Weyburn - Del Mondor, owner of Aldon Oils, has thoughts on each of the major pipeline projects facing Canada today. Here's what he has to say on the importance of pipelines, one of which could carry his own oil to market.
Keystone XL: “Keystone XL was a complete political evaluation and denial. There’s 84 pipelines that go between Canada and the U.S. now. I don’t get what was wrong with the 85th.
“During the time they evaluated the Keystone pipeline, the U.S. government approved pipelines 14 times in length of the Keystone pipeline. So it’s obviously a political thing. It’s not an environmental thing, when you start approving that many pipelines.
“Keystone has been there for many, many years, but Keystone XL was a problem.
“It’s funny how everyone was lined up against Canadian oil. I don’t want to get into conspiracy theories, but why not keep Canadian oil cheap? If you’ve got into a situation where you’ve cornered Canadian oil, and there’s a glut of it in Cushing, why not maintain that, so they can continue to pay a reduced amount for Canadian oil.
“The oilsands argument? Every day, or on a very regular basis, Venezuelan oil comes into the Gulf of Mexico. Where does Venezuela get their oil? From oilsands.
“I don’t blame them. I don’t blame the United States at all. But for us, we’re fools to peg our future or economic benefit on another country.”
Northern Gateway: “Northern Gateway is access to Asian markets. What government wouldn’t be interesting in assisting the enterprise of the country for the betterment of the country? Assisting in an environmentally and mechanically process in getting that done? I just don’t get it.
“There’s a real movement against pipelines in this country. There’s a real danger in that. For one thing, it doesn’t make environmental sense to have all this crude getting trucked; getting railed. The best thing you can do is put in a pipeline.
“You’re going to your best market. If your best market is in Mandan, North Dakota, you’re going to go to it (by truck). The businessmen in the world are going to put it in the best spot possible.
“There’s a second problem with this anti-pipeline movement. The pipelines are getting older and older and older. (With) this refusal of getting pipelines built in this country, the risk of spills goes up. Environmentalists are actually creating an environmental danger. No one’s going to take a pipeline out of commission now. They can’t get the replacement built.
“The replacement of lines aren’t getting built. So now we’re getting into 50, 60, 70-year-old pipelines that should be replaced and are not being allowed to replace them. So what happens? There’s so much better technology now. Those pipelines should be renewed, replaced, to mitigate any potential issues.
“The stuff that’s being reported these days is just a function of better reporting. You want the pipelines to report better? Well here’s the information. Now you can’t handle the information. And now you’re saying these are a disaster. No, we’re just really good at reporting everything that goes on.
TransMountain Expansion: “TransMountain Expansion you don’t hear a whole lot about. But as far as I know, they’re following the exact same pipeline right-of-way.
“I feel for Kinder Morgan. There’s a real movement. Rather than these people facing the reality of needing to be on airplanes and in cars and all of that, and, basically, saying its reality of crude oil is what it it, the environmentalists should be working with the pipelines to go, ‘No, not there, but here.’
“But what they’re doing is saying ‘No!’
“To me, that’s a short-term line of thinking. Five, ten years, whatever. Eventually we’ll get to the point where the government says, ‘It’s going there. We don’t need your input.’
“Whereas if the environmentalists said, ‘That’s not a good spot. Part of it is. Let’s do that instead.’
Oh, okay, the pipeline companies are listening. You don’t have to listen very long to hear, ‘No.’”
Energy East: (Which Aldon Oils could potentially ship oil on): “It’s a real option. It’s a great option, and it’s a made-in-Canada solution. Why this is a much more of a made-in-Canada solution is it (will) provide oil where we’re actually importing oil into Canada. Saudi Arabia and other foreign countries are actually filling the refiners on the East Coast and down the St. Lawrence.
“It gives me another option for pricing. It will reduce the glut in Oklahoma. If we have more places to sell our crude, it will reduce the glut, thus making that discount on Canadian crude go away. Our oil could end up in anything from Sarnia to St. Johns.
“It think it’s going to get built. I like Energy East the best. Don’t forget, most of Energy East is just converting an existing pipeline. If you look at the map, it’s not minimal, but it’s a lot less than what you might think.
“To me, that’s the one. They could argue most of the crude is not even going to leave our coast. We’re just satisfying the needs of Canada, at a non-discounted price.”
“This could someday be an issue of national security. If all of a sudden we get into a situation where Saudi Arabia or another producing nation does not want to deliver to St. John, the only way to get crude there is by rail. Think of the environmental risks of that.
“Come on. Start thinking, and stop listening to people that have an agenda which has nothing to do with pipelines.”
