity totals 400,000 barrels per day, but Kenney said he disagreed with the minister’s assessment. .The premier said there’s 300,000 barrels daily unused capacity, which they expect to fill this year. Then crude by rail would allow for another 200,000 barrels per day, and technical improvements through pipeline optimization would allow for another 400,000 barrels per day..Quebec’s associate deputy minister of mines, Nathalie Camden, and Francis Bradley, president of Electricity Canada, also testified.
