Venezuela reserves are no threat to Canada's 'low risk' oil, says Carney

Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he's not concerned about the future of Canadian oil even if Venezuela begins to produce more of the product following the US seizure of Nicolás Maduro.

Speaking to reporters in Paris, Carney said Canadian oil remains competitive because it is "low risk", "low cost" and "low carbon".

He said Canada welcomed the seizure of Maduro, which "creates the possibility for democratic transition in Venezuela".

Canada's largest export is oil, the vast majority of which is sold to the US. The seizure of Venezuela's leader has fuelled concerns Canada could lose its biggest customer, and leverage in trade talks with Donald Trump.

Trump has been open about his ambitions for American petroleum companies to scale up their operations in Venezuela following the military operation that captured Maduro.

In an interview with NBC News on Monday, Trump said he believed the US oil industry could be "up and running" with increased operations in Venezuela within 18 months or less, "but it'll be a lot of money".

He added that "having a Venezuela that's an oil producer is good for the United States because it keeps the price of oil down".

Canadian energy company stocks fell on Monday morning, but Carney said he did not believe more Venezuelan production would harm domestic oil producers.

Canada is focused on diversifying its exports, particularly to Asia through a proposed pipeline to the Pacific coast, making "Canadian oil competitive in the medium and long term", he said.

He added that a "functioning, not corrupt" economy in the Latin American country will be good for both the Venezuelan people and the Western hemisphere.

Nearly all of Canada's oil exports — around 97% — head south to the US, valued at about $100bn (£74bn) in 2023 alone.

Ottawa signed a memorandum of understanding with the Canadian province of Alberta — home to the country's oil patch — in late November that opens the door to such a project. But it faces significant hurdles, including lack of buy-in from neighbouring British Columbia and First Nations groups.

Alberta has until 1 July to submit a formal proposal for a west-bound pipeline.

In an open letter to the prime minister, Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre said Canada needs to "move millions of barrels a day to overseas markets quickly to reduce our dependence ton the US market".

He added that the Carney government needs to "immediately approve" a pipeline project to the Pacific.

Trade talks between Canada and the US have been on hold since late last year, after an anti-tariff advertisement that was run and paid for by the province of Ontario angered Trump.

Prior to that, the Trump administration and the Carney government were working on a deal to lower tariffs that included more energy exports to the US.

Maduro's seizure has raised questions on whether Canada still has that leverage, and has put pressure on Carney to preserve Canada's oil industry in response.