Although the integrated North American energy system has just been dealt a blow by the U.S. trade action, it still matters

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On the same day U.S. President Donald Trump started a tariff war with his neighbours, North American energy giant Enbridge announced plans to expand its main pipeline network to transport more Canadian oil into the United States.

The initiative by the Calgary-based company represents a commitment of up to $2 billion of capital investment over the next three years.

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The news, coming hours after the U.S. imposed tariffs on all Canadian imports, reflects the pull of energy flows.

Although the integrated North American energy system has just been dealt a blow by the U.S. trade action, it still matters.

“Any tariff disputes, trade disputes, always create some concern, and then you have to put your head back in fundamentals,” Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel told reporters on Tuesday after the company’s investor day.

“You can’t say it’s of no concern. It’s just from a fundamentals perspective, you’re really trying to take the emotions out of it and go to what’s the economic reality and the interconnection between the two countries.

“And I think on any basis, you would have to still say, it’s tight, it’s difficult to break and it’s strong — current unpleasantries aside.”

That’s still true, as more than four million barrels per day (bpd) of Canadian oil flows into the United States, representing this country’s single-biggest export item.

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