ARC ENERGY IDEAS

Progress on the Canada-Alberta MOU: A Conversation with Deborah Yedlin

This week on the podcast, we welcome back Deborah Yedlin, President and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. Deborah returned to the show to discuss the April 1 deadline for key deliverables under the Canada-Alberta Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed in late November 2025. The conversation covered a wide range of topics, including: The Iran conflict, the ongoing Strait of Hormuz closure, looming energy shortages, and global oil prices  Progress on the four key deliverables from the Alberta-Ottawa MOU, including the agreements in principle reached before April 1 on methane regulations and the “One Project, One Review” framework where Alberta would lead environmental reviews. The discussion also covered delays in reaching an agreement on carbon pricing and the large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. While the latter two items missed the deadline, both Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney signaled confidence that agreements will be reached. The discussion also explored whether shifting priorities due to the global energy shortage and affordability concerns could lead to greater flexibility in these requirements West Coast oil pipeline developments, including a discussion of the potential for alternative financing models for a greenfield 1 million barrel a day pipeline, considering the urgency and strategic importance of expanding export infrastructure for both Canada and Asian buyers at this time Content referenced in this podcast: Canada and Alberta MOU (November 27, 2025) Canada and Alberta reach agreement-in-principle on methane equivalency (March 25, 2026) Canada and Alberta reach an agreement in principle to accelerate the construction of major projects in Alberta (March 6, 2026)  Financial Post: Daniel Smith expects foreign investment to play a role in funding a new pipeline (March 3, 2026) Studio.Energy: The GDP Payoff of Additional Oil Pipeline Capacity (March 18, 2026) TC Energy President and CEO François Poirier: Canada can turn ambition into results, speech made at the Château Laurier (March 31, 2026) Studio.Energy: Beyond the Spike: What Oil Markets are Signaling (April 2, 2026) Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/ Check us out on social media: X (Twitter): @arcenergyinstLinkedIn: @ARC Energy Research Institute Subscribe to ARC Energy Ideas PodcastApple PodcastsAmazon MusicSpotify 

Recapping CERAWeek 2026

This week on the podcast, Jackie and Peter unpack key themes from the CERAWeek conference held in Houston from March 23–27, 2026. Highlights from the conference include: Canada is back on the global stage: Senior political leaders promoted energy investment opportunities, with notable alignment between federal and provincial governments.  Iran conflict and the Strait of Hormuz: Experts from multiple perspectives shared views on the conflict and the challenges of reopening the Strait, with general agreement that doing so would be difficult.  U.S. energy dominance and permitting reform: Senior U.S. officials shared goals to expand energy production and streamline permitting processes to accelerate project development.  Energy security for importers: Ongoing geopolitical uncertainty is reinforcing the need for diversified energy supply (across energy types and geographic sources) and increased domestic production among importing countries.  AI and electricity demand: While innovation continues, electricity supply is still considered the key constraint on the pace of AI-driven growth.  Quiet momentum in clean energy: Despite reduced policy support and funding, companies continue advancing technologies, with potential for meaningful breakthroughs in the years ahead.  Content referenced on this podcast: National Petroleum Council study on permitting reform, “Bottleneck to Breakthrough: A Permitting Blueprint to Build” (2025) NVIDIA and Emerald AI Join Leading Energy Companies to Pioneer Flexible AI Factories as Grid Assets (March 23, 2026) Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/ Check us out on social media: X (Twitter): @arcenergyinstLinkedIn: @ARC Energy Research Institute Subscribe to ARC Energy Ideas PodcastApple PodcastsAmazon MusicSpotify 

This Is Our Moment: An Interview With the Honourable Tim Hodgson

This week, our guest is the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. The conversation was recorded at CERAWeek in Houston on March 24, 2026. Here are some of the questions Jackie asked Minister Hodgson: How is Canadian energy being perceived at CERAWeek, particularly in the context of the war in the Middle East? Do you expect that Canada will meet the Prime Minister’s targets of 50 million tonnes per annum of LNG exports by 2030 and potentially double that by 2040? What steps is Canada taking to attract the hundreds of billions in capital required to advance and build major projects, particularly amid strong competition from the United States? With the first deadline for the Alberta–Ottawa Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) just one week away, what progress has been made, and what are the prospects for advancing a 1 MMB/d oil pipeline to access Asian markets? Is Canada fiscally competitive, especially given its carbon pricing and policy framework compared to the United States? And finally, what opportunities lie ahead for Canada in electricity generation growth? Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/ Check us out on social media: X (Twitter): @arcenergyinstLinkedIn: @ARC Energy Research Institute Subscribe to ARC Energy Ideas PodcastApple PodcastsAmazon MusicSpotify 

What 1.5 Million Barrels per Day Could Mean for Canada’s Economy

Over the past decade, the Canadian economy has been driven largely by consumption and government spending, while business investment has remained relatively flat. To accelerate Canada’s economic growth, an objective emphasized by Prime Minister Mark Carney, Canada will need stronger business investment, particularly investments with the “one-two punch” of growing the economy through increased capital spending in the early years and greater exports in the longer term. To explore the historical drivers of GDP and what expanded export capacity could mean for Canada’s economy, Mark Parsons, Vice President and Chief Economist at ATB Financial, joins Jackie and Peter on the podcast. The discussion ends with answering the question: What would an additional 1.5 million barrels per day of oil pipeline export capacity, including a West Coast pipeline to Asia and other expansion projects, mean for Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth and jobs outlook over the next decade? Studio.Energy and ATB have collaborated on a series of reports examining Canada’s GDP and the potential economic impact of increased oil export capacity. The series also includes background articles explaining how GDP is calculated and historical trends. These articles are available on both the Studio.Energy and ATB websites (see links below). Content referenced in this podcast:Peter Tertzakian’s op-ed in The Hub.ca: The next act in the oil crisis: Time to get ready for rationing and hoarding? (March 13, 2026)  Seeking Shelter: Iran and the Next Structural Shift in Global Oil Markets (March 9, 2026) Studio.Energy reports on Canadian GDP and pipelines:  Backgrounder reports on GDP: Canada’s Economy Under Siege (January 30, 2026) and What is GDP, Really? (February 5, 2026) Report on what has been driving Canadian GDP, highlighting both the factors contributing to growth and those that have been lacking: Canada’s GDP Dilemma: The Illusion of Growth (March 5, 2026) ATB Reports on Canadian GDP and pipelines: See all GDP reports at: Special Reports | ATB Financial Background report on productivity and the importance of the oil and gas sector, “Productive diversification: Maintaining Alberta’s productivity edge”  (August 2024) Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/ Check us out on social media: X (Twitter): @arcenergyinstLinkedIn: @ARC Energy Research Institute Subscribe to ARC Energy Ideas PodcastApple PodcastsAmazon Music

Strait of Hormuz Closure and the Oil Price Roller Coaster

This week on the podcast, Jackie and Peter review developments in the Iran war, which entered its tenth day at the time of recording on the morning of March 9, 2026. The U.S. reports striking thousands of targets in Iran during the first week of the conflict and damaging or destroying more than 40 Iranian naval vessels. In response, Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have launched missiles and drones across more than ten countries in the region. Energy infrastructure across the Middle East has also been targeted, including facilities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE, and Iran. Some regional producers have shut in oil production due to export disruptions, full storage tanks, and, in some cases, damaged facilities. Tankers continue to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply and LNG trade normally pass. The U.S. has offered naval escorts and a $20 billion tanker reinsurance program to restore shipping, but tankers are not moving yet. WTI briefly surged to about US$118 per barrel on March 9, before easing, amid reports that the G7 was considering releasing strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) and comments from the US President suggesting that the conflict could be nearing an end. Jackie and Peter also explore potential winners from the crisis, including renewable energy and other alternatives, electric vehicles (EVs), Russia, and possibly Canada, particularly if Canada can expand market access and increase oil and gas production. Content referenced in this podcast:Financial Times: G7 discuss joint release of emergency oil reserves (March 9, 2026) Polymarket: US X Iran cease-fire by….  CBC: Nervous nations calling Canada's energy minister after Iran strikes (March 3, 2026) Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/ Check us out on social media: X (Twitter): @arcenergyinstLinkedIn: @ARC Energy Research Institute Subscribe to ARC Energy Ideas PodcastApple PodcastsAmazon MusicSpotify