U.S. plan to develop Venezuelan oil adds urgency to Canada’s export diversification

Open this photo in gallery: A pumpjack draws out oil and gas from a well head with a canola field in the background near Cremona, Alta., in 2025. JEFF MCINTOSH/THE CANADIAN PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. A fractured trade relationship with the United States and potential surge in oil production in Venezuela could add urgency to Canada’s aims of expanding and diversifying its energy exports. U.S. President Donald Trump announced on the weekend that he had struck a deal to take majority control of Venezuela’s oil reserves, noting on social media that the deal puts the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Canada “on notice.” The details are still unclear, but a flood of Venezuelan crude making its way to the U.S. market currently seems like a far-off proposition, and one fraught with risks. Indeed, Venezuela is an OPEC member. Explainer: What to know about Trump’s deal for access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves Still, the deal underpins the importance of Canada further reducing reliance on its dominant southern market – a years-long quest, analysts say. That requires spending billions more dollars expanding pipeline capacity to the country’s coasts. The recently expanded Trans Mountain system is currently the only pipeline network in Canada that transports Alberta crude oil to the West Coast, where it can be shipped overseas and sold at a premium to North American prices. Before the expansion came online in May, 2024, Canada shipped about 97 per cent of its crude to the U.S. Since then, non-U.S. crude oil exports have steadily climbed from about 3 per cent to 15 per cent. In the month of June, non-U.S. crude oil exports jumped nearly 27 per cent year over year, according to Statistics Canada’s latest energy statistics. More recently, that demand has been bolstered by Asian refineries scrambling to replace Persian Gulf crude as the Iran War effectively halted the flow of one-fifth of the world’s supply. “If you are a big importer of oil, you’re seeing what’s going on in Iran, and you also saw what happened during the initial phase of the war in Ukraine. Those disruptions in global supply can hurt your economy very quickly,” Charles St-Arnaud, chief economist at Servus Credit Union, said in an interview. Opinion: As Trump pivots to Venezuela for energy, U.S big oil and big money invest in Canada “A lot of those countries are trying…