Biden's energy policies 'hard to understand': Premier of Alberta
Premier Jason Kenney questioned Biden's actions on the Keystone XL and Nord Stream 2 pipelines
Premier of Alberta questions Biden's stance on Keystone XL, Nord Stream 2 pipelines
Premier Jason Kenney said it is hard to understand Biden turning to OPEC for more oil after canceling the Keystone XL pipeline.
The premier of Alberta, Jason Kenney, questioned why the Biden administration would cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, then ask OPEC for more oil, in an interview with Fox News Digital, saying he "would prefer that the administration look to Canada, rather than OPEC, to be a greater source of energy for the American economy."
On his first day in office, President Biden signed an executive order revoking the permit granted to the Keystone XL Pipeline, a promise he made during the campaign.
Kenney noted Canada is the largest source of imported U.S. energy, and it is a benefit for Americans to have energy coming from an ally, rather than OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) or Russia.
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"Alberta is the largest source of energy for the United States," Kenney said. "Over half of U.S. oil imports come from the province of Alberta in Canada, far more than the U.S. brings in from OPEC. And that’s a great thing for Americans, to be able to have access to a secure and friendly source of energy from your closest friend and ally."
Kenney said he did not understand Biden’s move to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline on his first day in office, because the pipeline could have displaced oil imports from Russia and OPEC.
Sections of the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline are seen on the construction site on the White Earth Nation Reservation near Wauburn, Minnesota. | Getty Images
"Meanwhile, the president is pleading to OPEC to increase production and shipments while we are offering to provide more energy to the United States," Kenney said.
In August, Biden urged OPEC to boost oil output to help combat the rising price of gas.
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Kenney said he is willing to work with whomever voters send to the Oval Office, but some of Biden’s policies were baffling to him.
"The fact that the president vetoed, on his first day in office, a project that would have helped to secure American energy, is hard for us to understand," Kenney said. "Especially when the same president has lifted sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 to Europe, is not enforcing sanctions against Iranian oil exports, and is pleading with OPEC to produce and ship more."
Biden has come under fire from lawmakers in the United States for greenlighting Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline while revoking the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, with several Republican House members calling Biden’s actions a "gift" to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
President Joe Biden attends an event on clean cars and trucks, on the South Lawn of the White House. (Associated Press)
Kenney also encouraged the Biden administration to support the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline, which pumps oil across the Midwest, including through a cross-section of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, which Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D., described as a "ticking time bomb."
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"Right now, we’re pleading with the Biden administration to get off the fence and to communicate to the governor of Michigan that she is imperiling America’s economic interest by trying to decommission the Enbridge Line 5 project that fuels much of the upper Midwest and central Canada," Kenney said.
The Biden administration has not taken a stance on the pipeline, but in November, White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she expects the U.S. and Canada to "engage constructively" in a discussion about Line 5.
