India Reluctant to Invest in Canada’s Oil & Gas Industry

Just a few years ago everything was looking rosy for Canada. Plans were in motion to expand the oil sands projects in Alberta and ship the crude south across the border to the US, who would provide a strong and reliable market for the world’s third largest crude oil reserves.

Unfortunately the US shale boom saw oil production in the country explode and the US no longer had need of Canada’s hydrocarbons; added to that, the giant Keystone XL pipeline hit hard opposition in the US, and has now become caught up in a political mire.

Canada had to look elsewhere for a market, and Asia seemed like the obvious choice. China and India are two of the largest and fastest growing economies in the world, and their thirst for oil is growing exponentially.

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However, Indian Oil Corp., India’s largest refining company, has said that a lack of pipelines in Canada is proving a major barrier to investing in energy assets in the country.

A.M.K. Sinha, the director of planning and business development at Indian Oil Corp., has confirmed that they want to invest in Canada’s energy sector to gain access to crude and natural gas exports, however the lack of infrastructure makes it very difficult.

Sinha told reporters, “we want to diversify and we are looking at Canada as a possible source,” but infrastructure problems, mainly a lack of pipelines, are hindering the potential investment from India. Pipes are needed to transport the hydrocarbons from Western Canada to the Atlantic Coast, which is closer to India.

By. Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com