Focus On North American Energy

Oil efforts stalled On March 23, 2005, Presidents Bush and Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Martin met at Baylor University in Texas to announce a new Security and Prosperity Partnership for North America. Energy cooperation was front and center in this statement as well, but the truth is that this new initiative, like its 2001 predecessor, has also drawn scant attention. One needs only look at the energy bill just approved by the U.S. Congress, which does little to promote a North American partnership on energy, to confirm that we remain stalled on the effort to enhance regional energy security. While our three governments have announced good plans but have not followed up with enough action, others have been paying attention to North American energy: High oil prices have sparked renewed interest in Canada's energy reserves, especially oil sands. In the last four years, China has invested significantly in Canada's energy market. In April 2005, CNOOC acquired 17 percent of an oil sands company in Alberta. A Canadian pipeline operator plans to develop a $2 billion pipeline with PetroChina International to provide China access to crude oil from Canada's oil sands. In May, Sinopec bought a 40 percent stake in another oil sands project in Alberta. China has previously invested in Canada's coal and natural gas resources. China is not alone. France's TOTAL offered $1.12 billion on August 3 for Deer Creek Energy, a Canadian company with rights to oil sands in Alberta province. The U.S. firm Kinder Morgan announced an Aug. 1 agreement to buy the Canadian firm Terasen to be in a position to transport to market oil recovered from Alberta oil sands. Time to take initiative These acquisitions are signs, if we are smart enough to pay attention to them, that it is time to get interested again in the North American Energy Initiative. Two points to emphasize before we suggest how Canada, Mexico and the United States can get back on the path to energy security: First, the North American Energy Initiative is not "anti-China." It need not conflict with expanding trade or positive relations with China. This is about Canada, Mexico and America doing all we can to produce more energy and use it more efficiently. North Americans have done less than we could have in our own neighborhood. Second, each country will bring to this effort to produce energy security its own laws and culture. Is there a way forward? We think there is. In May 2005, a group of citizens from our three countries issued the report entitled "Building a North American Community." (Two of our co-authors, Andres Rozental and Tom d'Aquino, were vice-chairs.) It calls for a North American resource strategy recognizing that we start from a strong base. Canada is already America's leading supplier of imported natural gas, electricity and oil. Canada's oil sands provide in a world of $60 per barrel oil a viable new source of energy that has catapulted Canada into second place in the world in terms of proved oil reserves. In 2004, Mexico was the second largest exporter of oil to the United States. Both countries offer more secure energy supplies than the Middle East. Here are four things we should do today to encourage increasing private investment and assuring energy security. First, we must dramatically increase the efficiency of our current use of oil. Conservation plus new sources are the strong foundation we need to build. http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/08/14/build/opinion/35-guest-opinion.inc

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