Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/783264
F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 1 7 www.resourceworld.com 75 But thus far, Canada is failing. In an interview, Finlayson said the solution for Canada is building the infra- structure and market connections to enable Canadian energy to be sold glob- ally instead of being restricted to North American markets. Unfortunately, the nation is lagging behind. "Unless we do this, Canadian energy will continue to be priced at a discount, to the detriment of the entire country," he said, adding that the market, not governments prodded by pipeline protest factions, should be allowed to rank the appeal of different pipeline proposals. Much potential lies with liquefied natural gas (LNG) – if government regula- tors and the industry can create the right environment to ensure its development on Canada's west coast. "LNG in some ways is no different that oil," Finlayson said. "It is a hydrocarbon resource that the world wants and needs – and Canada is positioned to supply, if we make the right decisions. But, he warned, if the LNG sector stalls, then the vast natural gas resource based in the West risks becoming a "stranded asset" as the US continues to move toward energy self-sufficiency. If Canada does not find a way to access global markets by developing LNG, then the upstream sector in Canada will shrivel. As for crude oil, Finlayson has no doubts that shipment by pipeline is the most efficient option and also the safest. While rail is a viable alternative, he said, it cannot realistically substitute for pipelines in an overall quantitative sense, given the size of the Western Canadian oil resource. "People worried about climate change should focus on the demand for energy, not the supply side of the equation," he said. "The global environment will not be bet - ter off if future world demand growth for oil (or natural gas) ends up being met by increased supplies from Russia, Iran or the United States rather than from Canada." That is the basic flaw in the anti-pipe - line advocacy seen from environmental organizations. They systematically fail to situate their relentless critique of the Canadian hydrocarbon and pipeline indus- tries in the proper global context. They pretend that stopping oil and pipeline projects from advancing in Canada will accelerate the shift to a lower carbon econ- omy worldwide. "I have seen no evidence that supports this presumption," said Finlayson. n