00:00So to start, let's talk about this agreement, obviously a long time in the making here and
00:06would just love to hear your reaction, whether you think, you know, there were any surprising
00:10elements here and whether you think this timetable is actually realistic. Well, look, first of all,
00:16I think it's an important step forward for a long time, probably the last decade, the federal
00:21government and the Alberta government had been at odds to say the least. In fact, one might almost
00:26say all out war of words on this issue. And they've come together and they've put forward
00:32a plan that hopefully will allow more production. We'll have to see. That's up for the producers,
00:38my customers, to decide whether they like this deal that will allow for more pipelines to be
00:43built, which I'm interested in. And so that's a big step forward for Canada. And it comes at a
00:48right time. You were both talking not just natural gas, but oil. North America is just full of that,
00:54as you know, and it creates a real opportunity. And Canada largely sends its oil to the United
01:00States, sends some off the West Coast. But these deals allow us to build more pipelines to the
01:06United States, which is great for consumers here and industry here, but also to move oil
01:11off the West Coast eventually. We'll have to see how long that takes, but it's a step in the right
01:15direction. Absolutely. And I wonder, you know, how this factors into your business, because,
01:20you know, you've gone back and forth here on whether you'd be open to becoming a proponent
01:25of this pipeline. And, you know, now that we do have the backing of Carney's government
01:30in exchange, of course, for that carbon tax, is this something that you would consider?
01:35Well, it's definitely positive. And one has to remember, we actually did propose a pipeline,
01:39had it approved, spent $600 million, which got lit on fire by government agencies.
01:44That was a decade ago. A decade ago. But it still stings at $600 million. But look,
01:49hopefully that attitude has changed. It's a new day, a new government. So we definitely
01:54would consider it. In the meantime, we continue to build pipelines, some 430,000 barrels a day
02:00of new pipeline that will come to the United States by 2028. That's great for, as I said,
02:05consumers down here. But look, we've gone from a backlog at Enbridge of $26 billion of projects
02:12and gas and oil and even renewables just 14 months ago to $40 billion. So we have lots to do.
02:19But we're always open to doing more as the largest energy infrastructure company in North America.
02:24And we're seeing, we're hearing concerns about carbon costs, but also the growing demand because
02:29of geopolitical instability. Which do you think is winning the argument right now?
02:34Well, we'll see. You know, Canada would be the only country of the top 10 producers that
02:39actually has a carbon charge of this nature. So we'll have to see what that impact is on
02:45producers. At the same time, Canada produces oil cheaper than just about anybody else and has low
02:52carbon already. So I think combined with the needs, combined with the desire between the federal
02:57government and the provincial government. And if my customers want to go somewhere, that's my job
03:02to be able to find interconnections and build pipeline to those markets.
03:06I'm curious, does the Iran conflict fundamentally strengthen the case for Canada's energy exports?
03:11Well, I think the Iran conflict actually fundamentally creates fortress energy in North America. So
03:17it strengthens the position both for the United States and Canada. One has to remember,
03:235 million barrels approximately a day come from Canada to the United States. That allows the United
03:28States to project energy power off the Gulf Coast. So when we're producing oil in the Permian region,
03:35think about Texas, then we're able to ship that offshore as Canadian oil comes down,
03:40is used in the refineries here to produce products. Now, fortunately, Enbridge is also the largest
03:45exporter of oil out of the United States at Corpus Christi in the United States. So it's changed the
03:51full dynamic. It's full on for North America. It's an exciting opportunity. I think Premier Smith
03:56has seen that for a number of years. And I believe that the prime minister recognizes that Canada has a
04:03big
04:03role to play. And if it wants to be an energy superpower, it's got to be able to build
04:08infrastructure. It's got to create an environment that its producers feel that they can make money
04:13at as well. And we'll see. It's a it's a it's definitely a page flip. Premier Smith, who, of course,
04:19will be joining us in just a few minutes. I do want to talk just about the price of oil
04:24overall,
04:24because you think about Brent, we're trading near 109 right now. That feels pretty common or feels
04:32somewhat normal. But you think about, you know, where we were in February as recently as late
04:37February. And it is a sea change of difference. And I wonder, you know, whether we should expect to
04:41stay around these sorts of levels for the foreseeable future. You know, what are you working
04:46through over at Enbridge? Yeah. So fortunately, at Enbridge, we don't we move the product, we get paid to
04:52move the product so I don't make any more or less money on the price. But I'm not agnostic to
04:56it.
04:56Obviously, if the price of oil is too high for you and I to use in our vehicles or industry
05:02and stuff,
05:02that's going to hurt demand. So we're definitely watching it. But look, I think this hopefully is a
05:07short term issue. And then you'll see oil retreat back more to fundamentals as opposed to a risk premium.
05:13You know, maybe there is eight or ten dollars from that base of where we are, say, in January of
05:19a risk
05:19premium now. But again, that probably is good for North American energy companies. I would argue
05:25good for North American consumers, given what we have and good for infrastructure companies.
05:30You were talking about natural gas a little bit earlier on. Think about because we have so much
05:34natural gas in North America, because we do have gas pipelines throughout North America, that the price
05:39of natural gas in North America has not moved since the Iran war. But it's grown dramatically for the
05:47Asians and for the Europeans. So it's a good example with good infrastructure, with good resource.
05:54You can keep that price low. Well, it's a little different. It's priced off the world. But we've
05:59got a great opportunity to ship more oil, more natural gas through LNG. You often talk about that.
06:05And I think that's good for business and ultimately a little challenging right now,
06:09but ultimately good for the consumer, too.
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