North American oil prices fell on the news of more supplies hitting the market
Published Jan 08, 2026
Last updated 9 hours ago
6 minute read
Premier Scott Moe says the United States’ military intervention in Venezuela and the possible takeover of the country’s oil resources has heightened the need to enhance export capacity for Canadian crude. Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu Article content
The United States’ military intervention in Venezuela and the possible takeover of the country’s oil resources has heightened the need to enhance export capacity for Canadian crude, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said in an interview Wednesday.
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“It’s very much been an uncertain trade environment the last while, and that continues with what we’ve seen happen in Venezuela just this past week,” the premier said.
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“Canada is in somewhat of a race now, whether with the U.S. or Venezuela,” Moe added. “Can (Venezuela) further develop the production of their resource and can they make the investments in a short while to increase their export infrastructure so they can get it to the U.S.? If they can, we certainly better have access to other countries. I think that’s the race we’re in right now.”
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The U.S. military conducted what Washington characterized as a “large-scale strike” on Venezuela on Saturday, capturing and incarcerating the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro. Maduro, his wife and son are accused of engaging in a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy in partnership with terrorist groups.
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The Trump administration said on Wednesday that it’s seeking to take control of Venezuela’s oil sales “indefinitely,” beginning with an expected sale of 30 million to 50 million barrels.
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Chris Wright, the U.S. Energy secretary, said at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. energy conference in Florida the sales would be “done by the U.S. government and deposited into accounts controlled by the U.S. government, and then from there, those funds can flow back into Venezuela to benefit the Venezuelan people.”
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Wright said the administration sees the oil sales as leverage “to drive the changes that simply must happen in Venezuela, so it’s no longer a drug threat, a kidnapping threat, a gun-running threat, an enabler of our adversaries in our hemisphere.”
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North American oil prices fell on the news of more supplies hitting the market, trading hands for about US$56 a barrel on Wednesday.
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“When a country like the U.S., where Saskatchewan exports 95 per cent of our oil, is involved in essentially the capture of the president of Venezuela and diverting that oil product to the U.S., when it’s going to China now, that is something we certainly pay attention to in this province,” Moe said.” Whether or not it will have an economic impact is yet to be seen.”
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Still, Saskatchewan’s economic future, and the future of the energy sector in Canada, the premier said, hinges on whether they will be able to access global markets through West Coast pipelines and ports.
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Saskatchewan’s oil is currently transported by pipeline from production fields to refineries along the Gulf of Mexico. Alberta oil takes a similar route, although some is shipped via the Trans Mountain pipeline to overseas markets.
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“I think this is an opportunity for us to have a very serious conversation as Canadians as to whether we can expand that (Trans Mountain) capacity in the short term?” Moe said. “And can we start laying the groundwork and consultation work to very rapidly build a second pipeline and expand our oil production in western Canada to secure our economic future as a nation?”
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Venezuela has the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, accounting for an estimated 17 per cent of global reserves. The country’s oil industry has been in steady decline, producing less than 1 million barrels per day, or one per cent of global output. The country reached peak production of 3.5 million barrels per day in the early 2000s.
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Saskatchewan, with estimated oil reserves of roughly 1.2 billion barrels, is the sixth-largest oil producer in North America, producing nearly 500,000 barrels per day. The Bakken Formation in the southeast corner of the province is considered one of the largest conventional oil regions in North America. It produces a variety of crude, predominantly heavy oil.
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“I think there are some opportunities for Canadians to really secure our economic future with respect to accessing other country’s with the products that we produce,” Moe said. “I think we’ve seen the start of that in the realization and prioritization that came with the MOU (memorandum of understanding) between Prime Minister (Mark) Carney and the Province of Alberta.”
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On Nov. 27, Canada and Alberta signed the MOU to work together “to achieve the shared objective of establishing Canada as a global energy superpower,” according to the document.
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One major priority of the MOU is the “construction of one or more private sector constructed and financed pipelines” with a route that increases Alberta bitumen exports to Asian markets.
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“I think there are two things to consider from a Western Canada perspective,” Moe said. “First is the roughly one million barrels of oil a day which Venezuela produces now, which has largely gone to China in the last few years. Is that going to flow to the U.S. in the short-term? That is something we want to pay attention to.
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“Second, is there going to be increased investment, as President Trump says, to expand that oil field and oil production level in Venezuela, and will that also flow to the United States?”
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He said the U.S. has been, and will continue to be, a significant customer of Saskatchewan’s oil.
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“But if we are serious about moving beyond the U.S. with existing or additional production, in this case, oil, we need to get very serious about rapidly building some of that export infrastructure that we need to be able to access the world,” Moe said.
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Whether it’s the situation in Venezuela, or a potash company deciding to build export infrastructure outside of Canada, the times are making the country take a hard look at its export capacity.
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“I think that creates in us some pause as Canadians to really have a look in the mirror and say, ‘Are we serious about making sure that we can access the world through our Canadian ports?’ Over the last ten years I don’t think we can say that we have been. I would hope that we will be over the next few, because I think it’s a fairly urgent conversation for us to secure economic opportunities over the next number of years and decades.”
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The premier said Saskatchewan has a major role to play in supporting and advocating for greater export capacity in this country, whether for oil, grain or potash. The regulatory environment also needs to be streamlined, he added.
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“We have not been serious about having a regulatory environment where we are attracting investment, particularly in the oil industry,” he said. “That conversation has become a lot more collaborative with the Carney government, versus that fellow that was there before. That’s a good thing, but now we need to move. We need regulatory certainty to attract that investment.”
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Expanding export capacity and improving the regulatory environment, he added, will serve to reduce Canada’s reliance on the United States when it comes to maintaining production levels in the oil industry.
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“That appears to be potentially under some degree of pressure, should Venezuela oil start flowing into the U.S.,” Moe said. “For any additional production we’re going to have, we’re going to have to look at other markets around the world. Herein lies opportunities, with many countries looking for a more secure supplier like Canada.”
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