Encana Corp. CEO Doug Suttles said government policy is making Canada an increasingly uncompetitive place to drill for oil and gas.
Suttles said it costs his company about $100,000 in carbon taxes on the diesel required to drill and complete each well in northeastern British Columbia, a cost his competitors in similar places in the United States do not pay.
He told the Energy Roundtable conference in Calgary on Oct. 10 that Encana’s wells produce clean-burning natural gas which is then processed in one of three recently built gas plants that use emissions-free hydroelectricity.
Eventually, as facilities are built, that gas will be shipped to a hydroelectricity-powered liquefied natural gas export terminal on the West Coast and on to Asia, where it may replace coal in producing electricity.
However, Suttles said his company doesn’t get credit for reducing global emissions and, thanks to corporate tax cuts under President Donald Trump, pays higher income taxes in Canada than it does in the United States.
Suttles, who refused to talk to reporters after his speech, said Canada needs to take a stronger role in responsible global energy leadership.
