Report: Canadian market access hampers LNG development

Canadian ability to be competitive in a global market is hampered by the current market access challenges, a report by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) shows. 

Lack of pipelines and insufficient infrastructure are crippling Canada’s competitiveness in the global market, despite the abundance of natural resources.

“Global markets for liquefied natural gas (LNG) are expected to expand substantially by the mid-2020s, yet Canada is not moving quickly enough to capitalize on this growing demand,” CAPP said.

The report notes that the inability to reach these high-growth markets means Canada is not contributing to the reduction of the net global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by providing liquefied natural gas to China, India, Southeast Asia, and Europe.

CAPP adds that going forward, Canada requires government commitment to resource development, a competitive fiscal environment, and an efficient regulatory process to enable new projects to be approved and constructed in a timely manner.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers president and CEO Tim McMillan said, “before they will invest in Canada, global investors need to see that the Canadian federal and provincial governments are firmly committed to resource development.” 

The association called for the government to make “substantial changes to Bill C-69 which, as it stands now, will only compound the problems” of the protracted regulatory process.

CAPP also calls for the government to withdraw Bill C-48 which proposes a tanker moratorium on a significant portion of Canada’s West Coast.

Capital investment in Canada’s oil and natural gas sector dropped to about $41 billion in 2018, down from $81 billion in 2014. It is expected to drop another 10 percent in 2019, CAPP said.