Call her a ’green-eyed’ sheikh.Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says there's no choice but to play diplomat at major international energy conferences to tell Alberta’s energy story because Ottawa refuses to do so.The federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over international relations and trade but Smith has found herself rubbing shoulders with Saudi princes, American senators and foreign ambassadors to remind them of what Alberta has to offer in terms of energy security.And she blames the exit of international oil majors, driven by uncertainty over Canada’s environment and investment policies.In recent years Shell has retrenched from the oil sands after nearly a century in Alberta and others such as French giant TotalEnergies, BP and Norwegian state giant Equinor have followed suit. .“I wanted to make sure that the Americans knew, in addition to the fact that we already export more to America and Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Iraq combined. Yes. And then, the (combined) Canadian and American production now exceeds OPEC,”Danielle Smith.Others, such as longtime Calgary stalwart Encana — formerly Alberta Energy Company and PanCanadian — packed up for Denver, CO.Last week she was in Houston for CERAWeek, one of the biggest energy conferences on Earth making her pitch. “I came to the conclusion that Alberta absolutely has to go to these international conferences to tell the Alberta story. It's a bit surprising how little the Americans remember and know about Canada. Maybe part of it is that the majors have been exiting our market over the last short while,” she said. “But that means that we have to do the extra effort to make sure that the Americans know that we're here. So I remind them that we have 170 billion barrels of validated reserves, which is five times more than their entire country. I reminded them that we have 200 trillion cubic feet of gas, which is essentially inexhaustible.”And she told them Alberta wants to double oil and gas production to shut out Venezuela and Iran, not curtail it 70% as the Liberal government aims to do with its climate policies..Last fall she hosted the World Petroleum Congress in Calgary — where she was lectured by Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson on the need to leave oil in the ground — before jetting off to Dubai for the United Nations’ COP28 confab to deal with the likes of Liberal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.At the UN conference, regional governments have no international standing so she was essentially forced to sit on the sidelines while Guilbeault made punitive policy pronouncements, including an emissions cap Smith insists is unconstitutional.Earlier this year she travelled to Washington DC to speak with high profile senators and was warmly received. The irony is that she couldn't get an audience at the Liberal-chaired House natural resources committee in Ottawa the week before.“Those were the messages that I wanted to make sure that the Americans knew, in addition to the fact that we already export more to America and Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Iraq combined. Yes. And then, the (combined) Canadian and American production now exceeds OPEC,” she said. “That allows for us to not only be the best barrel because it'll be the lowest emission barrel, but also be able to address energy security and energy affordability. So I think I'll be going back, but those are the messages that I take when I go international.”
