What Would North American Energy Integration Look Like?
What Would North American Energy Integration Look Like?
Both U.S. and Canada can benefit from investment opportunities in the Mexican energy sector, writes COA’s Christian Gómez in a Q&A for Latin America Advisor.
Q: U.S. President Barack Obama met with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper last week for the North American Leaders' Summit to discuss opportunities for North American cooperation, including closer regional energy integration. Did the summit achieve much in terms of the energy agenda? What would or should regional North American energy policy look like specifically? What benefits would a more ambitious vision for North American energy ties bring about, and what obstacles are standing in the way?
A: Christian Gómez, director of energy at the Council of the Americas:
"The North American Leaders' Summit yielded some tangible results. In particular, holding a North American energy ministers meeting in 2014 is an important first step in advancing the agenda this year. However, many of the energy deliverables were continuations of ongoing initiatives, and thus opportunities were missed for deeper integration. An important advance would be the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline by the United States. A recent State Department report declared that significant additional greenhouse gas emissions would not be released as a result of construction of the final leg of the project. Approval of the pipeline would strengthen the close energy ties between Canada and the United States. Canada may look to Asia for energy exports should market access not be available south of the border. But the North American energy picture goes beyond one pipeline. There are 410,000 kilometers of pipelines across the U.S.-Canada border, making it one of the closest energy relationships in the world. Looking south, with the passage of Mexican energy reforms, both U.S. and Canadian companies can also benefit from investment opportunities in the Mexican energy sector. Up until the shale revolution, the United States assumed it would be energy-dependent, not self-sufficient. However, energy integration in North America means that the United States has dependable sources of energy to go along with production. Deeper energy integration is a win-win for North America."
