Alberta is bucking the global push against fossil fuels with an ambitious plan to double its oil production with the goal of increasing exports to the U.S.
The Government of Alberta is working to expand its pipeline capacity and double crude oil production while boosting exports to the United States, according to a Monday press release.
The province has signed a letter of intent with Enbridge, the energy behemoth headquartered in Calgary, which transports nearly 20% of the natural gas consumed in the United States and accounts for 30% of North America’s crude oil production.
Enbridge transported nearly 4.4 billion barrels of oil and liquids in 2023. Over the last decade, Enbridge has transported almost 37 billion barrels of oil. The organization delivers around 5.8 million barrels of crude oil and liquids daily in its cross-continent pipeline network.
Enbridge and the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission will form a working group to evaluate future egress, transport, storage, terminaling, and market opportunities across Enbridge’s 29,000 kilometres of operation.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said that doubling oil production will align with Enbridge’s plan to enhance its existing pipeline system and cross-border transport.
“The world needs more Alberta oil and gas, and we need to make sure Alberta is meeting those needs,” said Smith. “This will also allow us to play a role in supporting the United States in its energy security and affordability goals.”
Smith is making good on a promise she made while speaking at a Tucker Carlson event a year ago when she vowed to double the province’s oil and gas production.
Alberta’s announcement came the same day as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation.
Smith has gone toe-to-toe with the federal government on many occasions regarding how much oil should be produced in the province and country. She previously called Trudeau’s oil and gas cap “a deranged vendetta” targeting Alberta.
She had also launched a nationwide advertising campaign warning Canadians about the consequences of a federal cap on the oil and gas sector.
Alberta previously became the first non-U.S. state to join a United States energy pact.
The province accounts for 56% of oil imports into the United States, double the amount Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq collectively provide.
While some province’s premiers, like Ontario’s Doug Ford, have threatened to cut off energy production to the United States as a retaliatory measure to President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs, Smith has taken the opposite approach.
“Under no circumstances will Alberta agree to cut off oil and gas exports,” she said previously. “Our approach is one of diplomacy, not threats.”
Despite the tariffs, major Canadian oil producers have predicted production growth for 2025.
Similarly, the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors have predicted the highest oil and gas drilling in 2025 since 2015.
Alberta’s Energy Minister Brian Jean previously discussed how Alberta plans to partner with Trump’s more pro-energy government in 2025 and going forward on the Alberta Roundup.
“If we’re going to get this product to market that is the best product in the world, that is the most environmentally friendly and best for human rights and jobs, then we need to get more of it out of the ground and into pipes that go south and go east and go west and north,” said Jean.