An inconvenient truth for the fossil fuel industry
If the goal of the photo optimized COP 29, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as the environmental hug-a-thon that took place last week, is to force the demise of the fossil fuel industry and its patrons, then someone better warn Suncor because the message has been lost in translation – or is it transition?
Suncor’s Q3 production stats indicate that rumors of the death of fossil fuels are greatly exaggerated, much, I guess, to the anguish of the ‘eco-warriors.’
The company’s production and refining results point to dramatic increases in domestic and export demand for the entire slate of fossil fuels – starting with crude oil and moving through the list of all transportation fuels, including gasoline, diesel, jet, rail, and marine fuels.
Upstream, that includes exploration and production for and of crude, reached 829,000 barrels per day (bpd) with refinery runs coming in at 99 to 105% of design capacity! And downstream sales in the retail and commercial market orbits are at record highs for the third consecutive quarter. The key market for Canadian production and refining – gasoline and jet fuel exports to the U.S. – hit the highest level since the pre-pandemic period in 2019.
The upcoming change in the U.S. administration can only point to increasing demand for Canadian crude, especially with President-elect Trump’s appointment of oil patch veteran Chris Wright to head up the U.S. Department of Energy.
Wright is president and chief executive officer of Liberty Energy and also has experience in shale, fracking, oil and gas, nuclear, solar, and geothermal. According to the press release, “Most significantly, Wright was one of the pioneers who helped launch the American shale revolution that fueled American energy independence and transformed the global energy markets and geopolitics.”
It may be interesting, if not painful, to see how this new energy-literate department head handles his energy-belligerent counterparts from north of the border.
The inconvenient truth is that the Trump administration may prove inconvenient to Canadian energy policies.
These are the musings and opinions of our self-proclaimed “Grouch” and chief petroleum analyst Roger McKnight, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of En-Pro.
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If Canada wants to be competitive it needs to reduce the carbon tax to a max of 9 cents a liter for gasoline and 10 cents per liter for diesel with no carbon tax on propane or natural gas
Take the carbon tax off food production and process
Take carbon tax off all energy development and production all manufacturing all fuel used in refrigeration and drying of food and medicine take carbon tax off types of construction and mining
With the gov to the south in both the U S and Mexico a carbon tax or gov handouts to( industry or trucking companies )except for some parking and helping with the cost of insurance for first year truck and bus drivers is not affordable. We can not have strict emissions standards than Mexico in my opinion