CALGARY — Adam Waterous, CEO of Strathcona Resources, has said he supports the proposal to possibly revive parts of the Keystone XL pipeline.Reuters reports the oil tycoon would like to see Canada use the project as leverage in upcoming trade talks with the United States, but added he would still prefer a pipeline to BC’s coast as a way to increase access to Asian markets.The proposal, led by Calgary-based South Bow, could increase Canadian crude exports to the US by more than 12%, and Waterous’ comments are the first public statement by a major energy player in support of a new pipeline proposal led by a Canadian company.“The utility of a pipeline to the south is that it is a tool to achieve a tariff agreement to protect principally Canada’s steel, auto, and aluminum sectors while also allowing the Canadian oil sector to grow,” Waterous said.There have been earlier rumours of the possibility of the Keystone XL pipeline being revived, as reports suggested Prime Minister Mark Carney was aware of South Bow’s plans to revive the project when he met with US President Donald Trump in October.South Bow recently launched a competitive bidding process offering 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of contracted pipeline capacity from Hardisty, Alberta, to multiple US delivery points, including Cushing, Oklahoma, and refining hubs along the US Gulf Coast.The project would follow a different route through the United States than the original Keystone XL pipeline but would reuse some infrastructure already built in Alberta before the project was cancelled in 2021 by former US President Joe Biden after years of environmental and indigenous opposition.Reviving any cross-border pipeline would also require approval from President Trump, as well as additional pipeline links connecting the route to American refining facilities..Waterous did not say if his company would commit barrels to the project due to ongoing commercial negotiations, but he did point to Strathcona’s goal of expanding its own oil production from 125,000 bpd in 2026 to roughly 300,000 bpd by 2035.“I’ve been a very early advocate of this project,” he said, adding the company is currently looking “for egress now,” referring to the industry’s need for additional transportation capacity to move crude to markets.Currently, more than 90% of Canada’s crude exports go to the US, leaving producers heavily reliant on a single market.Waterous believes a new West Coast pipeline could complement the existing Trans Mountain Pipeline, which runs from Alberta to BC’s coast and provides the country’s only direct outlet for oil shipments to Asia.Waterous said the South Bow proposal’s main advantages are the speed at which it could be built and the cost, because it would reuse some existing infrastructure and rely on an established export route to the US, compared to constructing an entirely new pipeline to the Pacific.
