Canada says it can boost oil, gas exports to help replace lost Russian supply

By Nia Williams and Ismail Shakil

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) -Canada has capacity to increase oil and gas exports by up to 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of 2022 to help improve global energy security following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson on Thursday.

Canada is also looking at ways it may be able to displace Russian gas with liquified natural gas (LNG) from Canada after requests from European countries, the minister added.

Wilkinson was in Paris for a meeting at the International Energy Agency (IEA) headquarters, where the United States and allies discussed ways to calm volatile energy markets.

Canada, the world's fourth-largest crude producer, is keen to help shore up long-term energy security as countries that previously relied on Russian oil and gas look for replacements amid sanctions.

Wilkinson said Canada could increase oil exports by up to 200,000 bpd and natural gas exports by up to 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) this year.

"Our European friends and allies need Canada and others to step up," Wilkinson said. "They're telling us they need our help in getting off Russian oil and gas in the short term, while speeding up the energy transition across the continent."

Canada currently exports around 4 million bpd of oil to the United States, a small portion of which is re-exported overseas.

The announcement comes less than a week before Canada releases a detailed plan on how it will cut carbon emissions. Environmental activists urged the government to focus on replacing Russian energy with cleaner sources.

"The only real solution to oil-fueled aggression against people and the climate is to accelerate the transition off fossil fuels by investing in renewable energy and efficiency," said Greenpeace Canada's senior energy strategist Keith Stewart.

Wilkinson said Canada is having conversations with European countries about whether it can build more LNG projects. Currently, Canada does not export any LNG, but a Shell-led consortium is building a large facility on the west coast.

Any LNG project would need to be ultra-low emissions and able to transport hydrogen in future as Europe weans itself off fossil fuels, Wilkinson said.

On the east coast there are a couple of potential projects "that are some way through the regulatory process," Wilkinson said, without specifying which ones.

Private company Pieridae Energy has proposed building a 2.4 megatonne per annum floating LNG facility in Nova Scotia on Canada's east coast.

It would likely take three or four years to build the Goldboro project, but Pieridae spokesman James Millar said it would be a "long-term solution to a long-term problem" of energy security in Europe.

Over the last decade, 18 LNG export facilities have been proposed for Canada but an expected building boom on the Pacific Coast in the mid-2010s failed to materialize as global oversupply drove down natural gas prices.

Wilkinson also attended a meeting to discuss how IEA member countries can work together to ensure availability of critical minerals required for the energy transition.

(Reporting by Nia Williams and Ismail Shakil; Editing by David Gregorio, Jonathan Oatis and Aurora Ellis)